Creekside Church Sermon of June 10, 2001 "The Spirit Named 'Holy'" John 16:12-15	Rev. David Bibbee
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Pope John Paul II made a papal visit to New York City. As his motorcade made its way down Madison Avenue and John Paul waved to the throngs which lined the street, he thought about something he had wanted to do… drive a car in New York City. He abruptly ordered the driver to turn onto a side street and speed away from the motorcade. He figured the best way not to be noticed was to drive a taxicab. He got out of the Pope Mobile and hailed a taxi. You can imagine the look on the shocked cabby's face. He explained his wish and wondered if the cabby would be so kind as to sit in the back seat so he could drive. They switched places, and off they went. John Paul was having a ball, but in the excitement he wasn't watching his speed and in the rear view mirror he saw the flashing lights of a police car.

As the driver's window came down the officer said, "Driver's license and registration, please." An accented voice replied, "I don't have either." "Oh really," the officer said as he leaned over to eyeball the driver. He then did a double take and said, "I'll be right back." He radioed his precinct and asked his captain for a clarification of the rules regarding the apprehension of prominent public figures. "Who did you nab for speeding, the mayor?" the captain asked. "No chief, it's not the mayor. He's bigger." "Is it Governor Pataki?" "No, chief. It's not the governor, either. He's bigger." "I know you don't have the president, he's not in town." "He's bigger than the president, sir." "What? Who are you trying to arrest?" "I'm not really sure, sir, but he's got to be someone really big…the Pope is his chauffer!"

We are going to think about someone big today… not a president, nor a pope, but a person… or more accurately the person named "Trinity". In the logic of the church year at Christmas we remember Jesus' birth. At Easter we remember his resurrection. Last Sunday, the day of Pentecost we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit which empowered the disciples to become more than they were. Today is Trinity Sunday, a time to remember the definitive doctrine of the Christian faith… the declaration that there is one God who has made a committee of himself. God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, each distinct and independent yet interdependent. God in three persons blessed Trinity.

It's a thick, involved, mysterious doctrine about which volumes have been written and not easily understood. We talk comfortably about God as our creator and sustainer. We speak with ease about Jesus as our savior and example. We speak in intimate ways about the Father and Son, but we are not familiar nor necessarily comfortable with the Holy Spirit. As Kathleen Norris has said, "Talking about the Trinity in theological terms can quickly lead to realms of ether." I am not looking to add great insights to the theological discussion of this involved doctrine, but it is important that we situate ourselves in the light it sheds upon our lives.

But first, I'm curious about something. Let me see a show of hands of those who consider themselves "religious". Now, how many of you say you are "spiritual" people? When asked, many today say they are spiritual. Being spiritual has become popular. Since Shirley McLain described her other-worldly experiences in her book, Out on a Limb, lots of folks are getting in touch with their "spiritual side". Being religious implies you belong to organized religion and adhere to centuries old beliefs. Religious peoples lives are ordered by external standards and a clear-cut definitions of right and wrong.

But being spiritual is so… open ended. We have erased what we have been told about how life works and are getting in touch with the infinite, unseen realm beyond. Why is it now so popular to be spiritual? For one thing, people are waking to the fact that no matter how often they eat their fill at the world's buffet, they remain hungry. People are starting to look for satisfaction beyond the big house and hefty salary. Twig's mom turns 80 later this month. During a reflective mood she said, half to me and half to herself, "When I think back to when I was young and think about all the changes I have seen since then, I can hardly believe it." Word has it that change is not going to let up any time soon. The uneasiness and overload which constant change creates, drives us to seek solace elsewhere. Add to this the fact that the world has become a much smaller place… we are encountering different cultures and religions and different ways of looking at the world. The old ways of thinking are breaking down and people want to stake out a stable place to stand and know there are things to be counted upon that do not change.

What a unique time to be the church. People are looking for something that can't be found through spiritual trends. More and more people have a receptivity to things spiritual. But there are important distinctions to be made about the remedies being offered. The deep need is for spiritual substance, but what is so often peddled is spiritual fluff. Saint Paul spoke of the need to discern the spirit. There are spirits of confusion, suspicion, deception, and division. Not every spirit is the Holy Spirit.

Look closely at contemporary spirituality and you can see much of it is shallow and vague. It's spoken of in terms of serenity, peace, and love. It's something good to tap into as the need arises. And it's often the case that the source of these spiritual experiences bears a striking resemblance to God as we "want him to be", not as God is. The spirit spoken of in today's circles is strikingly like the one that W.H. Auden described in this tongue-in-cheek prayer:

Oh God, put away justice and truth for we cannot understand them and do not want them. Eternity would bore us dreadfully. Leave thy heavens and come down to our earth of water clocks and hedges. Become our uncle. Look after baby. Amuse grandfather. Escort Madam to the opera, help Willie with his homework, introduce Muriel to a handsome Naval officer. Be interesting and weak like us, and we will love you as we love ourselves.

Christianity is a "revealed" religion. It is not something we dreamed up. The third person of the Trinity which exists before and beyond time; this Holy Spirit does not solely come for our benefit, but to do God's will. The disciples called Jesus teacher more than any other name. No wonder... He had much to teach them. There just wasn't enough time for Jesus to say all that needed said, nor could they have understood. As Jesus' death drew near, he promised the disciples he would send someone to visit… the spirit of truth… the Holy Spirit.

This venture which began with Jesus was too important to be put into the disciples' hands without ongoing guidance. They wouldn't have to draw up plans for themselves. The instruction would be given to them. The Holy Spirit sends us out in the service of the three-in-one. Spiritual experiences are not given so we can feel at one with the universe. Jesus told the disciples they would receive something when visited by the Holy Spirit. Power. In John 1: 12 it says, "But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become the children of God who were born not of blood nor the will of man, but of God." Why is the Holy Spirit accompanied with power? To do God's bidding.

I know people who have had things happen to them which cannot be explained by coincidence, or other plausible explanation. Things happen that are outside our typical categories of thinking, and originate from a source beyond us. Some of us have kept these encounters to ourselves, unsure of what to make of them, or concerned of what others may think.

Several years ago I was seeking spiritual counsel and was told to see a priest at Notre Dame named Gene Lauer. It was summer and because of vacations and conferences, it was an easy excuse not to call. Meanwhile the need did not go away. One Saturday night I dreamed I was at a Catholic mass. I didn't know who was officiating, so I asked a woman next to me who said, "Don't you know? That's Father Gene Lauer." Sunday happened to be a vacation day, so I decided that since I had dreamed about a mass, I should go to one. I drove down Johnson road to St. Jude's and as a courtesy I looked for Father Hank to say I would like to receive communion. He was in a back room putting on his vestments. I asked the question and he said, "No need to ask. Of course you can have the Eucharist." Just then a man entered the room and Hank said, "David, I would like you to meet my friend who's preaching today… Father Gene Lauer." "I think we are supposed to meet," I said.

I once dreamed that a church member was hospitalized at the St. Joe Med Center. It was an unexpected place for him to be since he had not been ill for many years. The next morning as I walked out the door for the church the phone rang. It was Mary-Howard's wife. She was at Memorial Hospital where Howard was about to have emergency surgery. After he had returned from recovery I told him about the dream and said, "There's just one problem. You are in the wrong hospital!"

You have had experiences as well. Maybe not the same sort, but visitations with a purpose of telling you something for your own good, or someone else's. The truth is not something which we concoct. It is something that is given to us… revealed to us. Neither you nor I were created spiritual know it alls. Our knowledge of spiritual things requires instruction from a qualified teacher. And that teacher is the Spirit… not some vague spirit of creativity or whatever spirit is in the top 10 at the moment.

Knowing what we need to know comes from the spirit named Holy. The Trinity has depth and dimension we cannot comprehend, but as Christians, we believe we can learn from it, be helped and guided by it, and yes, changed by it, perhaps in ways we would never choose for ourselves had we not prayed, "Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me." "I have many things yet to tell you," Jesus told the disciples. There remains much for him to teach us. And that is why the Holy Spirit of truth still comes to us.

I heard about a brilliant philosophy professor who studied in the great universities of Europe and America with the finest minds in the world. His mind was full of systems and postulates and ideas. He was an agnostic who couldn't commit to any fixed and final system of thought because it might hamper his exploration of other systems. But he had an experience which he related to all of his students. When his daughter was two years old she was admitted to the hospital with an extreme fever. He stayed all night with her while his wife went home to sleep. As he sat by the bed he was overcome with helplessness. His mind raced from one idea to another. Worry and grief were about to consume him when the words of a hymn he learned as a boy came to the surface of his consciousness. "Oh Jesus I have promised to serve thee till the end."

He kept singing the words in his head, and then out loud. Next he fell to his knees in prayer. "I did promise you, but I have gone far away, letting all my learning turn my head. I searched for truth with a small t and forgot the Truth with a capital "T". He recommitted himself to Christ and left his little girl to God's care. Her fever broke and two days later she went home. He tells his students, "Even if she had died, I believe my commitment would have held fast. I learned that night that there isn't any truth apart from him."

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