Holy Wind

A sermon by Rev. George Taylor

First Presbyterian Church, Stroudsburg, Pa.

May 11, 2008

     As the worldwide demand for energy explodes and with the cost of gasoline skyrocketing, sending shock waves throughout the economies of nearly every nation, there is renewed urgency to discover alternative and renewable energy sources.  Bio-fuels, like ethanol, made from corn, are not turning out to be the miracle cure once thought, as this hopeful solution we now see carries with it the terrible downside of driving up food prices, and creating even greater amounts of poverty and hunger worldwide. Who would have ever guessed we might be recycling our garbage into a form of diesel fuel to power our fuel thirsty engines? It might not be long before a solar panel on every house rooftop will be as commonplace as chimney’s and satellite dishes.

     And just as human ingenuity and technology has found a way to harness the power of water and the sun to produce electricity and heat, so now our eyes are turning to the wind, as the next unexplored source of renewable energy.  Wind, unlike channels of water and the rays of the sun, is notoriously difficult to catch.  One of the problems is that the best winds do not blow at ground level. They do their blowing six miles up in the air, at the height of the jet stream.  Winds six miles up carry up to 100 times more energy than winds closer to ground and sea level. To date, the highest conventional wind turbines are only 200 feet tall. There is, however, a company called Sky Windpower which is developing a flying generator, which looks like a cross between a kite and a helicopter, which has the potential of farming the winds miles above the earth’s surface.  It seems if you want to catch the wind, it is wise to put your wind turbines where the strongest winds are blowing.

     Today is Pentecost Sunday, when churches around the world are celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit into the lives of the early disciples, giving birth to the church of Jesus Christ.  The Holy Spirit is that spiritual energy source which empowered the first disciples and apostles to go out into the world, preaching the good news of the gospel, teaching all that Jesus had commanded, baptizing new disciples in the name of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Without the Holy Spirit, it is inconceivable that the first disciples, so broken-hearted, so discouraged, so overwhelmed with a sense of defeat and despair, could possibly have founded a spiritual movement that would have spread to the farthest corners of the world, that would have captured the imaginations and commitment of  believers regardless of nationality, race or culture and that would have sustained its vision and vitality for now nearly 20 centuries.

     Did you know that the New Testament was originally written in Greek, Koine Greek to be exact. And from my years of learning Greek and studying the New Testament in its original language, I remember that we get Holy Spirit from the Greek, Hagious Pneuma. Hagious is translated Holy, but pnuema is more accurately translated breath, or gentle wind. So a better translation for Hagious Pneuma might be Holy Breath or Holy Wind.   And we might better pray, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and Holy Wind. We might say that the spirit is to the metaphysical world what the wind is to the physical world.  They are both the same in that just as you cannot see spirit, you cannot see wind, but you can certainly see the effects and power of the spirit, as we can the wind, to lift the weary or troubled heart, to re-juvenate a tired or worn out body, to renew a lifeless and dreary existence, to re-invigorate a stilled movement or a stalled purpose.

     If our world’s insatiable need for new physical energy resources forces us to go where these physical winds are to be found, even 6 miles into the skies, so we the church, if we are to sustain our mission and continue our ministries, and remain faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ, must also go where the spiritual winds of the Holy Spirit, Holy Wind, are to be found.  And where, you ask, might that be?  Isn’t it closer to the truth to say that the Spirit seeks us out and finds us, and not vice versa? How can we find the wind?  Doesn’t John in his gospel even say “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from nor where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

     What we see as we read the accounts of the coming of Holy Spirit into the lives of the early disciples is that they did not go and find the Holy Spirit.  They did not go off on a wild goose chase in desperate and frantic search of Holy Wind. They didn’t  go off to the highest mountain top, nor did they go for a walk on the beach, nor did they remain at home in the privacy of their individual lives.  What they did do was trust and obey the instruction of Jesus, who told them to gather together and to wait, and he would ask the Father to send the Spirit to them. And so in faith and obedience they did just that.  They gathered together, devoted to the life and ministries which Jesus had taught them by word and by example. And it was as they were following their Lord and walking in his ways to the very best of their human capacities and abilities, that the Holy Spirit swept down upon them, like the rush of a mighty wind, and the rest, as they say, is history.

     Now where do you think the pioneering company, Sky Windpower  will position their wind turbines that can reach miles into the sky? They will go where the best winds are to be found, the jet stream, and the Santa Anita winds off the west coast, and the tradewinds and the raging, violent winds that blow atop the peaks of the world’s tallest mountain chains. That’s where they will position themselves.

     And how about us?  Where and how shall we, followers of Jesus Christ, position ourselves so that we might catch Holy Wind and be filled with Holy Spirit and breathe deep into our spiritual lungs Holy Breath?  Where and how did the first disciples position themselves to receive this promised gift and blessing and grace from God? In Acts 2:1 were read, “They were all together in one place.”  Were they all there? Yes. Were they all together? Yes. Were they all in one place? Yes. They were all together, gathered in community.   If Peter had been in Capernaum, and John in Nazareth, and James on the Sea of Galilee, and Andrew in Cana and the other eight scattered across the countryside, there would not have been a catching of Holy Wind. Pentecost was a communal experience, and it was only because they were together, all together, gathered and committed to holy purpose and holy service, gathered and committed to be God’s disciples, to obey his word and to show his love, that they were positioned to receive this greatest gift of all, the gift of God’s power and presence.

     And it is as we come together, gather together, at one time and in one place, in worship, in Bible study, in mission and in Christian fellowship that God will send his Spirit, Holy Wind, to blow into our midst, refreshing our lives and empowering our faithfulness. Did not Jesus himself say, “wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there I shall be in their midst.”   It is not just gathering in any old way for any old purpose that Jesus promises to be with us, but as we come together and gather in the name of Jesus, for the purpose of being the communal body of Christ, gathered to receive the Spirit and sent into the world to share God’s love.

     Now admittedly, this gets harder and harder to do, gathering together at one time, in one place.  Our society and our culture does not encourage nor support this kind of functioning.   You and I live in what sociologists call the post-modern world and theologians call the post-Christendom age. No longer a Christian nation,  and might we add decreasingly a religious nation of any kind, our increasingly secular society worships more at the mall than it does in the sanctuary.   Increasingly an individualistic society, folks are trained and socialized to look out for number one and do whatever will make them happy, accountable to no higher authority than self and serving no other gods than personal success and happiness. And gathering all together in one place is difficult because many have to work on Sundays and others feel they only have Sunday to recuperate from the past week and prepare for the week to come; you know, go shopping, do the laundry, cut the grass, and get the car serviced.  And now, when other seemingly more pressing personal priorities and family commitments squeeze out gathering together in one place, the skyrocketing cost of gasoline further undermines peoples abilities to gather together in one place, as folks must ration the gas they can afford with the places they feel they need to go.  Sadly, Ministerio Salem, a Hispanic congregation which has been meeting and worshiping in our building for the past three years, will no longer be gathering here. Because so many of their members and key leaders travel long distances to Stroudsburg, they simply no longer can afford the travel expenses and have decided to disband.

     I think the bottom line is this.  If gathering together in one place, if assembling ourselves as brothers and sisters in Christ, if forming and strengthening ourselves and our church as the body of Christ in and for the world is not our highest priority, and yes I mean, our highest priority, should we be surprised if we do not experience the excitement of Holy Wind and the refreshment of Holy Spirit?  This is why I am personally so excited about Family Promise, our ministry with other churches to homeless families which begins next week.  Yes, next week the first families will find shelter from the storms of life as the first church,                              , will open her doors and offer the hospitality and welcome of God to those in need. And on June 29^th, it will be our turn to offer room in the inn, and generously and sacrificially enter into this new and faithful ministry, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the week of June 29^th through July 5^th, and for three similar weeks during the next twelve months, we will be all together in one place, serving our Lord in this most faithful way. And I am thrilled because we will be positioning ourselves to receive a fresh gust of holy wind, to invigorate our souls and vitalize our call to ministry.

     Choirs churches around the country enjoy singing anthems written by Natalie Sleeth.  In her song, “God is Like A Rock” she has written these words.  “God is like the wind, something no one sees; Mighty as the gale, gentle as the breeze; with a hidden power no one can deny as the day goes by.”

     On this Pentecost Sunday, as we gather together, not all of us, but many of us, may we experience the Holy Wind of God blowing through the corridors of our worship and the ministries of our church.  And may the renewed confidence in who we are and what God has called us to do and who God is calling us to be, buoy our spirits and lift up our hearts, that we might be trusting in and obedient to Jesus in our day as the first disciples were in theirs. The challenges to being faithful to Jesus Christ and committed to his church are enormous, and it is not surprising that some become discouraged and fearful. Let us never forget the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Fear not, for I am with you, and I will never leave you forsaken…. I will ask the Father and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth.”   And this day, and all days, may each of us pray individually, even as we gather corporately and communally, this prayer wich is the chorus of the beloved contemporary hymn called Spirit. “Sprit, spirit of gentleness, blow through the wilderness, calling and free. Spirit, spirit of restlessness, stir me from placidness, wind, wind on the sea.” Amen.