SCRIPTURE: John15:26-27, 16:4b-15
TEXT: 8And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: THEME: INTRODUCTION The Maui News reported that there will be no County Fair this year for a second time, because of COVID-19. They showed a picture of a smiling boy on an E.K. Fernandez ride, taken a couple of years ago. There is sense of grief, loss and relief. Feeling this way is normal as we hang on to the past, grieve what we have lost, and move into something new. COVID-19 has accelerated changes in the life of the church. We were dragging our feet with our WEB page and we just started with Facebook sermons when the Pandemic hit. Then we began using the WEB page more and Facebook Live to share our entire worship service. Jesus has told his disciples about his departure, but they have dragged their feet to this reality. Employing a local tactic, “bum by go away”. Maybe if they just ignored the possibility of Jesus leaving, he might not go and they would have him forever. Jesus sees through their guise and gives them ‘The Talk’ to accelerate their preparation for his leaving and the coming of the Spirit. SCRIPTURE Taking Jesus away from us, what is God thinking? God as Creator seems to reside in heaven. This facet of God can seem distant, unavailable, and detached from us. God in Jesus is a breath of fresh air. Dwelling among us, teaching, healing, casting out demons, ministering to the marginalized and forgiving sin. God incarnate is present, although limited, being only at one place at a time. The incarnation as a way for God to reveal God’s self to us is genius, but can you imagine an old Jesus? Fully divine and fully senior citizen? Loss of muscle mass, arthritis, maybe even with cancer or dementia. And certainly not a never aging Jesus like Dorian Grey. That would be creepy. So, Jesus talks to the disciples and tells them that he must go, so the Advocate can come, God version 3.1.2.3 Spirit. The Advocate will enable them to testify to Jesus, prove the world wrong about sin, righteousness and judgment, and guide them into the truth, just as Jesus has done, The Spirit will glorify Jesus as the spirit will take what is Jesus’ and declare it to the disciples. Follow this chain; all that the Creator has is Jesus’, The Spirit takes what Jesus has and declares it to the disciples, then this is what we receive from the Disciples. This passage is a transitional piece as the disciples grieve Jesus’ departure. There is disbelief, sorrow, loss and a deep sense of anticipatory anxiety, couple with words of promise, truth and an accelerated movement into something new. If anything, this ‘talk’ is a heads up to something they are unable to control, so don’t be surprised when it happens, keep up with the changes. From Creator God, to God Incarnate. From Jesus to the Advocate God, or Spirit. God is invisible and present in another way, not confined to a human body, but being able to be with everyone, and everywhere all of the same time. The Spirit guides us in the way of Jesus to participate in God’s activities. APPLICATION How do we transition from God incarnate in Jesus, our buddy, Savior and friend, to the Advocate, God the Spirit? This reminds me of the two ways to remove a band aid. You can slowly work at the edges and gently lift it off, making it hurt a little at a time for a long time. Or you can just rip it off, all at once and make it hurt like anything for a little while. Jesus has been trying the gentle approach without success, so now he is ripping the band aid off. There is sorrow at Jesus’ leaving but something new is coming with the Advocate. The Advocate will move us away from the Sin sacrifice cycle, and confirm in us that sin is not a deal breaker in our relationship with God. The Holy Spirit is a gift of grace just as Righteousness is. Try as we might, we cannot earn the Holy Spirit or achieve righteousness with God by what we do. It is a result of God loving us. And although our actions have consequences, and our actions can be judged as good or bad, right or wrong, God does not condemn us, but offers forgiveness, so that we can be forgiven and engage in the work of reconciliation. The Spirit’s work in us is liberating, empowering and reconciling. As Jesus revealed the love of God among us, so now, with the Spirit’s help, the gathered church can make God visible to our neighborhood. The actions of the church are an incarnation of God. The Wailuku Mission Housing is a Brick-and-Mortar incarnation of the love of God to our neighbors. It is a physical expression of; our faith in God, of our following in God’s way, and of what it means to be stewards of God’s gifts, property, resources, people, time and as an example to other churches of what could be possible for them if that take what they believe about God and follow the call of the Spirit to action. The work of the Spirit in us makes God visible to the world. CONCLUSION Sometimes, for us to expand our imaginations of God, we have to give God three personas; Parent/Creator, Incarnate child/Jesus, and Spirit/Advocate. They all display different facets of the same God. They are all one and the same, active and present all at the same time, just as how we could be understood in three different ways as Child, Parent and spouse, they all reveal three realities and perspectives about who we are, different, present, but true all at the same time. Jesus leaves, but not really, this is God expanding our minds to launch us to be the church, God incarnate, in the life, actions and work of the church. More than just a building, but organic, risking our sanctuary to be the body of Christ to our neighbors. That says a lot about the love of God that is real. Last year when they canceled the County Fair, we applied and were awarded a PPP Loan that miraculously covered the loss of income from the fair. This year before the Fair was canceled, we applied and was awarded another PPP loan. Thank you, Jaime, for your hard work on this. We also receive word from the bank that our first PPP Loan has been forgiven. Thank you to Jaime again for following this up. This is one ‘Bum Bye Go Away’ tactic that actually worked. But with All that God is doing for us, and through us, through Jesus and the Spirit, as we come back, gathering for worship and on Facebook, having the choir sing again, we grieve what we have lost, as we move into the something new God is doing, as we transition to the something, new the Spirit continues to propel us towards.
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