The Power of the Spirit - A Sermon on Acts 1

There’s a new show on television called The Voice. It’s a bit like American Idol—a televised singing competition with famous judges. Recently on the show, one woman was given the advice to tone things down. “You sing too big,” said one judge. “You need to keep things simpler.”

“That’s hard for me!” she said. “In my church back home singing is all about giving people the Holy Ghost!”

The judges laughed, because what she said seemed  kind of kooky. And often that’s how we think about the Holy Spirit, or the Holy Ghost as he is called in some denominations. He’s weird. He makes us uncomfortable. We worry too much about all of that “speaking in tongues,” Pentecosty stuff and write the Holy Spirit off as someone unsafe and confusing. We Presbyterians like our order, and Scripture is clear that the Holy Spirit is a being who “goes where he wills,” much like the wind. Many of us don’t really want any part of that!

The Holy Spirit is arguably the most misunderstood person of the Trinity. We know all about God the Father, right? We know what a father is, and those among us who have had a bad father, still know what a good father is supposed to be like. We understand Jesus, the Son. He was a human, like we are. He was God, too, but he had arms and legs and probably a beard, and he walked and ate and stubbed his toes and felt hungry and thirsty just like we do.

But what about the Holy Spirit? What do we do with him? What IS the Holy Spirit?

This is not a new question. The early church spent a good bit of time trying to discern how to even talk about the Holy Spirit. In the Apostle’s Creed, one of the earliest faith statements written in the church, the Creed we say together before baptisms, there is a lot said about the Father and the Son. “I believe in the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and earth.” Then, “I believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; he descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead…” And so on.

But for the Holy Spirit, we have one line: “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” That’s it. Our dilemma is not a new one.

So who or what is the Holy Spirit? In the book of Acts, chapter 1, the apostle Luke, the book’s author, describes to us who this mysterious Holy Spirit is.

Luke writes of the very end of Jesus’ time on earth. He died, he rose again, and now he is spending time with his disciples before he ascends to his father. His disciples are still concerned with what will happen to the earthly kingdoms they know. What will happen to Jerusalem and to the Jewish people who are being oppressed by the Roman Empire? So they ask: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

There is hope in this question. “Okay, so we put up with all of your teaching about peace and holiness. We mourned after you died, and then you conquered death and came back to life! So now… can you please do something about these nasty Romans? We don’t like them very much, and we would like to be in charge, here!”

This was what the disciples had hoped the Messiah would do. They are still thinking very much about the here-and-now, about their daily struggles. After all this time they have not yet embraced Jesus’ long-range vision or understood that God’s kingdom is not about palaces, servants, or political power.

Jesus responds to them, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority.” Again, Jesus redirects a question with wisdom and compassion. Instead of answering the question, he reframes it. They aren’t asking the right question. The kingdom of God is not about kings and rulers and political might—it’s about following after Jesus in obedience.

Then Jesus says something really interesting. “You will receive power,” he says.

The disciples perk up at this. This is what they’ve wanted! Power! Power to overthrow the government! Power to create lives of safety for their families and their faith! Power to rule their country! But then Jesus continues: “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Come again?

The disciples were hoping for a political overthrow, and they were met instead with Jesus offering the power of the Holy Spirit. This was a different kind of power. Not what they had expected. Not what they had asked for.

This is how God works, isn’t it? We don’t ask for the right things, because we don’t know what to ask for, so God, because he loves us, helps us to reframe the question. We ask for only sunny days, but he knows that sometimes we need rain so that the crops will grow. We ask for instant gratification, and God teaches us patience as we wait for his timing. This is how Jesus is with his disciples here: he helps them reframe the entire question.

The disciples understood power only in terms of earthly kings and kingdoms. Jesus helps them to reframe their idea of power. Not power over others, but power on behalf of others. The power of the Holy Spirit isn’t a power that oppresses, it’s a power that enables us to spread the loving Gospel of Jesus Christ to the world, despite ourselves.

So who is this Holy Spirit, who offers us such power? The Holy Spirit is God. He’s the third member of the Trinity, equal with the Father and the Son. The Bible refers to the Holy Spirit as our comforter, encourager, exhorter, and guide. Unlike Jesus, the Holy Spirit has no body—he is often described in Scripture as a mighty wind—a spirit that blows where God wills.

One of the dangers in talking about the Holy Spirit is in equating the Holy Spirit with our own spirits—whatever we think or believe or want or desire. That simply isn’t true. The Holy Spirit is God. He is with us and works through us, but he is not us. He is God, separate and apart from us. And this is a good thing.

Author Anne Lamott once said that she is sure she’s recreated God in her own image when God hates all the same people she does. It’s good God is separate from us, isn’t it? Or we’d all be in a lot of trouble.

The Holy Spirit calls to us—inviting us to follow Jesus in repentance, faith and obedience. Sometimes he brings things to mind for us—people who need our love and help. Sometimes he convicts us of sins in our lives. Sometimes he calls us forth to greater faith.

This morning, in the book of Acts, Jesus promises us that the Holy Spirit will bring us power. What does it mean that Christians have the power of the Holy Spirit?

It means that we have power over the world. God’s power is incredible, but it does not look like the world’s power. The Holy Spirit never gives us a tank or a rocket launcher or a political platform. There’s a scene in the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” where the warriors get out the “holy hand grenade.” They believe they are on a quest from God, and this is one of their tools. It’s a comedy, so you’re supposed to laugh, because the fact is that a “holy hand grenade” is totally absurd. The power of God is not like that. The greatest power of God is the power of love—a power of self-sacrifice. Jesus didn’t come in a tank. He died on a cross.

The power of the Holy Spirit is power greater than we can imagine. It can transform our hearts and lives. It can give us victory over sin, and encourage us when we are exhausted and heartbroken. The apostle Paul, in the book of Philippians, writes of the “peace that passes all understanding” – peace so deep and profound that our modern world cannot understand it. This is the power of the Holy Spirit.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.