1 Epiphany 1 B 2015 Breath, Wind, Spirit Genesis 1: 1-5, Psalm 29, Acts 19: 1-7, Mark 1: 4-11 Don t you just love the beauty of the words from the very beginning of the Bible? In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. I feel as though I should really read these words in the deep voice of Morgan Freeman! But even without his voice-over, the words send shivers down my spine. These words are pure poetry. They are poetic in the original Hebrew and the translators did a good job of keeping the rhythm and meaning intact. Why use poetry? How else do you describe events of such immensity as the beginning of the creation of all things? How have humans always sought to express deep, unfathomable truths, except through poetry, and music; art and drama? Poetry functions best if we listen to what the poet is saying. If we listen to the words and let them flow over us we will find images rising up and filling our minds. Today s translation of the wind from God sweeping over the face of the waters is not what I grew up with. The Hebrew word used, ruach, can mean either wind, or spirit, or breath. And I get a totally different picture in my mind when I hear the breath of God swept over the face of the waters. For me breath brings forth a more benevolent, gentler image. I can almost see God bending over and blowing a soft stream of life- giving air over the surface of the water. And somewhere in my imagination a dove is flying.
2 That breath of God, or Spirit of God, or wind from God is the creative force that fills the universe with life! God breathes first and then God speaks. It is at God s word, that creation springs forth. The streaming breath of God is shaped into sounds; into words. And that breath- shaped- into- words itself shapes the chaos of swirling elements into the universe that we know; the nebula and galaxies and planets, and much closer to home, the water, and air, and soil, and plants, and all the creatures, great and small that populate our earth. All spring forth from the breath of God. Did God really speak the creation into being? I don t know, but it is a wonderful way to picture it, isn t it? We do know how essential air is to all living things. And we see throughout the bible that the breath of God repeatedly brings things to life. In Genesis 2 we have the story of God breathing life into Adam, who was formed from the earth itself. And later in the stories of the Israelites, God breathes life into the very dead bones lining the valley where Ezekiel sits. God puts them back together, bone to bone, and sinew to sinew, and wraps flesh around those bones. But only when the breath of his spirit is breathed into them do they come back to life again. The breath of God, or the Spirit of God brings life to all creation. God s Spirit is mentioned in all three of our readings this morning. (The Psalm of course celebrates the voice of God the breath of God shaped into speech which has the power to break cedar trees, and make the land tremble and shake. The voice of God for the Psalmist is not the gentle breath that I envisioned in Genesis 1, preparing the elements for creation. But each to his own I suppose.)
3 There is an absence of God s Spirit in the passage from Acts. Paul meets some disciples of Jesus who have been baptized by John the Baptist. In his baptism John provided a sacramental way of receiving repentance for sins. When Paul asked these disciples from Ephesus if they received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized they answer that they had never even heard of the Holy Spirit! And when Paul baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus, they received the gift of the Holy Spirit in an unexpected way! They were filled with ecstatic joy and spoke in tongues and prophesied. Each year as I prepare people for confirmation I tell my classes that I was afraid of this happening to me when I was confirmed! I had read my bible. I knew that when people received the Holy Spirit, they often spoke in tongues, and prophesied. Though I wasn t sure what either of those things was, exactly, I knew it would be pretty strange to see in our church! But of course God s Spirit is gentle; not forcing himself or herself upon others, or making them do things they would be uncomfortable doing. What I remember from my confirmation is feeling the deep vibrations of the voice of our tall, imposing Bishop, going all though my body, in waves, as he laid hands on me and spoke the words we know so well: Defend, O Lord, your servant Anne with your heavenly grace, that she may continue yours for ever, and daily increase in your Holy Spirit more and more, Isn t it wonderful that my bishop s breath, shaped into words, was what moved me that night? Significantly though, I do not remember seeing a dove! There was a dove present at the baptism of Jesus which we celebrate today! Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit takes the shape of something like a dove and descends on Jesus. Look at the window in our church that represents this significant event in the life of Jesus. You will see the light from above, and the dove. And there was a voice too the breath of God shaped into words- proclaiming God s love for Jesus.
4 You are my son, the beloved; with you I am well pleased. The baptism of Jesus marked his turning from the simple life of a builder, to the tumultuous life of a prophet. Jesus received God s Spirit in a special way, and it empowered him for his ministry. Immediately after his baptism Jesus went into the wilderness where he was strongly tested. He endured 40 days of fasting and praying. God s words to him on the day of his baptism must have been a comfort to him while he was tested. Remember, you are my Son and I love you. From this place of testing in the wilderness, Jesus went back to his people and began to preach and teach and heal the sick and bring hope to the downtrodden. He began to tell them how much God loved them, too. When he was at his lowest ebb, I imagine that Jesus heard God s words over and over again. As he encountered resistance and ignorance and hostility, I imagine that Jesus recalled that moment of his baptism, and the precious words of his loving father. You are my beloved! And the completely amazing thing is that each part of God s creation is beloved of God : each star, and planet, each hill and valley, each tree and flower, each animal, wild or tame, each and every human being, including you and me! We are all beloved of God! If we listen carefully we may hear the voice of the Holy Spirit saying to us you are my daughter, or my son, and I love you. If you have not yet heard that voice in your life, in the quietness of your prayer, do not give up! Jesus was thirty when God spoke those words to him. St. Augustine was in his thirties when his life was completely turned around and he understood how much God loved him. So it does not matter what you have heard from the world around you with regard to your own self worth. It does not matter what impression of your worthiness you have received from your teachers, your bosses, your parents, your friends, your spouse. God who made you, loves you!
5 God who made you has breathed his breath into you and is constantly reminding you that you are beloved. And if we catch a glimpse every now and then of how much God loves us, we come to realize how much he loves others too and that God grieves when they are ill-treated. And the next step is to work out how we can be part of the solution in their lives to help them rise above their circumstances and rejoice in the love of God. God breathed his spirit into us for the purpose of making us Sons and Daughters, and therefore co-heirs with him. God made us to work with him in bringing his Kingdom to this beautiful but blighted planet we call home. We have much work to do in his Name. There are hungry, homeless, jobless, hopeless people, even in our community, and all of them are beloved by God. Today, as we meet for our Annual meeting after the service, we will be electing new people to help guide this congregation in doing God s work. Please consider carefully who the Holy Spirit is calling at this time. And to those who have heard God s voice calling them into leadership and have taken the first step by agreeing to stand for vestry, if you are not elected today, please understand that the Holy Spirit is still guiding you into leadership of some sort in this congregation. Listen for the voice of God. Look for the dove! And then put yourself into God s hands. God always empowers those he calls. Amen.
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