May 11, 2008
John 20:19-23
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b

Fairway Press
The counterproductive sermon
Day of Pentecost

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New illustrations for 2008

David Kalas
This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday. Accordingly, our first reading is the familiar story of Pentecost from chapter 2 of Acts. And, accompanying it, we have two other passages that bring to light the work of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul discusses the gifts of the Spirit and in John 20, Jesus breathes on his disciples, saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

It would be natural enough, therefore, for us to conclude that we should preach this week about the Holy Spirit.

In so many of our churches, the Holy Spirit is the most unmentioned member of the Trinity. Of course, in other churches, he may be talked about quite a lot, but that is probably more the exception than the rule in church history.

For those church folks who grew up reciting the Apostles' Creed, the poverty of their doctrine of the Holy Spirit is unsurprising, for the creed has almost nothing to say about him. There is a grand opening statement about God the Father, and then a detailed affirmation about God the Son. But God the Spirit? "I believe in the Holy Spirit" endeavors to sum it all up.

The Nicene Creed does a somewhat better job of elucidating just what it is we believe about the Holy Spirit, though it still comes up short in the face of the gaping void for so many Christians in this area. Most of our hymnals and songbooks, too, do a better job of explicitly instructing our people about the Father and the Son than they do about the Spirit.

So it seems not only appropriate but necessary that we should preach this Sunday about the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we will. And if we do, the selected lections will give us plenty of material to consider, to exegete, and to proclaim....
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