December 14, 2008 - Wayne Sherrer, preacher

Lessons: Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11; I Thessalonians 5:16-24; John 1:6-8, 19-28

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen

In a little while, we will all sing the doxology. Although the language of our creed, our prayers and many of our hymns has changed, we still end the doxology with the words “Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” I remember other children and myself making nervous jokes about the ghostly part of the Trinity. Despite the comic books and cartoons of Casper, the friendly ghost, the idea of a ghostly God, who can be everywhere, yet be invisible, was more than a little scary. Like a certain elf who sees you when you're sleeping and knows not only if you're awake, but also whether you've been bad or good, the Holy Ghost seemed to function as God's CIA—wiretapping our thoughts as well as our phone lines. I believe that childhood impression hasn't fully disappeared for most of us.

But when we do think about the Holy Spirit in a more grownup way, we can find new reasons to be afraid. You see, the biblical stories about that spirit do not portray it hiding in the bushes where it watches everything that happens. No, God's spirit is active. It is a spirit of power that leads people into dangerous places, it empowers people to act in spite of their fears, it challenges those in authority and it works to change the world. And that spirit scares the heck out of people who don't want to make waves, people who are satisfied with the status quo and people who think they are in charge. When John began baptizing in the Jordan River, the priests and Levites and Pharisees all wondered what was going on. This fellow didn't fit into their social circle, he wasn't preaching the same way they were and they were puzzled and a little threatened. Some thought maybe he was Elijah, or the prophet, or even the Messiah. Then they ran out of questions and ran out of categories. He didn't fit into any of the neat boxes they had set up for how God worked.

I imagine it was a bit scary for John the Baptist, too. He may have felt the same temptation that Jonah did—to run the other way when God's spirit first led him into the wilderness and then back to the banks of the Jordan to preach and baptize. According to Luke's gospel, John was the son of one of the Temple priests—a hereditary position. His own parents were no doubt confused when their only child gave up his rank and privilege to follow the path he did. Not only had he seemingly thrown away his own life, but he was not able to be their financial security in their old age. There would have been considerable pressure on John to go along and act the same as his neighbors and peers. But the Spirit led the way and John followed.

And it is scary for us, if we believe that the Holy Spirit didn't take early retirement after the last New Testament book was written. When we take seriously the baptismal and eucharistic prayers which ask God to send his spirit upon us, so that we are empowered to continue Isaiah's mission of bringing good news to the poor and oppressed, of binding up the brokenhearted, of proclaiming liberty and release to captives and prisoners---when we do that, we know that our part in that mission will take more than a check and an hour on Sunday morning. Like John the Baptist, we may not fit into the neat little boxes our society has prepared for us. We may feel like voices crying in a wilderness and think that no one is listening. Yesterday was the 49^th pilgrimage from Nazareth, PA to Bethlehem as a Christian witness to peace and non-violence. Two weeks ago the 100 foot Peace Candle was lit in Easton's Center Square for the 58^th time. Yet wars continue as nation still lifts sword against nation. I will never forget a priest I know who was told he was doing his daughter a great wrong by not allowing her to further her gymnastics training in with a Sunday morning class. It was hard to believe the class was being offered at the YMCA.

More powerful than all those fears are the blessings of the Holy Spirit. Good news is first received

before it is proclaimed. Our brokenness is carefully bandaged by that spirit, so that we might share

with others the forgiveness we have known and the love we have received. Our tears are dried and our

hopes renewed so we others can lean on us as the spirit's power flows through us for their support.

We ourselves have heard that this is the year of the Lord's favor, we have seen evidence that this is so,

and we can let others know that it is not fairy tale, but fact—God's spirit is at work, renewing the earth.

We have received the Holy Spirit in baptism. We have been anointed, chosen, and empowered to be

God's ambassadors for his kingdom. We are never alone in that work, for the Spirit is always with us.

Let us remember that the spirit's purpose is not to expose our faults or bring us down, but rather, to lift

us up, to provide strength and vision and reassurance. In the coming weeks we will hear angels tell

Mary and later the shepherds not to be afraid. Let us cast aside our fear and welcome God's spirit.

Let us follow willingly as the spirit leads us. Like John we are called to be witnesses who testify to the

light. By our words AND by our actions, let us show others that light, so that all God's children might

see and believe his love for them. Amen.