Sunday 8 June 2003

Pic of the day: And this is my Pentecost sermon for you, dear congregation.

The Spirit and the prophet

Those who are already Christians have probably read Jesus speech of introduction regarding the Spokesman, the Spirit. There are two sets of work that the Spokesman will do: Convince the world, and remind the disciples. From the writings of the apostles, it seems that he is also central in miracles and other Gifts of Grace ... the disciples' equivalent of mutant powers. But for today, I will only stop with one important detail, which follows from the double workload of the Holy Spirit as described by Jesus.

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The Spirit makes theology and charisma superfluous. Well, theology can still be interesting, and I guess charisma can be pleasing in social situations. But when you preach the Word of God, you don't need them. Instead, you have to learn to trust the Spirit. He is better at this than you are.

If the Spirit will convince the world, then you don't need to. Due to the way God works in the world, someone still has to say things. You may have noticed that God does not intrude. He does not constantly send angels to talk to people. Jesus told his disciples to be witnesses. That sounds like a simple thing, and it is.

There is no reason to say things in an elegant way. In fact, if you speak too brilliantly, you distract from the Spirit, whose job it is to explain it all to the listener.

There is no reason to add a lot of body language and loud, high-pitched voice. The energy you put into preaching may give you a sense of accomplishment, but it does not impress God. Make sure you don't speak so loudly that the good folks listening can't hear the quiet voice of the Spirit.

There is no reason to go on and on. Well, sometimes there is. But when the Spirit stops working, so should you. Never enter into a contract where you are paid by the hour to do God's work. God works odd hours.

Do not expect to harvest the same hour that you sow. This is not how God created the world. We tend to want magic, in which things can happen in a flash. But God much prefers to follow his own laws, in which things have a time to grow and mature and change and bear fruit. When you are gone, the Spirit will still remind those who listened to you. Trust him.

The Spirit gives glory to the Son, and the Son gives glory to the Father. If what happens is the work of the Spirit, then you will get no glory, except from God. When you see people praise God and not mention you at all, then you know that you have done God's work, and then finally you can rejoice.