Lectionary

In the final Gospel before the Ascension, Jesus explicitly promises the Spirit in John 14. Here he is described as “another Parakletos.” The word’s meaning varies by context: “helper,” “advocate,” or “comforter” are all possible options. The broad semantic range is theologically instructive. The parakletos comes to the aid of another to meet different needs. In verse 26, he is the enlightener who will “teach you all things and bring to your remembrance,” Jesus’ words. In 15:26 he is a witness for Christ on our behalf. Note that the Spirit is the second parakletos mentioned in verse 16. The first is Christ himself. In any circumstance we find ourselves in the Spirit is the agent whereby Jesus works in and through us and remains present to us.

The first gospel option, the opening of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, prepares the disciples, (and the future church) for his departure.

Jesus prays for his disciples, that they would “know” God–not in a bare intellectual way, but as intimates.

He also famously prays “that they may be one” in verse 11. This verse is used too often as a sentimental call to fellow-feeling or cooperation between jurisdictions. But Jesus compares this unity to that enjoyed by the Trinity. The full and visible unity of the church is in view.

This unity is echoed in Peter’s instructions in the second lesson. Peter the chief apostle and symbol of the church’s unity, steels his brothers for the trial of suffering before them. In 5:10-11 he locates the source of diverse gifts in God himself. In the end, the church’s unity is its intimacy with God.

The first gospel option, the opening of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, prepares the disciples, (and the future church) for his departure.

Jesus prays for his disciples, that they would “know” God–not in a bare intellectual way, but as intimates.

He also famously prays “that they may be one” in verse 11. This verse is used too often as a sentimental call to fellow-feeling or cooperation between jurisdictions. But Jesus compares this unity to that enjoyed by the Trinity. The full and visible unity of the church is in view.

This unity is echoed in Peter’s instructions in the second lesson. Peter the chief apostle and symbol of the church’s unity, steels his brothers for the trial of suffering before them. In 5:10-11 he locates the source of diverse gifts in God himself. In the end, the church’s unity is its intimacy with God.

The Day of Pentecost is one of two comings of the Holy Spirit, and the preacher would do well to have the whole movement in view. The first is related in the John 20 passage, when Jesus breathes on his disciples, creating the apostolic ministry by imparting the Holy Spirit. This seed later comes to full flower in Acts 2, when the Holy Spirit rushes upon the whole church.

First, in the private upper room, Jesus breathes life into his body on earth, recalling the breath of life given by God to Adam at the dawn of creation. Jesus’ breath is not just a commissioning, but an incorporation of his Apostles into his own body by giving them his own life and authority. Later, in the public gathering, the breath whips into a wind that comes upon the whole congregation in a miracle that symbolizes the church’s mission: to preach the good news to the world.

The timing of the day is propitious. The Day of Pentecost in the Feast of Weeks is harvest time, setting the stage for God’s harvest of the world, bringing the wheat into his barns awaiting the separation of the good wheat from the darnel at the final judgment (Matt. 13:30). Pentecost also traditionally celebrated the giving of the Law. The miracle of the tongues allows each person to hear the Apostle’s teaching in their own native language, fulfilling the promise in Ezekiel, that the new covenant would write God’s law onto the hearts of the people.

Hence, it is too simplistic to title Pentecost “the day the Holy Spirit came” or even “the church’s birthday,” because the reality is much richer. It is the culmination of a process of birthing the church into the world. Everything Christ has done has been to midwife his church into the world. The labor pains are on the Cross, the delivery is at the Resurrection, the first breath outside the womb comes in the Upper Room, and at Pentecost the baby gives its first cry, breathing out the breath it has received to the world in the message of the gospel.

The secret to making congregations care about the doctrine of the Trinity, is to demonstrate how God’s identity connects with his mission and presence.

It is not accidental that Jesus instructs his disciples to baptize “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” In Genesis, the Trinity appears as Creator, Word, and Breath. God’s love within himself does not remain inwardly focused, but begets a creation whose purpose is also to enjoy that communion of love with God.

So too is the revelation of the mystery of the Trinity to the church connected to the church’s mission to the world. The Father sends the Son and the Spirit draws people into communion with the Son, who leads them in turn into the life of the Father. Preached in this way, the Trinity is the pathway into God’s life, an invitation that is relevant to everyone.

This Sunday represents a crossroads for the preacher. For the rest of this year, the Gospel lectionary returns to the Gospel of Matthew, but the attendant Old Testament and Psalm are split between two different tracks.

Option I walks through a mostly chronological series of Old Testament texts beginning in 1 Samuel which are not thematically linked to the gospel passage in any way.

Option II (which is sometimes listed as Option III) is the more traditional set of Old Testament (and some Apocryphal) texts which thematically link up with the Gospel for the day.

A third option is to follow the Epistle readings, which also run along their own track, disconnected thematically from both sets of Old Testament readings and the Gospel.

The preacher should be prepared to commit to one of these options exclusively for the rest of the Christian year, since each is designed with its own arc in mind.

This guide will follow the more venerable Option II, as the theological and typological connections therein will introduce the congregation to the Christological principle of the scriptures, which will aid in their Old Testament study going forward.

Jesus finds love and faith among the sinful and the sick, not the religious leaders. Matthew and his tax collector friends sit with Jesus and the woman with the flow of blood reaches out to touch him.

In reply to the questions about his behavior Jesus quotes the prophet Hosea, rendered in the first reading as: “For faithful love is what pleases me, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not burnt offerings” (Hos. 6:6). The Pharisees are professional “sacrificers,” who police the ritual commandments of the Law, but for all that have not pledged their hearts to God. In their place the Gospels hold up those outcasts who welcome the Lord to their tables and reach for him for salvation. Ironically, it is these sinners and outcasts who are in a good position to pursue righteousness, even for it to exceed that of their naysayers (Matt. 5:20) because their desire is nearness to the Lord.

“Knowledge of God” in Hosea 6:3, 6 carries a deeper sense than merely collecting facts. To “know” in the Old Testament frequently connotes profound direct experience (cf. “knowing” as marital intimacy in Gen. 4:1; as exclusive fidelity in Amos 3:2). Through the Incarnation of the Son, knowing God becomes possible in a whole new way. The congregation should be encouraged to “press on” as the tax collectors and woman did, to know Christ by his word in the scriptures and his body in the sacraments. Moreover, today’s scriptures disclose the goal of these gifts: Not as one more set of rituals to be observed, but as the pathway to direct experience with God.