Grace, mercy, and peace [are yours] from God the Father and
Christ Jesus our Lord. (1 Tim 1)
Who speaks to you today, from His Gospel heard in His Service, saying:
“Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.”
As we celebrate our Lord’s creation of His church on earth
in sending the Holy Spirit upon His Apostles, we marvel at the rushing wind and
the tongues of fire. For me, the scene recalls Elijah’s standoff with the
priests of Ba’al where He calls on the Lord for victory saying:
“’O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be
known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that
I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that
this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their
hearts back.’ Then the fire of the Lord fell…” (1 Kings 18:36-38).
It was a complete victory for Elijah and for God. The one,
true God had answered prayer and Ba’al and Asherah had remained silent. In
other words, it was God’s Word, spoken though Elijah, that brought the fire and
gained the victory, not the fire itself.
Jump back to Pentecost with the Apostles, and it is the
same. The flash and the fire outshine everything else and the false teachers
mistakenly focus on the fire of life or the fire of love or the fire of the
Apostles in their heart for the people, failing to teach the Gospel.
But the Holy Spirit does not leave us to that sort of
despair, for He Himself is our first clue to unlocking the secrets of
Pentecost. The Spirit’s entrance is key for it is a “sound” like a “wind”.
Continuing through these 22 verses of Acts 2, we find that these “speaking
words” come up constantly.
We see and hear the words “tongue” and “speak”, utterance
and sound, hearing and language, voice and address, give ear and words, and
even prophet, prophesy, and call. This means that the point of Pentecost is not
the fire, primarily, but the speaking, the hearing, and the Word, as St. Peter
tells us in verse 14, “Give ear to my words.”
He does not say “check out these flames bro” or “we got
spirit, yes we do, we got spirit how bout you”.
He commands everyone to listen. Listen to his words that he
is about to speak, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Speaking the Lord’s Word.
Giving a sermon.
Article 5 of our Augsburg Confession states:
“That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ’s sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake.
They condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and works” (AC V).
Jesus has already told us, in the Gospel heard today, “…the
Word that you hear”. The Holy Ghost gives the Word, teaches the Word of Christ.
We have been given the Word, the Gospel and it is to be preached.
Repent. One of the godly marks of His Church on earth is the
preaching and teaching of the Word. Did you think that God only sent a book to
you when you read the first verse of St. John’s Gospel, “In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”?
God is not so lame as to only leave you a simple book that
can be remade, altered, or copied by false prophets. The Word of God is
composed in such a way that it has but one author: God. And, in that Word
written by men who all used the thoughts and words of the Holy Ghost, comes
more power than the Apostles had on Pentecost: that of the free remission of
sins without tongues of fire.
Since, then, the Word of God provides the forgiveness of
sins, it means it is sacramental, that is one of the ways our heavenly Father
works among us, giving us spiritual gifts in physical means. Which in turn
takes us to the real Word of God, Who is Jesus Christ.
Dear Christians, we would not be given such an event as
Pentecost and it not be about Christ. Jesus even tells us in the Gospel, that
the Holy Ghost will only preach and teach about Christ. Our Large Catechism
states that “where Christ is not preached, there is no Holy Ghost who creates,
calls, and gathers the Christian Church, without which no one can come to
Christ the Lord” (LC 3:45).
It must be so, for at the end of the Pentecost Festival,
about 3000 men repented of their sins, were baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ
for the forgiveness of their sins, and did receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
All of this, through St. Peter’s preaching of the Word made flesh.
Returning to Acts 2:21, “everyone who calls upon the Name
of the Lord will be saved”, we can now answer what it means to “call on the
name of the Lord”. It means to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ Crucified.
Our Apology of the Augsburg Confession says, “For of all
acts of worship that is the greatest, most holy, most necessary, and highest,
which God has required as the highest in the First and the Second Commandment,
namely, to preach the Word of God. For the ministry is the highest office in
the Church” (AP XV:42).
What is this preaching of the Word? “The very voice of the
Gospel is this, that by faith we obtain the remission of sins” (Ap 12:2)
What is missing in other churches’ preaching? There is no
“…righteousness of faith, of faith in Christ, or the consolation of
consciences”. In fact, “…this most wholesome part of the Gospel they rail at with
their reproaches. [This blessed doctrine, the precious holy Gospel, they call
Lutheran]” (AP XV:42).
We keep the Feast of Pentecost most faithfully when we hear
the Word of God, hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it. The Word of God
preached produces faith, converts the sinner, and gives the remission of sins.
It is in this way we keep the Word of God among us, that it may work its
salvation in us and continue the work Christ began to do, now through men
preaching.
[For] Today the Spirit of God who brooded over the waters
of a lightless creation
Swoops down with tongues of fire to kindle faith in the re-creating work of Christ.
Today the Spirit of God who made the tower-builders into foolish babblers
Unites believers in the univocal language of the church-building grace of Christ.
Today the Spirit of God who came mightily upon the deliverers of Israel
Falls upon the apostles to proclaim the deliverance from sin we enjoy in Christ.
Today the Spirit of God who endowed with wisdom the builders of the tabernacle
Imparts the saving wisdom of the Word made flesh who tabernacled among us.
Today the Spirit who gave the law to Israel on two tablets of stone
Gives hearts of flesh for hearts of stone in the [sacrament of His Table].
Today the Spirit whom unfaithful David prayed the Lord would not take from him
Pours himself into sinners that they might sing of the faithful love of their Husband.
Today is Pentecost, the fiftieth day after the Passover resurrection of our Lord
When we are made holy by the holy-ing Spirit of the Christ who gives us the Father.
Today is Pentecost.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Alleluia! Christ is Risen!
Who speaks to you today, from His Gospel heard in His Service, saying:
“Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.”
“That we may obtain this faith, the Ministry of Teaching the Gospel and administering the Sacraments was instituted. For through the Word and Sacraments, as through instruments, the Holy Ghost is given, who works faith; where and when it pleases God, in them that hear the Gospel, to wit, that God, not for our own merits, but for Christ’s sake, justifies those who believe that they are received into grace for Christ’s sake.
They condemn the Anabaptists and others who think that the Holy Ghost comes to men without the external Word, through their own preparations and works” (AC V).
Swoops down with tongues of fire to kindle faith in the re-creating work of Christ.
Today the Spirit of God who made the tower-builders into foolish babblers
Unites believers in the univocal language of the church-building grace of Christ.
Today the Spirit of God who came mightily upon the deliverers of Israel
Falls upon the apostles to proclaim the deliverance from sin we enjoy in Christ.
Today the Spirit of God who endowed with wisdom the builders of the tabernacle
Imparts the saving wisdom of the Word made flesh who tabernacled among us.
Today the Spirit who gave the law to Israel on two tablets of stone
Gives hearts of flesh for hearts of stone in the [sacrament of His Table].
Today the Spirit whom unfaithful David prayed the Lord would not take from him
Pours himself into sinners that they might sing of the faithful love of their Husband.
Today is Pentecost, the fiftieth day after the Passover resurrection of our Lord
When we are made holy by the holy-ing Spirit of the Christ who gives us the Father.
Today is Pentecost.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
No comments:
Post a Comment