Original Goodness and Pentecost
Year B: Pentecost
The Spirit, then, is not given only once. He is an ongoing promise, an endless promise—a promise that is always fulfilled and always being fulfilled, because the Spirit is infinite and boundless and can never be fully plumbed1 —Thomas Keating
Year B, Pentecost, May 19 2024
First Reading: Ezekiel 37:1-14
Psalm: Psalm 33:12-22
Second Reading: Acts 2:1-11 (21)
Gospel: John 7:37-39a
Sermon - Original Goodness and Pentecost
In Genesis 1, we find that God did not create the earth out of nothing, but that the Spirit formed and crafted the world out of God’s very being. God’s words formed the world, and God was the light that lighted the darkened earth on the first day (Revelation 21:23).
Just as the Spirit hovered over the face of the deep, God breathed the Spirit of life into Adam, thus making both men and women in the image of God. Man is not more of the image of God than woman, and woman is not more of the image of God than man.
This creation poem might be summed up in this way: “You are made by God, you are made in the image of God, and you are very good.”
But in Genesis 3, a lie was interjected into creation, and this lie created a sort of wound or bug in the programming. The lie was not just “you will not surely die.” Instead, the lie that killed them was, “If you reach and take, then you will like God.” This was a lie because it denied the very essence of the creation poem or song: “you are made by God, you are made in the image of God, and you are very good.” That is, it denied original goodness.
This song goes like this, “There is more that needs to be done. You are not very good. You are not made in the image of God as long as you consent to being lower than the angels. You must reach out and take.”
The moment we do this, though, we realize our frailty. We realize our nakedness. We realize our inability of ever being like God through our own effort or ability.
For the rest of Genesis and the other 38 books of the Hebrew Bible, there is a constant struggle between these two songs. On one hand, the Spirit/ Breath/ Wind of God speaks through both men and women saying, “You are made by God, you are made in the image of God, and you are very good.”
Abraham was called the friend of God, and his faith was credited to him as righteousness.
Moses was able to speak to God like one does a friend.
David was a man after God’s own heart.
Miriam watched after her brother when he was helpless and assisted in leading the people.
Hannah trusted in God when she could not fulfill her dream of becoming a mother.
Huldah spoke the truth through the Spirit of God.
As the lie continued to do its work of war, destruction, and exile, the Spirit amplified the truth through the prophets. They began to speak more and more of a glorious future for Israel when the nations would be included, eunuchs would be able to bear children for God, and the Spirit of God would work to resurrect Israel and bless all flesh.
In the New Testament, John came announcing that the kingdom as at hand, and the Messiah would baptize the people in the Spirit.
But Jesus died.
When it seemed like all hope was lost, women and men, both made in the image of God, began to speak of a resurrection. John 20 says that Jesus was resurrected in a garden, and Mary thought that he was a gardened. The story from Genesis 3 was being retold.
When Jesus met his disciples, he breathed on them and told them to receive the Spirit.
You see, the cross of Christ discloses the love of God. It is the ultimate reminder of that original song: “You are made by God, you are made in the image of God, and you are very good.”
In the end, it is not original sin but original goodness that wins!
The cross reveals the heart of God. Despite our best efforts, God still loves us, and God desires reconciliation with us.
On the Day of Pentecost, 120 men and women, all of whom were made in the image of God, received the Holy Spirit. They received the gift of tongues, retelling the story of Babel, and they participated in the first taste of resurrection for all Israel.
As they proclaimed the good news, people began to wonder what this was all about.
Peter answered with a prophecy from Joel, part of which says,
‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. Acts 2:17–18
Sons and daughters, not just sons and not just daughters.
Young and old, not just young and not just old.
Slave and free, not just free and not just salves..
In other words, all flesh means all flesh.
In Christ, all of the categories and classes of people dissolve into the unity of the Spirit. While we retain our personalities and our cultures, when it comes to our relationship with each other and with Christ, that kind of diversity is seen as a blessing, not a reason for division.
All of the languages of earth come together under one new language: the language of love through the gospel of Christ.
You and I participate in this today, and thanks to the blessings and promises of God, we have remembered the lyrics to that ancient song.
Thus he has given us, through these things, his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of lust and may become participants of the divine nature 2 Peter 1:4
In other words, “You are made by God, you are made in the image of God, and you are very good.”
Psalm: I Will Put My Spirit Within You!
In Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel saw a valley of dry bones and was asked, “Mortal, can these bones live?” In a dramatic demonstration of God’s power, God commanded Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones to bring them back to life. They grew muscles and flesh, and God breathed into their nostrils the breath of life. Before long, a vast multitude stood before Ezekiel.
These bones, Ezekiel was told, represented Israel in exile. They had been taken from their home, their temple had been destroyed, and many lives had been lost. It would take a miracle to restore them to their homes.
And that’s exactly the point.
God was going to work a mighty miracle to bring Israel back to life.
But how would God accomplish this? When the tribe of Judah returned from exile, they mourned that the new temple was no where near the glory of Solomon’s temple (Haggai 2:1-9). Was this really the miracle God had in mind?
Jesus’s first disciples saw Jesus as the fulfillment of these promises. Jesus was bringing the people along on a new exodus out of sin and darkness and into the righteousness and light of the kingdom of God. In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul called the church the temple of God, and he quoted Ezekiel 37 to back up his claim.
Similarly, in Acts 15, James, the brother of Jesus, saw the inclusion of the gentiles into the people of God as the fulfillment of a prophecy Amos made concerning the rebuilding of the house of David (Amos 9:11-12).
In Ezekiel 37:11-14, God explained to Ezekiel that it is the Spirit of God that revives Israel. The presence of the Spirit of God in our lives reminds us that we are part of a much bigger story than ourselves. We are part of the family of God.
Thanks so much for keeping up with this blog. If you have any suggestions, recommendations, or critiques, you can always comment here or reach out through my website: https://danielr.net.
Keating, Thomas. The Mystery of Christ: The Liturgy as Spiritual Experience. New York: Continuum, 2008. Print.