“Hope in the Spirit”

Scripture: Romans 8:22-27

Today is Pentecost – the day we celebrate the revealing of the Holy Spirit, and from him, the blossoming of the Church. And yes, there is no coincidence that these two milestones occurred on the same day. The previous paragraph from scripture tells us that all of creation has been “frustrated” as it waits for the children of God – who are the Church - to be revealed. You may be wondering why “creation” would even care. It’s because everything in all the earth is subject to aging and decay, but when the full number of God’s children have come to the way of Jesus, the Age will change – decay will end, death will be no more, and sorrow and fear and pain will become burdens of the past, and will be no more.

Pentecost should be a day that is just as important to the Church as Christmas and Easter are. Christmas was the day when the torch of ministry was passed from the Father to the Son. Easter was the day when the Son’s ministry had been fulfilled, and all was in place for the unfulfilled creation to begin growing toward its own completion. And Pentecost is the day when the mantle of ministry is passed one more time – from Jesus to the Church, and when the Church itself was revealed as worthy of God’s favor, as trusted to continue to proclaim the salvation of Jesus Christ to all who were still on course toward death and destruction.

Pentecost is the day when God’s plan for liberation and freedom took a huge step forward.

Read Romans 8:22-25

Creation, Paul tells us, is “groaning, as in the pains of childbirth”. And it seems that there is not one aspect of creation that is exempt from that pain and decay – the death that comes on behalf of sin. And I doubt that anyone can miss the implication of these words regarding birth pains! I remember the night that Diane gave birth to our first child. Christopher was on his way, but he was two months early. We went to the hospital, and the nurses confirmed that she was, indeed, in labor, and the labor became pretty intense. The doctor arrived in a while, and his examination revealed that Chris was a double footling – he obviously hadn’t had time to turn yet, and both feet were down. The decision was made to perform a Cesarean Section, and the baby was delivered a short time later. But there would be a lot of pain before the joy of meeting our son could truely fill us. There was the physical pain of labor and recovery from the surgery (mostly Diane’s!), there was the emotional pain in knowing that his expected birthday was still 8 weeks away, and even though we didn’t know it yet, there would be the heart-felt pain a few years later when our child was diagnosed with learning disabilities. But in spite of it all, the joy of discovering who this young man was and would become, buried the angst of that birth night.

All of creation is experiencing some kind of pain right now. And just as Chris wasn’t changed in that moment of birth, he had been growing and changing during the previous 7 months, and would continue to grow, in many ways, during the next 43 years. But creation’s labor isn’t over – there is still more time, and more pain, yet to come.

But we also know that birth has little to do with the one who is born. After all, who receives the congratulations and kudos? Mom and Dad, of course! And in creation’s case, it isn’t creation that should be glorified at the impending new birth - it is all about the Lord and his glory! But verses 15-17 tells us that we are already children and heirs of God, through the witness of the Holy Spirit. So what is this new thought - that we are about to become “adopted children”, and the redeemed of God? If we are already God’s children, why must we be adopted, too?

In the completion of our new birth – that which comes at Christ’s return – we will be changed and will finally become whole. In human birth, the change that occurs is a form of transition, from one who is totally dependent on another for life, to one who grows to become their own unique person. But in Christian rebirth – that which comes when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our life, as well as that which will come on the Day of Christ’s return – will be more of a transfiguration through the completion of our redemption. It will be in that moment that our “adoption”, our heritage, will be finalized.

And Paul speaks of the hope that we have while we wait for that glorious moment. This is the hope that initially brought us to the way of Christ, and is the hope – the promise – that the fullness of salvation in Jesus is a certainty, even though we have yet to know its fullness. But waiting patiently for that “fullness”? I don’t know about you, but patiently waiting for Jesus is not my strong suit! I would be thrilled if I could meet him right this moment!
So maybe Paul had a different thought at play when he wrote that we “wait for [the day] patiently”. Verse 19 tells us that creation is waiting in “eager expectation” for the revealing of God’s children, and that is probably much closer to the truth of this time. We tend to think of patience as an attribute reflecting a quiet, unconcerned, peaceful, controlled demeanor. But the word also signifies endurance and serenity, stamina and perseverance. And maybe that is what Paul had in mind – that we should wait in “expectant and confident endurance”.

Even while there is pain in this life - by faith in Jesus Christ, and by giving ourselves over to his grace and mercy - the Spirit will show us, and enable us, to eagerly wait for his return, and to remain perseverant in faith.

Read Romans 8:26-27

The groaning of the Church, even while the whole of creation is also embroiled in that same groaning, weathers the struggle and is encouraged to stay the course through the groaning of the Holy Spirit. God knows our pain, and his Spirit’s purpose is to help us through this time. He understands our situation in both times of joy and in times of pain, he comforts us in our struggle, he reminds us of Jesus’ teaching when we doubt, he speaks Christ’s truth through us for the benefit of others, and he enables us to serve in Godly ways. The Spirit teaches us how to pray in power, he strengthens us in our days of weakness, he grants us the authority and ability to continue in the ministry that Jesus began, and he teaches us, and leads us, in those ways.

But when Spirit arrived in our lives on Pentecost, it wasn’t in a lack of understanding of our situation or of our needs. Christ understood, and therefore the Spirit does, too. And when we are faithful in the truth of Christ, we will understand the call that comes to us from the Spirit. Jesus tells us that the Spirit can never reveal or teach anything that he does not stand for (John 16:13-15), and this is the great hope that comes to us on Pentecost.

Pentecost is the time. He brought us gifts to use in carrying on the ministry and name of Jesus Christ, and his coming is the reason that the Lord Jesus tells us that we will do even greater things than he did. (John 14:12-14) But that promise will be forfeited if we refuse to follow Jesus’ Way and the Spirit’s leading. (Matthew 12:30-32) The Hope of Pentecost brought great gifts that we can only begin to understand and appreciate on our own (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11; Ephesians 4:11-16), but each gift that is given to us will be revealed in its time; is intended to only bring glorify to the Lord; and is a blessing to us, in order to bring blessings to the unbelieving world. This isn’t ours to keep, it isn’t ours to brag about, it isn’t ours to use to our own benefit and honor. It is all about the Lord.

Are each of us ready to follow the Spirit’s leading in God’s way - to seek the Lord’s will and to reject that which comes at us from the world, to let the Spirit work within our lives, to rejoice at the Spirit’s movement to make us far more than we could ever be on our own, to truly be Christ’s emissary, his representative, to the people of earth, to be the word of hope to the lost, to live in and bear proudly the Light of Christ in this dark and foreboding world?

Pentecost calls us to say “Yes” to the Holy Spirit, just as the 3,000 did on that first Pentecost day 2,000 years ago. (Acts 2:1-41) Will you say “Yes” to the Spirit’s call today?