It may seem odd to be ending our time in the Gospel of Matthew with a story which speaks of the beginning of Jesus’ life’s work or what we call ministry.  I wonder though if we might find a new beginning this Pentecost Sunday.  A new beginning in the midst of all that is going on in the world; in the midst of all that may be going on in our lives (and there is a lot going on I know).  The themes that we’ve been talking about throughout the book of Matthew are all here.  Good news.  The kingdom of heaven has come near!   The call to turn, to follow Jesus. The call from cousin John to live in a way that reflects our status as people who are in Christ who is justice and righteousness. “Bear fruits worthy of repentance.”  The reminder that injustice will not stand forever.  The promise of transformation, of being made new.  That promise of God-with-us that brackets Matthew (and may those words continue to resonate “Look the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call him Emmanuel, which means God is with us” – “And remember I am with you always, even to the end of the age”)

The Holy Spirit descending like a dove and a voice from heaven said “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”  Just as Jesus is sent, we are sent.  We   We will go out of here this morning and we’re going to go out having heard this truth.  To live in Christ means that the same Holy Spirit that descended like a dove and alighted on Jesus lives in you and in me. It’s Holy Spirit Sunday!  The day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit – or the Advent of the Holy Spirit if you like (and I do like because it’s like Christmas for the Holy Spirit in June!).

It’s a good thing to take one Sunday to celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit.  We endeavour of course to be Trinitarian (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) in all our praise and prayer and worship and thanks and preaching and table gathering and the things we are called to do.  Our actions.  Because the Holy Spirit is about our actions too.  This supernatural Spirit of the Living God effects the natural – the Holy Spirit is not just something floating around up here and the Holy Spirit is not just about endless thought or speculation or someone for us to hold internally, but someone who informs and effects our every thought, action, attitude – which means the Holy Spirit affects everything – all that we are – as we go through our days.

The Holy Spirit is wild and unpredictable.  The Holy Spirit is compared to fire, tongues of fire that touched everyone who was gathered around that room on that long-ago day of Pentecost.  Compared to a wind that blows wherever it wants.  “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.  So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit,” as Jesus tells Nicodemus in a late-night talk.  Outside of our control.  How does that make us feel, we who so want to be in control of things/situations?  Extra-biblically compared to a wild goose – unpredictable (and if you’ve never heard the story about how I found out that even domestic geese can be pretty unpredictable, do ask me about it).  Compared to a bird hovering over the waters in Genesis.  Compared to a dove which comes down in the scene from Matthew 3 which we read this morning and alights on Jesus.

A dove.  Peace.  A gift.  Fire.  A refining fire.  A gift.  The gift of the Spirit.  Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your Spirit.  Thank you Holy Spirit, for all that you do.  For all that you are.  The gift of God.  God the three-in-one.  How wonderful to see all three in this scene today.

First of course we have to talk about good old John the Baptist.  The forerunner.  The one who went ahead.  The one of who told it like it is. 

“I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

And so we read that the Holy Spirit came with tongues like fire touching all those who were gathered.  We read about refining fire and sing “Refiner’s Fire” and “Search me O God, and know my thoughts, cleanse me.”  Refine me by your Spirit.

Which is a gift from God.  To live in Christ is to know our need for transformation.  Being resurrection people.  Being new life people crying out “Spirit make me new.”  It’s not something we could do on our own.  If it were we would have already done it surely.  The Holy Spirit is the gift of God which underlies all of the things we’ve been talking about over these many weeks in Matthew’s Gospel about who we are called to be and what we are called to do.  Hearing Jesus’ words.  Doing Jesus’ words.

Jesus approaches his cousin to be baptized and his cousin is aghast.  “You need to be baptizing me!” John the Baptist says.  Jesus talks about fulfilling all righteousness.  In other words, bringing about right-living.  Not that Jesus needed to be made right, but in his lining up with everyone else on the banks of the River Jordan, Jesus identifies with our need.

This is a really beautiful thing.  Isn’t this something we all need?  Someone to identify with us? Someone to get us?  Jesus is identifying himself with us. Jesus gets us.  There is a picture on the Out of the Cold section of our website.  One of really wonderful things coming out of COVID is seeing where God has led us in the Out of the Cold ministry.  We want to continue to hear Jesus’ words like “I was hungry and you gave me food.  I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink.  I was a stranger and you welcomed me.  I was naked and you gave me clothing.  I was sick and you took care of me.  I was in prison and you visited me… Truly I tell you just as you did it to one of the least  of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”  Jesus is lining up with everyone in need, which is everyone.  ministry here at Blythwood, but we know we won’t be forgetting Jesus’ words about “whatever you did for the least of these.”  This picture is of a woodcutting which depicts Christ identifying with, standing with, being with, those who are cast to the margins.  I like this woodcutting a lot.  How much have we learned about what it means to come alongside people in the same way God comes alongside us?  Not simply in a “let me give you a hand up rather than a hand-out way” but in a “thank-you for extending the invitation to me to stand with you, to sit with you, to stand with you as we line up for food together and then sit and eat together” way.  Jesus identifies with us in our need and lines up at the Jordan along with everyone else.  All of humanity are united in our need for help beyond ourselves and the invitation to get behind Jesus and follow him daily is for everyone. 

I talked about being Trinitarian earlier, and all three are in the next seen – loving God, gracious Jesus, fellowshipping Holy Spirit:

“And when Jesus had been baptized, as he came up from the water (sounds like immersion to me), suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’” (16-17)

Here is a truth about God.  We’ve said from the beginning of this series that Matthew out of all the Gospel writers is most concerned to show what the Christian life looks like.  What does it mean in our days, as we go about our days, to follow Christ?  In order for us to be coming to an understanding of what it means, of what following Christ practically looks like, we need to be coming to an understanding of what God is like.  In this scene, we see very clearly that God is a communal God.  Our God is three-in-one – three persons one essence, as God has been described, and I can’t do any better than that word-wise.  It’s not something I can get my mind around and I’m not expected to, none of us are.  I wouldn’t have it any other way really.  God is a communal God and we are all made in God’s image and we were all made for community.  It’s why isolation is so hard on us.  It’s why gathering together (whether it’s for worship, work, sharing a meal) feels so right and good.  From time-unfathomable, God, in the persons of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit has existed in loving communion.

So, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

then

The Holy Spirit descended like a dove and alighted on him.

The Holy Spirit at work from Jesus’ conception.  The Holy Spirit leading Jesus into the wilderness (and we must always remember that even in the wilderness we experience God’s presence and provision and protection).  Jesus talking of performing miracles through the Spirit of God.  Jesus’ final command to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Jesus’ final promise “Remember I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

This same Spirit coming on the followers of Christ on that first Pentecost day.  The advent of the Holy Spirit. Like Christmas in June but without the snow and food and presents (which is maybe just as well).  The Holy Spirit in us.   The Holy Spirit connecting us to God.  The Holy Spirit between us, connecting us to one another.  The Holy Spirit of Christ in you recognizing the Holy Spirit of Christ in me. And vice versa. 

Christ in you, the hope of glory.  The Holy Spirit of God.  Oh sure the Holy Spirit had come on people before or seized them even for a while but this is now something else entirely.  The Holy Spirit of God.  God with us.

The power of God.  Empowerment for service.  A cleansing fire.  A mark of our identity.  The down payment on the inheritance that is ours as adopted daughters and sons of God.  The giver of fruit – love joy peace patience kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control.  

 These are all things that the Holy Spirit does and we are thankful for them.  We mustn’t stop though, at what the person of the Holy Spirit does.  I want us to think for some moments before we close of the vision of God here that Matthew describes – a look at Father, Son, and Spirit acting in concert and in tune with one another.  It speaks not only to what we are called to do as the Spirit empowered church but who we are called to be.  The inter-relatedness among Father, Son, and Spirit has been called the Social Trinity – as I said we’re social beings and we’re made in the image of God.  We’re social beings.   This Social Trinity has been described like this – “The Social Trinity is conceived of as a relational community of equality and mutuality within which the distinctive identity of each person of the Trinity is fully maintained as Father, Son, and Spirit… All three persons of the divine community mutually indwell one another in a relational unity while maintaining their distinct identities.”

I believe that we’re called to reflect this divine community of Father, Son, and Spirit.  This divine community has been portrayed in different ways.  It’s been called the divine dance.  It’s been thought of and portrayed in images like this one.  It can be so difficult in the waters of individualism in which we swim.  Autonomy.  Individual rights.  Individual spirituality.  These often seem to rule the day.  In the middle of this, we are invited into participation in the divine life of Father, Son, and Spirit which is a life of mutual indwelling, mutual communion, mutual koinonia, mutual sharing, or fellowship.  The Holy Spirit connects us to this life and connects us to one another.  Let us not forsake then, communion with one another.  Fellowship with one another.  We celebrate the Holy Spirit today.  The tie that binds our heart in love of God and one another.  The tie that calls us into participation in the divine life of Father, Son, and Spirit, and each other’s lives too.  Why?

So that God’s glory may be known and shown in us and through us.  May the Holy Spirit’s peace, guiding, strength be with us.  May the Holy Spirit’s invitation to fellowship, to communion, be accepted by us.  May this be true for each and every one. Amen