Year B
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm 104:25-35, 37
Acts 2:1-21
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15<\/p>\n\n\n\n
May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today’s reading from Ezekiel\u2026 is one of the readings often associated with Pentecost\u2026\u2026 the prophet describes a vision of God breathing new life into dry human bones\u2026 bones which lie scattered on the floor of a valley\u2026 and these dry bones eventually gather life and create new bodies complete with muscle\u2026 flesh\u2026 and skin\u2026 and these words\u2026 this image was intended to give hope and sustenance\u2026 specifically to the people Israel\u2026 as they languished during the Babylonian Captivity\u2026 and waited for\u2026 hoped for… new life as a people of God\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s important to notice\u2026 that in today\u2019s reading\u2026 in the conversation between God and Ezekiel\u2026 God asks questions that really\u2026 only God can answer\u2026 but God engages Ezekiel\u2026 invites him to take an active role\u2026 as God needs all of us to take an active role\u2026 ] so God folds Ezekiel into the process\u2026 and the first thing that God tells him\u2026 is that breath will enter the bones\u2026 but as we see\u2026 breath is actually the last thing to enter them\u2026 ] Spirit\u2026 is the last thing to enter them\u2026 God ends\u2026 by saying that God will put God’s Spirit within them\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
This Holy Spirit is the same Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters before creation\u2026 she is the same Spirit described in both Ezekiel and today on Pentecost\u2026 and she is still living and breathing in us\u2026 and can help us gain a deeper understanding of the dry bones in our own lives\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And today\u2026 we have two different accounts of the coming of the Holy Spirit\u2026 in Acts\u2026 we have a splashy\u2026 bold\u2026 public display\u2026 there are people speaking in different languages\u2026 and they recalled the prophetic words of Joel\u2026 that God would pour God’s Spirit out upon all flesh\u2026 and there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind\u2026 and divided tongues of fire rested on each one of them\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now fire is often regarded as a symbol of awakening\u2026 and many sacred texts\u2026 including the Bible\u2026 refer to fire as a symbol of the vital life-force that can be called upon for transformation\u2026 for re-visioning\u2026 or for renewed meaning\u2026 the divided tongues of fire over the disciples are an expression of that internal and external change\u2026 and the non-splashy version\u2026 happens just a few verses after today’s reading\u2026 in John 20:21… when Jesus simply came and said\u2026 Peace be with you\u2026 As the Father has sent me\u2026 so I send you\u2026 <\/em> and when he had said this\u2026 he breathed on them and said\u2026 Receive the Holy Spirit<\/em>\u2026 that’s all there was to it\u2026 quick… simple\u2026 natural and effortless\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many Christian denominations affirm that God is still speaking\u2026 one meme that I’ve seen says\u2026 Don<\/em>\u2019<\/em>t put a period\u2026 where God puts a comma<\/em>\u2026 and if that\u2019s true\u2026 then what God said to Israel\u2026 God is also saying to us\u2026 so one thing we need to ask ourselves\u2026 is whether we hear God\u2026 or whether we hear ourselves\u2026 one thing we need to ask ourselves\u2026 is whether we can silence our own internal monologues\u2026 let go of our own agendas\u2026 our own judgements\u2026 and can sit in silence long enough\u2026 even when it may feel uncomfortable\u2026 to sense God’s Holy impulse\u2026 because if God is the thought\u2026 then Jesus is the Word made flesh\u2026 and the Holy Spirit is the breath\u2026 so if there’s no breath\u2026 then the Word can’t be expressed\u2026 it becomes locked in our throats\u2026 and without the Word\u2026 the breath has nothing to say\u2026 and the Holy Spirit has a lot to say\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n For the Jewish people\u2026 Pentecost is Shavuot\u2026 known as the Feast of Weeks\u2026 it occurs fifty days after the Passover and commemorates the wheat harvest in Israel\u2026 but mostly\u2026 Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to Israel\u2026 while they were all assembled together at Mount Sinai\u2026 ] on Passover\u2026 the Israelites were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh\u2026 on Shavuot\u2026 they became a nation committed to serving God\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this morning’s Gospel\u2026 Jesus tells the disciples that it’s to their advantage that he goes away\u2026 because without his death\u2026 resurrection\u2026 and ascension\u2026 the cosmic changes that began with his incarnation would be incomplete\u2026 without his departure\u2026 the old order of the world remains in place\u2026 but with these things\u2026 the old order is judged\u2026 and the rulers of this world\u2026 death and evil\u2026 are overcome\u2026 ] just as God made order out of chaos in Genesis\u2026 the breath of God makes order out of chaos here… and peace and joy remain\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n And we heard Jesus tell the disciples\u2026 I still have many things to say to you\u2026 but you cannot bear them now\u2026 but the Holy Spirit will guide you into all Truth<\/em>\u2026 the Greek word that’s translated as bear\u2026 also means to understand a thing and receive it calmly\u2026 so there’s more that Jesus has to say to us\u2026 but the disciples are too stirred up to receive God’s truth all at once\u2026 but God’s revelation continues\u2026 even if we can’t bear all of it\u2026 now\u2026 but the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us\u2026 will continue to remove the veil which separates us from Truth\u2026 the veil which allows us to look only in a mirror dimly\u2026 and the Holy Spirit will help us to not simply know\u2026 but to do\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n As Bp. Satterlee recently said\u2026 the Holy Spirit is not our teddy bear\u2026 she blows people where they don’t want to go\u2026 she testifies to Jesus\u2026 and exposes us when we testify to something else\u2026 Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Advocate\u2026 but she doesn’t advocate for me\u2026 or you\u2026 or the church\u2026 she advocates for Jesus\u2026 and this reference to the power of the Holy Spirit repeatedly throughout Scripture cannot simply be limited to the intellect\u2026 the Holy Spirit does not work by abstraction\u2026 but by action\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n Disciples are those who have a discipline\u2026 a discipline\u2026 like a Rule of Life\u2026 can help keep us on track\u2026 can provide a structure and direction for our growth into holiness\u2026 can help keep us listening for God’s Word\u2026 and there’s a poem that I think captures the challenge of discipline\u2026 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Deep in the wintry parts of our minds, As disciples\u2026 we can burn away who we thought we were by reading scripture\u2026 praying for guidance from the Holy Spirit to help us understand it\u2026 and discerning what meaning it has for us in our lives\u2026 this is part of our formation\u2026 this is the gift of being ourselves\u2026 the love of God and the guidance of the Holy Spirit are as close as our own breath\u2026 all we need to do is breathe\u2026 and wonder\u2026 maybe even aloud\u2026 How do you and I breathe new life into our dry bones<\/em>\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Year B Ezekiel 37:1-14 Psalm 104:25-35, 37 Acts 2:1-21 John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 May the words of my mouth O God\u2026 speak your truth\u2026 Today’s reading from Ezekiel\u2026 is one of the readings often associated with Pentecost\u2026\u2026 the prophet describes a vision of God breathing new life into dry human bones\u2026 bones which lie scattered on the floor of a valley\u2026 and these dry bones eventually gather life and create new bodies complete with muscle\u2026 flesh\u2026 and skin\u2026 and these words\u2026 this image was intended to give hope and sustenance\u2026 specifically to the people Israel\u2026 as they languished during the Babylonian Captivity\u2026 and waited for\u2026 hoped for… new life as a people of God\u2026 But it\u2019s important to notice\u2026 that in today\u2019s reading\u2026 in the conversation between God and Ezekiel\u2026 God asks questions that really\u2026 only God can answer\u2026 but God engages Ezekiel\u2026 invites him to take an active role\u2026 as God needs all of us to take an active role\u2026 ] so God folds Ezekiel into the process\u2026 and the first thing that God tells him\u2026 is that breath will enter the bones\u2026 but as we see\u2026 breath is actually the last thing to enter them\u2026 ] Spirit\u2026 is the last thing to enter them\u2026 God ends\u2026 by saying that God will put God’s Spirit within them\u2026 This Holy Spirit is the same Spirit that moved upon the face of the waters before creation\u2026 she is the same Spirit described in both Ezekiel and today on Pentecost\u2026 and she is still living and breathing in us\u2026 and can help us gain a deeper understanding of the dry bones in our own lives\u2026 And today\u2026 we have two different accounts of the coming of the Holy Spirit\u2026 in Acts\u2026 we have a splashy\u2026 bold\u2026 public display\u2026 there are people speaking in different languages\u2026 and they recalled the prophetic words of Joel\u2026 that God would pour God’s Spirit out upon all flesh\u2026 and there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind\u2026 and divided tongues of fire rested on each one of them\u2026 Now fire is often regarded as a symbol of awakening\u2026 and many sacred texts\u2026 including the Bible\u2026 refer to fire as a symbol of the vital life-force that can be called upon for transformation\u2026 for re-visioning\u2026 or for renewed meaning\u2026 the divided tongues of fire over the disciples are an expression of that internal and external change\u2026 and the non-splashy version\u2026 happens just a few verses after today’s reading\u2026 in John 20:21… when Jesus simply came and said\u2026 Peace be with you\u2026 As the Father has sent me\u2026 so I send you\u2026 and when he had said this\u2026 he breathed on them and said\u2026 Receive the Holy Spirit\u2026 that’s all there was to it\u2026 quick… simple\u2026 natural and effortless\u2026 Many Christian denominations affirm that God is still speaking\u2026 one meme that I’ve seen says\u2026 Don\u2019t put a period\u2026 where God puts a comma\u2026 and if that\u2019s true\u2026 then what God said to Israel\u2026 God is also saying to us\u2026 so one thing we need to ask ourselves\u2026 is whether we hear God\u2026 or whether we hear ourselves\u2026 one thing we need to ask ourselves\u2026 is whether we can silence our own internal monologues\u2026 let go of our own agendas\u2026 our own judgements\u2026 and can sit in silence long enough\u2026 even when it may feel uncomfortable\u2026 to sense God’s Holy impulse\u2026 because if God is the thought\u2026 then Jesus is the Word made flesh\u2026 and the Holy Spirit is the breath\u2026 so if there’s no breath\u2026 then the Word can’t be expressed\u2026 it becomes locked in our throats\u2026 and without the Word\u2026 the breath has nothing to say\u2026 and the Holy Spirit has a lot to say\u2026 For the Jewish people\u2026 Pentecost is Shavuot\u2026 known as the Feast of Weeks\u2026 it occurs fifty days after the Passover and commemorates the wheat harvest in Israel\u2026 but mostly\u2026 Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to Israel\u2026 while they were all assembled together at Mount Sinai\u2026 ] on Passover\u2026 the Israelites were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh\u2026 on Shavuot\u2026 they became a nation committed to serving God\u2026 In this morning’s Gospel\u2026 Jesus tells the disciples that it’s to their advantage that he goes away\u2026 because without his death\u2026 resurrection\u2026 and ascension\u2026 the cosmic changes that began with his incarnation would be incomplete\u2026 without his departure\u2026 the old order of the world remains in place\u2026 but with these things\u2026 the old order is judged\u2026 and the rulers of this world\u2026 death and evil\u2026 are overcome\u2026 ] just as God made order out of chaos in Genesis\u2026 the breath of God makes order out of chaos here… and peace and joy remain\u2026 And we heard Jesus tell the disciples\u2026 I still have many things to say to you\u2026 but you cannot bear them now\u2026 but the Holy Spirit will guide you into all Truth\u2026 the Greek word that’s translated as bear\u2026 also means to understand a thing and receive it calmly\u2026 so there’s more that Jesus has to say to us\u2026 but the disciples are too stirred up to receive God’s truth all at once\u2026 but God’s revelation continues\u2026 even if we can’t bear all of it\u2026 now\u2026 but the Holy Spirit will continue to guide us\u2026 will continue to remove the veil which separates us from Truth\u2026 the veil which allows us to look only in a mirror dimly\u2026 and the Holy Spirit will help us to not simply know\u2026 but to do\u2026 As Bp. Satterlee recently said\u2026 the Holy Spirit is not our teddy bear\u2026 she blows people where they don’t want to go\u2026 she testifies to Jesus\u2026 and exposes us when we testify to something else\u2026 Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Advocate\u2026 but she doesn’t advocate for me\u2026 or you\u2026 or the church\u2026 she advocates for Jesus\u2026 and this reference to the power of the Holy Spirit repeatedly throughout Scripture cannot simply be limited to the intellect\u2026 the Holy Spirit does not work by abstraction\u2026 but by action\u2026 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2539,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[328,114,135],"class_list":["post-2538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sermons","tag-breath-of-god","tag-holy-spirit","tag-pentecost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/try-2-smaller.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2538"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2540,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538\/revisions\/2540"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twochurches.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
we are hardy stock
and know there is no such thing
as work-free transformation.
We know that we will have to
burn to the ground
in one way or another,
and then sit right in the ashes
of who we once thought we were
and go on from there.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n