6/6/04

Stand By Me

Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31
Romans 5:1-5
John 16:12-15

I'll bet if you hadn't heard me mention it earlier in my welcome words, most of you would not have known that today is Trinity Sunday. I'm sure I also would have forgotten if I hadn't seen it on my church calendar. It certainly is not one of the big church holidays, but the concept of the Trinity is important. I heard about a pastor who wanted to impress his folks with his knowledge about this difficult-to-understand church doctrine, and he delivered a long, complex sermon - fear not, I am aware this is a Communion Sunday! After the service a parishioner said to him, "I've been a Christian for 30 years and I've never ever heard about the Trinity. Do you clergy keep this stuff hidden away, waiting to spring it on us later, after we've already signed up and you have our initiation fee in hand?" (i) The answer of course is "no," but I'll admit I don't dwell on the Trinity most of the time.

Okay. Here's is a quick explanation of the Trinity. The Trinity provides us Christians with a way of talking about God. It's a way of understanding how we experience God. The divine nature of God, which is one, is experienced, is known by Christians in three ways. God is Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. Put another way, God is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father God who became known in Jesus Christ the Son is still in our midst today through the presence of the Holy Spirit.

In a three-generation family where the grandfather, son, and four-year-old grandson all lived under the same roof, and all were named John, the family dealt with the confusions humorously. The phone rang one day, and the caller said, "May I speak to John, please?" The reply was, "Which John would you like to speak to? John the father, John the son, or John the holy terror?" (ii)

The presence of God in daily life is of much interest to many people these days. There's a great spiritual hunger out there and in here that craves clarity about God's guidance in everyday life. I'm sure this is why Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Life has been on the best seller list for so long. Interest in Jesus is also very high, to wit, the huge success of The Passion ... I understand that the Library of Congress has over 17,000 books about Jesus, more than for any other historical figure. Let's see what more we can learn about our faith today.

In our passage from the Gospel of John, Jesus says that there are things about him that the disciples "cannot bear" at that moment. He knew that they could not bear to know all that he would have to go through with his suffering leading up to and death upon the cross. Later, after the resurrection, after all had been accomplished, they would better understand his love. But perhaps he also meant that more would be revealed about him at a later time. He promises that the "Spirit of truth" will come, guiding them "into all the truth." This "Spirit of truth" continues to unfold and reveal the significance of Jesus even today.

In John's Gospel the Spirit is often called the Advocate, the Helper, or the Comforter, all words derived from the Greek word, paraclete or parakletos, also translated, "the one called to stand beside." When contemplating a sermon title, this definition reminded me of the old song from the 1986 movie, Stand By Me. With a slight adaptation, the first verse and chorus might read as follows:

"When the night has come and the land is dark,
And the moon is the only light we see,
No, I won't be afraid, Oh, I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me, so
Ho...ly Spi...rit, stand by me, oh, stand by me,
Oh stand, stand by me, stand by me." (iii)

Jesus, like a loving parent is concerned with giving his disciples assurances that they will not be left alone, that there will be a helper to stand by them, and that this helper will deepen their faith and understanding. (iv) This same Holy Spirit stands by us even today.

In Great Britain they use the word advocate rather than attorney for the person who stands beside the accused, guiding their defense. The very presence of the advocate brings courage and calmness to the client, and the advocate helps clarify and organize the client's memories into coherent testimony, and, ideally, seeks to represent the truth. (v) The Holy Spirit of truth is a similar kind of advocate.

When Jesus says that the Spirit of truth will guide believers into all the truth, this does not mean all kinds of truth, but specifically, spiritual truth or wisdom. This fits with the Bible's emphasis on wisdom, as in our lesson from Proverbs today. Wisdom is personified as someone who calls to those seeking her, offering help to those in search of her. She also play a crucial role in creation. The Spirit of truth or wisdom that Jesus talks of guides us into spiritual truths, and declares "the things that are to come," not some kind of timetable of future events, but rather, an assurance of God's continuing presence and guiding love after Jesus is resurrected. The Spirit teaches the disciples who are left behind, and all of us disciples who will follow over the ages, about the reality of Jesus' message of love, and also the truth about God the Father. Though not explicit, you can get a sense of the Trinitarian connections in how all this gets played out.

It was exactly sixty years ago today that the greatest invasion armada in history was assembled in the English Channel, and then landed on the beaches in Normandy, France, to begin this phase of World War II that would eventually bring Nazi Germany to its knees. Somehow the world seemed much simpler then. Our enemies were more easily identifiable. Today they are not, battle lines seem blurred, and anyone might be a victim in this war on terrorism. So we sit and wonder and worry about our future, and the future facing our children or grandchildren. (vi) With all the uncertainties of today, it is comforting to know that we are not alone. It is comforting to know that we worship a God who is not distant and aloof, but one who sends an Advocate, a Helper to stand by us. It is comforting to know that the Holy Spirit communicates God's love, truth, and guiding presence.

Paul confirms this in our lesson from Romans, where he says that we have been put right with God, set in a harmonious relationship with God, through the work of Christ. Further, we share in God's glory, which, Jesus tells us, the Spirit will bring. For sure we humans also suffer, but even suffering can be redeeming. Suffering produces endurance or patience, which in turn deepens our character, strength, and compassion, and this leads to hope, hope that does not disappoint us, because through the presence of the Holy Spirit, God's love is "poured into our hearts" (vii) like a refreshing drink of ice cold water on a hot summer day.

The great 20th century theologian, Karl Barth, once wrote that all of us Christians must cultivate among ourselves the "spirit of the amateur." He said, probably referring to us clergy, that there should be no "professional Christians." But his words apply to all of us. We all must guard against that conceit of thinking that we have arrived in our faith, that we have all the answers, that there's no more growing for us to do, as if the Spirit of truth had already given us all we needed to know. None of us can get a "Masters Degree in discipleship," earned because we have somehow figured out all that we need to do to follow Jesus. None of us are experts; we're all beginners. (viii)

The Spirit of truth, the one who stands by us no matter what, is still guiding us in the ways of faith, is still busy in our lives and in our life together, unfolding new truths, opening up wonderful new insights and revelations. So we shouldn't be surprised when we grow in our faith, nor feel bad when we encounter things we haven't known before.

Marcus Borg wrote a book that our Bible study groups read a few years ago entitled, "Meeting Jesus Again For the First Time," an odd title until we admit that Jesus or God or our faith are so complex that we never fully understand them. It's like someone saying, "I've just discovered the psalms." They probably had read some of them before, but until now they never came alive and its like reading them again "for the first time." The psalms were not new, only the person's appreciation and application of the psalms was new. To be a faithful Christian means always being willing to grow, to change, even to be proven wrong, even to be shocked or surprised by what the Spirit of truth is guiding us toward.

As we celebrate this Trinity Sunday, let's remember not only those who gave their life's blood on the shores of Normandy sixty years ago, but let's also give thanks for our ancestors of the faith who also endured suffering, and who let the Spirit of truth guide them on their way. This Spirit is the same God who still creates, redeems, and sustains, who gives us life, hope, and assurance, (ix) and who stands by us in the darkest night and on the brightest summer day. God in Christ through the Holy Spirit is with us, in us, ahead of us, and behind us, now and for ever. Amen.

The Pilgrim Church of Duxbury
Rev. Kenneth C. Landall

i William H. Willimon, Pulpit Resource, 6/6/04.
ii Tom Miller, Aha!, 6/6/04.
iii Ben E. King, "Stand By Me," 1986.
iv LectionAid, Vol. 12, No. 3, 6/6/04.
v Ibid.
vi John Bucka, The Clergy Journal, February 2004, 6/6/04.
vii LectionAid, op. cit.
viii Willimon, op. cit.
ix Bucka, op. cit.