Who Speaks for You?
John 15:26-27, 16:4-15
“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Gazing out into the congregation I thought I might see a sea of RED, but I’m only seeing a ripple today. As you know today is The Day of Pentecost. Pentecost falls on the fiftieth day after Christ’s resurrection. The Jewish festival of Pentecost is also called Shavu’ot, or “weeks,” because it follows Passover by seven complete weeks. Right before Jesus’ ascension, he says to his disciples, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus tells them that they will be sent out to speak for Him! After his ascension, Scripture says, on the Jewish Festival of Pentecost—a sound like the howling of a fierce wind and something like individual flames of fire alight on each one of the disciples. They are “filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in other languages as the Spirit enables them to speak.” In fulfillment of Christ’s promise, the disciples receive power from the Holy Spirit to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ. We view this empowerment as the birth of the church. So, on that first Pentecost, the disciples, by the power of the Holy Spirit speak for God to proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Judaean and Galilean Jews.
Today is also the day that five of our confirmands will affirm their baptisms. So, although the sermon is for everyone listening, it will be focused toward our young adults here today. With that said, our last confirmation class was particularly profound. I asked the confirmands if they had any questions of faith that they wanted to ask me. One of the questions was, “If someone loses their faith, how do they get it back?” I’d like to address that question again because I’ve had more time to think about it and it relates to the focus of this sermon: who speaks for you? So now I want to especially focus my attention on our young people.
Let’s begin with baptism. When each of you were baptized, who spoke for you? Chances are it was your parents, because you were too young to speak for yourself. Certainly that was true for me, because I was baptized when I was only one day old. Maybe it was only the pastor who spoke for me, but my parents asked the pastor to baptize me in case I didn’t survive the surgical procedure I was about to have.
When you were baptized, there is a good chance that the pastor began with these words, “In Holy Baptism our gracious heavenly Father liberates us from sin and death by joining us to the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In other words, when you were baptized, God joined you to Jesus Christ. Jesus took ahold of you and never ever will let you go. You may wander away from your faith. You may seem to lose your faith, when devastating things happen; or, when you are influenced by others; or, when other things in your lives become a priority such as, pursuing higher education; finding a job; seeking a career; falling in love; starting a family; and so on and you don’t make time to attend to matters of faith. But, I want you to know, that although the tether God has you on can stretch a long way, God will always have ahold of you. When you were baptized your loving creator joined you to Jesus and his love for you. And because you are joined to Jesus’ death and resurrection, you are an inheritor of eternal life.
Then the pastor went on to say, “In the waters of Baptism we are reborn children of God and by water and the Holy Spirit we are made members of the Church which is the body of Christ.” You were made members of the Church…the body of Christ. Each one of you have gifts to share and together these many gifts make up Christ’s body in the world. The reason you are being confirmed today is because on Pentecost the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and they were sent out to share their gifts and to speak for Jesus in a world that was in need of God’s loving care. All of you are to share Jesus’ love throughout your lives.
Finally, the pastor said, “As we live with Christ and his people we grow in faith, love, and obedience to the will of God.” This means that your confirmation is not graduation from the Church. It means you are to continue to be the Church…to continue to learn more about your faith…to learn more about God…to contribute to the work of the Church in whatever way you are able. In addition, the fellowship of the Church is here to support you. Then your sponsors/Godparents and your parents spoke for you and presented you to be baptized.
Getting back to your question: “If someone loses their faith, how do they get it back?” I believe we always have our faith, but it indeed can go dormant. We can deny it, or ignore it. We can become angry with God when devastating things happen. But, the Holy Spirit uses many means and many voices to speak to us in order to bring us back to God. Faith can be reignited through prayer and spiritual readings. The people God puts in your path can rekindle your faith. An inspiring movie, TV show or story could spark your faith. A good faithful friend who listens to you might nourish your faith. The miracle of childbirth and the cries of your child, who you so love, can enlighten your faith and draw you closer to God. The death of someone close to you may cause you to think about your mortality and your relationship with God. Who Speaks for You? Many people speak for you: parents, grandparents, God parents, aunts, uncles, friends, teachers, and so on.
In our lessons today, different voices speak at different times for various people at multiple times and places. Take the psalm, for instance. It tells us that in wisdom God created all that exists and provides for all that exists in His creation. God sends forth his Spirit—the breath of life—and all creatures come into being. And then the psalmist in gratitude for all God has done, opens his mouth and speaks through singing, rejoicing, and praising God. Thank goodness we will soon have the opportunity to sing, rejoice and praise God in our worship services again. In the Gospel lesson Jesus assures his disciples in his good-bye talk that he will be leaving them, but that they will not be alone. They will have each other and the presence of God through the Holy Spirit. He will send to them the Advocate—the Holy Spirit who will speak the Spirit of Truth to them and through them. They in turn will be sent out to speak for Jesus. In Acts our first lesson the disciples are filled with the Holy Spirit and they speak for God, as they are able, to the Jews in Jerusalem. Peter speaks words of the prophet Joel. And finally, Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit speaks for us when we can’t speak for ourselves. It could be at times we are so distraught that we can’t feel God’s presence. It could be at times when we think we have lost our faith, or when we doubt God exists.
What about us? What about you? What I hope you remember should you have a crisis of faith, are some of the things you wrote in your Statements of Faith: “I believe God is with me and has always been with me. God guides me and helps me to share and pass on His message. God gives me what I need to be successful. God shines through me when I help others. God helps us all because he cares and loves us. God has helped me through things I never thought I would recover from. I have learned that there was always something that kept me going. God is not just a word to me, but a leader and good listener. He has helped me through hard times. The church, youth group, Sunday school, and confirmation classes have helped me become more connected to God and myself. God has helped me learn good values…trust, kindness, dedication, loyalty, love, humbleness, and respect.”
Your church through your Sunday school teachers, your youth group leaders, especially Kelli; your pastors and confirmation teacher Anne-Marie and your parents and friends in Christ have all spoken for you and you have testified through your own words for them in your Statements of Faith.
Who speaks for you? Initially others have spoken for you, but in a few moments you will speak for yourself as you profess your faith in the words of the Apostles’ Creed and you will affirm your baptism knowing that the Advocate—the Holy Spirit speaks in you, through you, and for you.
Let us pray, Gracious Father and Lord Jesus, send your Holy Spirit into this place and alight on each and everyone of us, especially on these young people as they affirm their faith in you. May they find comfort in knowing that you are always with them and that the Holy Spirit will continue to walk along side them, teach and guide them, help and assist them through hard times, and intercede for them when they don’t have the words to pray for themselves. Bless them throughout their faith journeys and wrap them in your never ending love. As time goes on may they feel your presence and recognize your activity in their lives. Give them gracious hearts and a desire do your work and will in this troubled world. May they have the courage to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and their love to those they encounter throughout their lives.
In Jesus name we pray, Amen