23 May 2010

Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:24-34
Romans 8:14-17
John 14:8-17, 25-27

Thursday evenings for the last three weeks I’ve been teaching Catechism. And as is the case whenever I lead any sort of educational group, I end up receiving as much as – or even more than – I ever give. So, a week and a half ago, one of the people in the Catechism class was reflecting on one of the crazy-making mixed messages the church sometimes seems to give. On the one hand, this person observed, we hear a whole lot about how very much Jesus loves us. On the other hand, however, we hear about a God who is a jealous god, punishing our wrong-doings for generation after generation. Indeed. Is that how God is? On the one hand infinitely loving? And on the other hand, angry as hell and just waiting for us to slip up so we can get smacked around? Or is there a sort of good-cop, bad-cop thing going on here? You know, Jesus, the Son, is the good cop, God the Father, is the bad cop.

“So Jesus, won’t you clear it up for us?” we hear Philip ask in our Gospel reading. “Show us who and what this ‘God the Father’ is all about.” Too bad John isn’t a bit more descriptive in his story-telling – can’t you just see Jesus wanting to bang his head on the table? “Oy, oy, oy. Philip – you nudnik. What is this narishkayt? I’ve been with you how long and you still don’t get it?” And so Jesus draws a deep, deep breath and says once more what he’s been saying all along: I and the Father are one. The Father is in me and I am in the Father. You see me, you see the Father. You hear me, you hear the Father.

Of course, Philip, along with rest of Jesus’ companions, isn’t real sure who Jesus is either – even though they’ve heard from the beginning that Jesus isn’t into the condemnation game but is all about love and especially for those most hard to love. And if Jesus isn’t into the condemnation game and is all about love – well then, that’s what the One whom Jesus calls “Father” is all about as well. And that is nothing short of being a mind blower – the religious culture surrounding Jesus, Philip, and all the rest really don’t, can’t, won’t conceive of God as being like a loving and present parent – their image of God as father is more like a creator god of colorless, remote cosmic control. Jesus, however, talks about his heavenly father as a God of steadfast love and compassion. Jesus is among the people revealing the loving heart of this God, this heavenly Papa, this heavenly Mama whose heart aches and breaks with love overflowing and for all. Which of course is exactly what’s giving the religious leaders such heartburn. If God is loving and isn’t into everyone buying sacrifices to keep a cranky-pants, blood-lust god off their backs – why, then, the sacrifice industry run by the Temple would go out of business. Can’t have a loving god . . . how we gonna keep the people cowering and subservient, laden with guilt and shame? No sirree-bob, we’re gonna have to kill off this notion of a loving god right away before it spreads out of control and we have no way to keep the people sniveling and afraid.

Yes, Jesus says in his farewell discourse, he will be killed off. And, as Jesus tells Philip and the rest, the disciples will see Jesus no longer – but he will still be with them – his words and his deeds will be carried on with breath made holy in re-presenting the Jesus who reveals a God of unified purpose – that is to say – love for the unlovely and unlovable. Spirit Breath fuels holy stories told over and over of the Love God unconceived by reason – of the God whose sort of love is to do good things for those who are enemies of just such a god. And faith, trust in that God who is Son and Father, yoked together in Jesus – that faith, that trust will come from hearing the story spoken and sung, the story breathed, the story, spirited holy, of the God who in Christ relates to humanity in love – as a brother and a parent whose familial love will not be deterred by anything anyone can do or say. The story will be told, advocating not for a god who sits on a throne of gold, but for the God who hangs from a cross of wood, from there on that throne forgiving the act most heinous, refusing to take the bait and react in anger.

Holy breath, holy advice – on Pentecost love-drunk disciples tell the story of the loving God in such a way that reveals no one nation nor one people will possess God as their own national treasure – there will be no more stories of a God that leads one nation into war against another nation. On Pentecost, Holy Breath uncontrollable by potentates or power or politics speaks: forget about English-or-any-other-language only, the Story of love is going to be told because Jesus promised that on the night before he was handed over to death -- Jesus the one of love, who is one with the father/mother/parent of love, One with the Breath that in a beginning declared, Let there be light. And there was light, and the light was good, and the darkness has not overcome the light.

So, to those who have been participating in catechism and to all of you within the sound of my voice and its mediations – Yes, Jesus loves you – and Jesus is the fullness of that thoroughly odd God who relates to us as an unconditionally loving parent – with a love that wills to do good things for all, from every nation, of every age, of every gender identity, of every sexual orientation, of every culture and ethnicity, of every socio-economic and marital status. Father and Son are the love that wills only to do good things even for those who are at odds with that God. And anyone who breathes a word to the contrary – well, their breathed story is not holy and may be safely ignored. There is One God, One Spirit, One Lord, One Story: God is love ,and nobody nor no thing can make that love go away. It’s yours – now and beyond all time. And you better get used to it – because God has promised in baptism that you’re going be just like Christ someday. Actually, in God’s way of things happening – that’s who you already are.