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A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter
A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter
Psalm 82, St. James 1:17-21, St. John 16:5-15
by William Klock
How’d your week go? Several times—actually, a bunch of times—I found myself thinking about what I preached last Sunday—thinking about the hope that lies before us. Thinking about how Jesus, risen from the dead, is the beginning of God’s new creation and how he—and his gift of the Holy Spirit—give me assurance that what God began that first Easter morning he will one day complete. Thinking that because I am by faith in Jesus the Messiah, I will one day know that new creation in all its fullness. And I was thinking about that because—a bunch of times this week—I was looking forward to that day when God will set everything to rights. Because I hope that in God’s new world there will be no broken spokes or being chased by dogs on the River Trail, no need to change timing belts or ball joints, and maybe the best part: no arguments started by random strangers on the Internet and no relationships with old friends strained by current events. Because all those things did happen to me this week. None of them were earth-shatteringly horrible—and I’m glad of that—but they remind me that the world is not as it should be. And then I read the news and I learned about a man stuck in bureaucratic immigration limbo with seemingly no hope of getting out of it. Having been through that process, his story resonated with me. And I read about a farmer in Vermont stuck with a bill for thousands of dollars assessed on his cattle feed from Canada because of tariffs. His business profits for the year gone. And there’s absolutely nothing he can do. And reading about people stuck in the middle of wars. And a friend shared an article about the persecuted church in China. And all I can do is pray, which feels like it’s not enough and some people say it’s a waste of time. But I know it’s not, because Jesus has risen and I know that means that God’s new world has begun and one day he’ll set everything to rights. And so I hope and I pray that it may be “on earth as it is in heaven”.
And then I started looking at this week’s scripture lessons. And there’s the Old Testament lesson from Job and that verse we read in the procession at funerals: I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though this body be destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another. Brothers and Sisters, there’s that same hope. Job had faith that the Lord would vindicate him.
And the Psalm. Psalm 82 has been with me, running around in my head all week.
God has stood up in the council of heaven:
in the midst of the gods he gives judgement.
How long will you judge unjustly:
and favour the cause of the wicked?
Judge for the poor and needy:
and save them from the hands of the wicked.
They do not know, they do not understand, they walk about in darkness:
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Therefore I say, “Though you are gods:
and all of you sons of the Most High,
Nevertheless you shall die like man:
and fall like one of the princes.”
Arise, O God, and judge the earth:
for you shall take all the nations as your possession.
Psalm 82 is from a group of psalms written by Asaph. Asaph was Samuel’s grandson and he and his sons were commissioned by King David to worship the Lord. That was their job. They were court worshippers. And in Psalm 82, Asaph cries out with the whole people of Israel at the injustices of the world. The gods of this age favour the wicked. They will not come to the aid of the poor and needy. In other words, Asaph knew that the world is not as it should be. And yet Asaph knew what the Lord had done for Israel and he knew his promises and so he could sing out about the Lord, the God of Isreal, as the great judge in heaven. Asaph had hope that the Lord would hold the powers of this present age accountable. Asaph closes with that confident prayer: Arise, O God, and judge the earth: For you shall take the nations as your possession. This was how Israel prayed “on earth as in heaven”.
Things were going well for Israel under King David, but even then, Asaph, with the people of Israel, still had a profound sense of the brokenness and the fallenness of the world. It was the Lord’s plan, as he called and created a people for himself, that this people would know the crushing weight of sin and death. He allowed them to become slaves in Egypt. And he delivered them that they might know his grace and his faithfulness—so that they might know that he is the God who keeps his promises and that he is the judge who will vindicate the cause of the poor and the oppressed. And this became Israel’s story and Israel’s identity. Over and over she would find herself being crushed under the heel of this or that pagan king, and she would cry out to the Lord, and he would come as the great judge to vindicate Israel and to defeat her enemies and to rescue her. And as this was the identity and story of Israel, so it would be the identity and story of the Messiah, and then the story and identity of the Messiah’s people, of the church.
But the disciples weren’t expecting this. No one—or almost no one—in Israel was expecting this. The Messiah was supposed to come and break this cycle. In him God’s new world would come, they would all be raised, and they would reign forever in a world set to rights—once and for all. And they were sort of right, but they got the timeline wrong. And that’s because they’d forgotten the promises and the part of the story where God calls and sets apart this special people for himself in order to bring the nations to him in faith. Only a people who knows suffering, who knows the crushing weight of sin and injustice, can carry God’s forgiveness and justice to the world. That’s why the Messiah had to die. Sin and death had to do their worst, so that Jesus could rise triumphant over them. Deliverance comes through suffering. Forgiveness and new life require sacrifice. But they’d forgotten this and this is what Jesus has been trying to explain to the disciples through the lessons we’ve had from John’s gospel these past weeks. And so he says in John 16:1:
I’ve said these things to you to stop you from being tripped up. They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will suppose that they are in that way offering worship to God. They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or me. But I have been talking to you about these things so that, when their time comes, you will remember that I told you about them.
Jesus by this point has already explained to them that very soon he’s going to be leaving them. That was bad news enough. But now he tells them that after he’s gone, persecution is coming. Their unbelieving Jewish brethren will throw them out of the synagogues—which means cutting them off from the Jewish community, from family, friends. They will become outsiders in their own community. Some of them, Jesus warns, will even die for their faith in him. And when that happens, Jesus knew, it will be really tempting to give up. They thought that the Messiah was going to put an end to all the suffering and tears, but now Jesus is warning: you’re going to know suffering and tears the likes of which you’ve never known before—and all for my sake.
I didn’t say these things to you from the start, Jesus goes on, because I was with you. In other words, as long as Jesus was with them they were still pretty sure of how all this Messiah stuff was going to work out. Again, the Messiah would usher in God’s new world and everything would be great. And then, with Jesus gone, they’re going to be tempted to give up—just like we saw them hiding behind locked doors. If Jesus goes away without setting everything to rights, well, he must not have been the Messiah after all. That would be the logical conclusion. And they’d do their best to go back to their old pre-Jesus lives. So now Jesus is getting them ready. He goes on: But now I’m going to the one who sent me. None of you asks me, “Where are you going?” But because I’ve said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
Well, yes. If Jesus is leaving, how’s he ever going to accomplish his messianic mission? But this is what Jesus wants to stress to them—even though they won’t understand right away. This is his messianic mission: Truly, truly I say to you: It’s better for you that I should go away. If I don’t go away, you see, the Helper won’t come to you. But if I go away, I will send him to you.
Just in case it isn’t clear, what Jesus is talking about here is his ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit. The risen Jesus couldn’t stay here forever. When his own people cried out for Jesus’ crucifixion they declared, “We have no king but Caesar.” It was the ultimate rejection of both their God and their Messiah. It was blasphemy and until that moment, if you’d asked anyone in Jerusalem if they considered Caesar their king, they’d have laughed at you. The Lord was their king. But they became so outraged by Jesus’ messianic claims, so outrage with the things he said about the temple, that they shouted the unthinkable to Pilate: “Crucify him! We have no king but Caesar.” And then to spite them, Pilate posted those mocking words on the cross: “This is the King of the Jews”. But when God raised Jesus from the dead, he vindicated him. It was a divine declaration that Jesus really is the Messiah and that he really is Israel’s (and the whole world’s) king. And kings have to take their thrones. And since God’s work of new creation has only just begun and Jesus’ throne is in heaven, that’s where he had to go to begin his rule. The king couldn’t stay here forever. But—the second thing Jesus is saying here—if he goes, he will send the Helper—God’s own Spirit—and God’s Spirit will make the reality of Jesus resurrection and of God’s new creation real to us. The end goal is for heaven and earth and God and human beings to be reunited. Jesus, the God man, is the embodiment of that hope. But consider, Brothers and Sisters, that the gift of the Holy Spirit is too.
The title John uses is parakletos. In Greek it literally means “called alongside”, which is a powerful image of who and what the Spirit is for us. He comes alongside as our helper, our intercessor, and our advocate. And this is essential. Like I stressed last week, as the disciples began to realise the significance of Jesus’ resurrection, they got excited. They were ready to go out and shout it from the rooftops of Jerusalem. But Jesus stressed to them: “Wait. Wait until I send the Helper.” Because enthusiasm will only get us so far. Jesus has given his people a mission, but enthusiasm and excitement alone won’t fulfil it. We need the help of the Holy Spirit. So Jesus goes on here in verse 8: When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong on three counts: sin, justice, and judgement. In relation to sin, because they don’t believe in me. In relation to justice—because I’m going to the Father, and you won’t see me anymore. In relation to judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged.
God’s people had longed for their day in court and for the Lord to vindicate them—just like we read in Psalm 82. And Jesus’ point here is that it’s finally going to happen. Except it’s going to be his people—this new Israel—who will finally get their day before the judge. And as Jesus’ people bring their case before the great Judge, the Spirit will be there to help them—to be their advocate. The Spirit will present the evidence for the world’s sin. But there’s no reason for the Spirit to bring exhibit after exhibit showing the world’s—and that’s not just the pagan nations, but also unbelieving Israel—it’s not necessary for the Spirit to put every last sin on display to prove the world’s rebellion against God. All the Spirit has to do is present as evidence the world’s rejection of Jesus. Either you stand with Jesus and on the side of God’s new creation and are part of the world set right, or you stand in solidarity with sin.
And, second, Jesus says, the Spirit will convict the world in relation to justice. If you’re following along, some of your translations might say “righteousness”. These are the same word in Greek. “Justice” fits the context better here. Jesus’ point is that the world thinks it has justice on its side. Like he told them earlier: They will kill you and in doing so they’ll think that they’re offering true worship to God. But Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and his ascension to his throne are the evidence of his vindication by the Father. At the cross the world issued its verdict against Jesus, but when he raised Jesus from the dead and enthroned him in heaven, God overturned the false verdict of the world and declared his son to be the Messiah and the world’s true lord. If you want justice, look to Jesus, because everyone who trusts in Jesus and gives him their allegiance as king shares in that verdict.
And, third, Jesus says that the Spirit will give evidence that the world is wrong in relation to judgement. The world was about to pass judgement on Jesus and condemn him to death as a false messiah, but his resurrection and ascension would prove the world wrong. And not long after that the world would pass the same judgement on Jesus’ people, on the church, but Jesus promises that the Spirit will stand with them and continue to prove the world’s judgement wrong. The Spirit will continue to present the evidence of Jesus resurrection and ascension as proof that the devil has been defeated and that death itself no longer has the final say.
Brothers and Sisters, the Holy Spirit isn’t just our advocate before the judge, he is our comforter amidst the trials Jesus promised we will face as we take up our crosses to follow him. Jesus promised his disciples and he promises us that we will face hatred and even persecution—sometimes martyrdom—for the sake of his name. But because we know he is faithful, because he has vindicated Jesus, we can trust that the judge of all the earth will do what is right. Even as we face death itself, we know that death has been defeated. As the Father raised Jesus from death, so he will raise us if we are in him.
And the Spirit comes alongside us not so we can hunker down inside our churches like the disciples hunkered down and hiding in the dark that first Easter weekend. The Spirit comes alongside us to empower us as we go out. As we take our message of hope and forgiveness, of the world set to rights and tears wiped away, as we take that good news of Jesus, crucified and risen and Lord to the world. This is the point of our Epistle today from St. James.
Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes down from above, from the Father of lights. His steady light doesn’t vary. It doesn’t change and produce shadows.
I have to think that when James talks about the good and perfect gift coming down from the Father of lights he’s talking about the Holy Spirit. Yes, everything good we have is a gift from him, but the Spirit is the gift above all others. For Jesus in John’s gospel, the Spirit was the one who would come alongside to help and advocate for us. For James, the Spirit shows us the constancy and faithfulness of the Father. The gift of the Spirit is proof for James that God keeps his promises, because the life of the Spirit is the thing he’d been promising to his people all along: his own presence with them to give them a new heart and set them to rights.
James goes on in 1:19.
So, my dear brothers [and sisters], get this straight. Every person should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. Human anger, you see, doesn’t produce God’s justice. So put away everything that is sordid, all that overflowing malice, and humbly receive the word which has been planted within you and which has the power to save our lives.
In other words, let the Spirit transform you. Let the Spirit make you—or maybe better to align you with—God’s new creation. The example James uses is anger. Anger is what wells up from the fallen human heart in response to injustice, but responding to injustice with anger—and James isn’t talking about righteous or just anger, but about malice and pride—responding with anger just compounds the problem. Sin can never make another sin right. Instead, God’s word has been planted within you. Let the Spirit cause that world to take root and grow. That gospel word is what has saved your life. But if you let the Spirit grow that word in you, if you let God’s word shape you, if you let the Spirt make you a truly gospel person, that life-saving combination of word and Spirit will overflow from you and you will be a gospel light in the darkness of the world, you will be a beacon of God’s new creation in the midst of the old. Word and Spirit working through us will make us a people ready to endure suffering and persecution so that we can, even if it’s just in small ways, so that we can bring God’s justice into the world, so that we can wipe away the tears and proclaim the good news that Jesus is Lord.
Brothers and Sisters, this is how God’s new creation comes. This is how he wipes away the tears and set things to rights. Jesus started it when he rose from the grave, but God’s word and God’s Spirit, working through the church—through us—as we go out into the world, not only bring God’s salvation to individuals, but as we are transformed one by one, the gospel, the word, the Spirit create a whole new culture with Jesus and the gospel at its core. One day Jesus will come back for the final act, to cast down death and to fully bring heaven and earth back together once and for all. But that day will come because his people, empowered by his word and by his Spirit have been faithful in being his new creation right here in the midst of the old. So, Brothers and Sisters, go out in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia!
Let’s pray: Father, as we asked in the Collect we ask again: fix our hearts on the good things you have promised. Keep the hope of your salvation and of your justice ever before us, that we might go out full of your Spirit, to live and to proclaim the good news of Jesus and his kingdom. Through him we pray. Amen.
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By The Rev'd William Klock
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A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter
Psalm 82, St. James 1:17-21, St. John 16:5-15
by William Klock
How’d your week go? Several times—actually, a bunch of times—I found myself thinking about what I preached last Sunday—thinking about the hope that lies before us. Thinking about how Jesus, risen from the dead, is the beginning of God’s new creation and how he—and his gift of the Holy Spirit—give me assurance that what God began that first Easter morning he will one day complete. Thinking that because I am by faith in Jesus the Messiah, I will one day know that new creation in all its fullness. And I was thinking about that because—a bunch of times this week—I was looking forward to that day when God will set everything to rights. Because I hope that in God’s new world there will be no broken spokes or being chased by dogs on the River Trail, no need to change timing belts or ball joints, and maybe the best part: no arguments started by random strangers on the Internet and no relationships with old friends strained by current events. Because all those things did happen to me this week. None of them were earth-shatteringly horrible—and I’m glad of that—but they remind me that the world is not as it should be. And then I read the news and I learned about a man stuck in bureaucratic immigration limbo with seemingly no hope of getting out of it. Having been through that process, his story resonated with me. And I read about a farmer in Vermont stuck with a bill for thousands of dollars assessed on his cattle feed from Canada because of tariffs. His business profits for the year gone. And there’s absolutely nothing he can do. And reading about people stuck in the middle of wars. And a friend shared an article about the persecuted church in China. And all I can do is pray, which feels like it’s not enough and some people say it’s a waste of time. But I know it’s not, because Jesus has risen and I know that means that God’s new world has begun and one day he’ll set everything to rights. And so I hope and I pray that it may be “on earth as it is in heaven”.
And then I started looking at this week’s scripture lessons. And there’s the Old Testament lesson from Job and that verse we read in the procession at funerals: I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though this body be destroyed, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another. Brothers and Sisters, there’s that same hope. Job had faith that the Lord would vindicate him.
And the Psalm. Psalm 82 has been with me, running around in my head all week.
God has stood up in the council of heaven:
in the midst of the gods he gives judgement.
How long will you judge unjustly:
and favour the cause of the wicked?
Judge for the poor and needy:
and save them from the hands of the wicked.
They do not know, they do not understand, they walk about in darkness:
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
Therefore I say, “Though you are gods:
and all of you sons of the Most High,
Nevertheless you shall die like man:
and fall like one of the princes.”
Arise, O God, and judge the earth:
for you shall take all the nations as your possession.
Psalm 82 is from a group of psalms written by Asaph. Asaph was Samuel’s grandson and he and his sons were commissioned by King David to worship the Lord. That was their job. They were court worshippers. And in Psalm 82, Asaph cries out with the whole people of Israel at the injustices of the world. The gods of this age favour the wicked. They will not come to the aid of the poor and needy. In other words, Asaph knew that the world is not as it should be. And yet Asaph knew what the Lord had done for Israel and he knew his promises and so he could sing out about the Lord, the God of Isreal, as the great judge in heaven. Asaph had hope that the Lord would hold the powers of this present age accountable. Asaph closes with that confident prayer: Arise, O God, and judge the earth: For you shall take the nations as your possession. This was how Israel prayed “on earth as in heaven”.
Things were going well for Israel under King David, but even then, Asaph, with the people of Israel, still had a profound sense of the brokenness and the fallenness of the world. It was the Lord’s plan, as he called and created a people for himself, that this people would know the crushing weight of sin and death. He allowed them to become slaves in Egypt. And he delivered them that they might know his grace and his faithfulness—so that they might know that he is the God who keeps his promises and that he is the judge who will vindicate the cause of the poor and the oppressed. And this became Israel’s story and Israel’s identity. Over and over she would find herself being crushed under the heel of this or that pagan king, and she would cry out to the Lord, and he would come as the great judge to vindicate Israel and to defeat her enemies and to rescue her. And as this was the identity and story of Israel, so it would be the identity and story of the Messiah, and then the story and identity of the Messiah’s people, of the church.
But the disciples weren’t expecting this. No one—or almost no one—in Israel was expecting this. The Messiah was supposed to come and break this cycle. In him God’s new world would come, they would all be raised, and they would reign forever in a world set to rights—once and for all. And they were sort of right, but they got the timeline wrong. And that’s because they’d forgotten the promises and the part of the story where God calls and sets apart this special people for himself in order to bring the nations to him in faith. Only a people who knows suffering, who knows the crushing weight of sin and injustice, can carry God’s forgiveness and justice to the world. That’s why the Messiah had to die. Sin and death had to do their worst, so that Jesus could rise triumphant over them. Deliverance comes through suffering. Forgiveness and new life require sacrifice. But they’d forgotten this and this is what Jesus has been trying to explain to the disciples through the lessons we’ve had from John’s gospel these past weeks. And so he says in John 16:1:
I’ve said these things to you to stop you from being tripped up. They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will suppose that they are in that way offering worship to God. They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or me. But I have been talking to you about these things so that, when their time comes, you will remember that I told you about them.
Jesus by this point has already explained to them that very soon he’s going to be leaving them. That was bad news enough. But now he tells them that after he’s gone, persecution is coming. Their unbelieving Jewish brethren will throw them out of the synagogues—which means cutting them off from the Jewish community, from family, friends. They will become outsiders in their own community. Some of them, Jesus warns, will even die for their faith in him. And when that happens, Jesus knew, it will be really tempting to give up. They thought that the Messiah was going to put an end to all the suffering and tears, but now Jesus is warning: you’re going to know suffering and tears the likes of which you’ve never known before—and all for my sake.
I didn’t say these things to you from the start, Jesus goes on, because I was with you. In other words, as long as Jesus was with them they were still pretty sure of how all this Messiah stuff was going to work out. Again, the Messiah would usher in God’s new world and everything would be great. And then, with Jesus gone, they’re going to be tempted to give up—just like we saw them hiding behind locked doors. If Jesus goes away without setting everything to rights, well, he must not have been the Messiah after all. That would be the logical conclusion. And they’d do their best to go back to their old pre-Jesus lives. So now Jesus is getting them ready. He goes on: But now I’m going to the one who sent me. None of you asks me, “Where are you going?” But because I’ve said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
Well, yes. If Jesus is leaving, how’s he ever going to accomplish his messianic mission? But this is what Jesus wants to stress to them—even though they won’t understand right away. This is his messianic mission: Truly, truly I say to you: It’s better for you that I should go away. If I don’t go away, you see, the Helper won’t come to you. But if I go away, I will send him to you.
Just in case it isn’t clear, what Jesus is talking about here is his ascension and the sending of the Holy Spirit. The risen Jesus couldn’t stay here forever. When his own people cried out for Jesus’ crucifixion they declared, “We have no king but Caesar.” It was the ultimate rejection of both their God and their Messiah. It was blasphemy and until that moment, if you’d asked anyone in Jerusalem if they considered Caesar their king, they’d have laughed at you. The Lord was their king. But they became so outraged by Jesus’ messianic claims, so outrage with the things he said about the temple, that they shouted the unthinkable to Pilate: “Crucify him! We have no king but Caesar.” And then to spite them, Pilate posted those mocking words on the cross: “This is the King of the Jews”. But when God raised Jesus from the dead, he vindicated him. It was a divine declaration that Jesus really is the Messiah and that he really is Israel’s (and the whole world’s) king. And kings have to take their thrones. And since God’s work of new creation has only just begun and Jesus’ throne is in heaven, that’s where he had to go to begin his rule. The king couldn’t stay here forever. But—the second thing Jesus is saying here—if he goes, he will send the Helper—God’s own Spirit—and God’s Spirit will make the reality of Jesus resurrection and of God’s new creation real to us. The end goal is for heaven and earth and God and human beings to be reunited. Jesus, the God man, is the embodiment of that hope. But consider, Brothers and Sisters, that the gift of the Holy Spirit is too.
The title John uses is parakletos. In Greek it literally means “called alongside”, which is a powerful image of who and what the Spirit is for us. He comes alongside as our helper, our intercessor, and our advocate. And this is essential. Like I stressed last week, as the disciples began to realise the significance of Jesus’ resurrection, they got excited. They were ready to go out and shout it from the rooftops of Jerusalem. But Jesus stressed to them: “Wait. Wait until I send the Helper.” Because enthusiasm will only get us so far. Jesus has given his people a mission, but enthusiasm and excitement alone won’t fulfil it. We need the help of the Holy Spirit. So Jesus goes on here in verse 8: When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong on three counts: sin, justice, and judgement. In relation to sin, because they don’t believe in me. In relation to justice—because I’m going to the Father, and you won’t see me anymore. In relation to judgement, because the ruler of this world is judged.
God’s people had longed for their day in court and for the Lord to vindicate them—just like we read in Psalm 82. And Jesus’ point here is that it’s finally going to happen. Except it’s going to be his people—this new Israel—who will finally get their day before the judge. And as Jesus’ people bring their case before the great Judge, the Spirit will be there to help them—to be their advocate. The Spirit will present the evidence for the world’s sin. But there’s no reason for the Spirit to bring exhibit after exhibit showing the world’s—and that’s not just the pagan nations, but also unbelieving Israel—it’s not necessary for the Spirit to put every last sin on display to prove the world’s rebellion against God. All the Spirit has to do is present as evidence the world’s rejection of Jesus. Either you stand with Jesus and on the side of God’s new creation and are part of the world set right, or you stand in solidarity with sin.
And, second, Jesus says, the Spirit will convict the world in relation to justice. If you’re following along, some of your translations might say “righteousness”. These are the same word in Greek. “Justice” fits the context better here. Jesus’ point is that the world thinks it has justice on its side. Like he told them earlier: They will kill you and in doing so they’ll think that they’re offering true worship to God. But Jesus’ resurrection from the dead and his ascension to his throne are the evidence of his vindication by the Father. At the cross the world issued its verdict against Jesus, but when he raised Jesus from the dead and enthroned him in heaven, God overturned the false verdict of the world and declared his son to be the Messiah and the world’s true lord. If you want justice, look to Jesus, because everyone who trusts in Jesus and gives him their allegiance as king shares in that verdict.
And, third, Jesus says that the Spirit will give evidence that the world is wrong in relation to judgement. The world was about to pass judgement on Jesus and condemn him to death as a false messiah, but his resurrection and ascension would prove the world wrong. And not long after that the world would pass the same judgement on Jesus’ people, on the church, but Jesus promises that the Spirit will stand with them and continue to prove the world’s judgement wrong. The Spirit will continue to present the evidence of Jesus resurrection and ascension as proof that the devil has been defeated and that death itself no longer has the final say.
Brothers and Sisters, the Holy Spirit isn’t just our advocate before the judge, he is our comforter amidst the trials Jesus promised we will face as we take up our crosses to follow him. Jesus promised his disciples and he promises us that we will face hatred and even persecution—sometimes martyrdom—for the sake of his name. But because we know he is faithful, because he has vindicated Jesus, we can trust that the judge of all the earth will do what is right. Even as we face death itself, we know that death has been defeated. As the Father raised Jesus from death, so he will raise us if we are in him.
And the Spirit comes alongside us not so we can hunker down inside our churches like the disciples hunkered down and hiding in the dark that first Easter weekend. The Spirit comes alongside us to empower us as we go out. As we take our message of hope and forgiveness, of the world set to rights and tears wiped away, as we take that good news of Jesus, crucified and risen and Lord to the world. This is the point of our Epistle today from St. James.
Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes down from above, from the Father of lights. His steady light doesn’t vary. It doesn’t change and produce shadows.
I have to think that when James talks about the good and perfect gift coming down from the Father of lights he’s talking about the Holy Spirit. Yes, everything good we have is a gift from him, but the Spirit is the gift above all others. For Jesus in John’s gospel, the Spirit was the one who would come alongside to help and advocate for us. For James, the Spirit shows us the constancy and faithfulness of the Father. The gift of the Spirit is proof for James that God keeps his promises, because the life of the Spirit is the thing he’d been promising to his people all along: his own presence with them to give them a new heart and set them to rights.
James goes on in 1:19.
So, my dear brothers [and sisters], get this straight. Every person should be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. Human anger, you see, doesn’t produce God’s justice. So put away everything that is sordid, all that overflowing malice, and humbly receive the word which has been planted within you and which has the power to save our lives.
In other words, let the Spirit transform you. Let the Spirit make you—or maybe better to align you with—God’s new creation. The example James uses is anger. Anger is what wells up from the fallen human heart in response to injustice, but responding to injustice with anger—and James isn’t talking about righteous or just anger, but about malice and pride—responding with anger just compounds the problem. Sin can never make another sin right. Instead, God’s word has been planted within you. Let the Spirit cause that world to take root and grow. That gospel word is what has saved your life. But if you let the Spirit grow that word in you, if you let God’s word shape you, if you let the Spirt make you a truly gospel person, that life-saving combination of word and Spirit will overflow from you and you will be a gospel light in the darkness of the world, you will be a beacon of God’s new creation in the midst of the old. Word and Spirit working through us will make us a people ready to endure suffering and persecution so that we can, even if it’s just in small ways, so that we can bring God’s justice into the world, so that we can wipe away the tears and proclaim the good news that Jesus is Lord.
Brothers and Sisters, this is how God’s new creation comes. This is how he wipes away the tears and set things to rights. Jesus started it when he rose from the grave, but God’s word and God’s Spirit, working through the church—through us—as we go out into the world, not only bring God’s salvation to individuals, but as we are transformed one by one, the gospel, the word, the Spirit create a whole new culture with Jesus and the gospel at its core. One day Jesus will come back for the final act, to cast down death and to fully bring heaven and earth back together once and for all. But that day will come because his people, empowered by his word and by his Spirit have been faithful in being his new creation right here in the midst of the old. So, Brothers and Sisters, go out in peace to love and serve the Lord. Alleluia!
Let’s pray: Father, as we asked in the Collect we ask again: fix our hearts on the good things you have promised. Keep the hope of your salvation and of your justice ever before us, that we might go out full of your Spirit, to live and to proclaim the good news of Jesus and his kingdom. Through him we pray. Amen.