Most, if not all of us enjoy receiving gifts. During special occasions or birthdays, we sometimes tell our family, “O, don’t worry about buying anything for me.” But for many of us, our feelings are at least slightly wounded if our birthday is forgotten, and nobody gives us a gift.
Gifts have a way of making us feel important, and we feel loved, accepted, affirmed and appreciated. According to one theologian, “To be the recipient of a gift or to be a ‘gifted’ person is to acknowledge that we are special; it is to acknowledge our uniqueness and worth as a person in relationship with others.”
Yes, we like receiving gifts! And it is especially fun if we receive gifts at unexpected times, on days not generally associated with gift-giving. When gifts come from out of nowhere, from persons we least expect, we are overwhelmed with gratitude. Ordinary days are transformed by a simple gesture of someone presenting us a gift. When everything we are working for seems to turn out wrong, a gift can change our entire mood and perspective. It will renew our confidence, lighten our hearts, brighten our path, and perk up our spirits for we know that “Somebody cares!”
I know that the Bible tells us that “It is better to give than to receive.” But, honestly, there are also times and occasions when we all like being on the receiving end.
Our gospel lesson for today is set on the evening of the day of resurrection. The disciples were in no mood for rejoicing. They believed that they would be accused of pillaging and making off with the body of Jesus. In spite of the news the women told them that Jesus was resurrected, the disciples were still bewildered, confused and uncertain. They decided to come together and locked the doors. Into this fear-filled, locked-down room Jesus makes his appearance and greets his disciples: “Shalom, Peace be with you.”
I have a feeling their reaction was a mixture of confusion, excitement and joy. What would you feel if your friend who died would suddenly appear in front of you? John with some great restraint relates that the disciples “rejoiced when they saw the Lord.” This is more like the joy of seeing a returning friend whom they had not expected. In fact it is the joy of a friend returning…from the grave!
As we listen to that text, I hear Jesus saying to them, “I am alive! I want to give you a parting gift!” Notice that Jesus did not say: “Well now, since the resurrection is in the books, and my ascension is not far away, I would like to give you something. So, what would you like? Neither did he leave with these parting words, “it will not hurt my feelings in the least if you want to take it back and find something that is more you.”
Rather, John’s recording of what transpired in that room is brief and straight to the point: “He breathed on them” and then he said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
“He breathed on them!” What a marvelous word-picture that captures the nature of the “giftedness” of the Holy Spirit. The breath of Christ becomes the wind of the Spirit. It is the same breath that moved over the storms of chaos, and brought order to creation. It is the same breath that moved over a valley filled with dried, scorched bones in order to restore life to a people before the eyes of Ezekiel. And now, it is the breath which moved over a group of fear-filled disciples, huddling in a room of uncertainty, and transforming them into dynamic, energy-filled servants. Because of that gift, the disciples were enabled and empowered to share the gift with others.
Today, that saving breath of life from Christ is also “gifted” to the body of Christ–to you and to me. When that breath is breathed into us, things change and lives change. It is like a gentle breeze stirred by a fan on a hot summer day; or like sitting on a porch, or under a tree in the cool of the evening. It is like feeling the refreshing wind as we open the windows in a stuffy room. It is the breath that changes lives.
In our giftedness, we discover that our fear is replaced with joy, our shyness is replaced with boldness, our hesitation is replaced with courage, and our sense of confusion is replaced with a sense of purpose.
However, Jesus had prefaced his gift-giving with the assignment: “I send you.” And he follows it with the responsibility of authority. This giftedness is not to be preserved and protected. Rather, this sends us out to the world endowed with power and mission.
The disciples, and now we, are commissioned to do “ministry of reconciliation” and share the word of grace. They, and now we, are to bring that fresh life-giving Spirit to a world which continues to shut its doors in fear. We are empowered to breathe new life into a stale world that yearns to breathe free. We are empowered to breathe new life in a world were corruption is present; where drugs are sold freely, destroying lives; where our natural resources that
God has given are destroyed indiscriminately, that a few will get rich, a world where power and might seems to rule; where abductions, killings abound; where people cannot agree with each other that even churches are divided.
Bishop Bob Morgan in his book Who’s Coming to Dinner?
tells a powerful story about a Dutch pastor and his family who during the second World War had been hiding Jewish people in their home to keep them safe from Hitler’s forces. They were eventually found out. And one night in the darkness, they were arrested and loaded into a cattle car to be taken to one of the notorious death camps. All night long the Dutch pastor and his family rode along in heart- breaking anguish, jostling against one another and against the other prisoners who were jammed into the train cattle car. They were absolutely terrified. They knew they were being taken to one of Hitler’s extermination centers.
Finally, the long night ended and the train stopped. The doors of the cattle car were opened and light streamed into that tragic scene. They were marched out and were lined up beside the railroad tracks, resigned to unspeakable pain, as they knew they would be separated from each other and ultimately killed. But in the midst of their gloom, they discovered some amazing good news… good news beyond belief. They discovered in the bright morning sunlight that they were not in a death camp at all, not in Germany at all. Rather, they were in Switzerland!
During the night, someone through personal courage and daring had tripped a switch… and sent the train to Switzerland… and to freedom. Instead of being marched to death, they were welcomed to new life. In the midst of his joy and relief, the Dutch pastor said, “What do you do with such a gift?”
Something like that happened to the disciples in the evening of the resurrection day. God tripped a switch. From fear and confusion, they received this incredible gift… the gift of the Holy Spirit! And they were freed. It turned their lives around… and empowered by this amazing gift, they in turn went out and turned the world upside down.
Yesterday I attended the closing program of the Daily Vacation Church School held here in our church. As I was watching the program, it made my heart sing and gave thanks to God. I did not only see children who were eager to learn about the Bible and about Jesus, but I saw our young people volunteering their time and their gifts to help share the gospel stories. I saw our young people gifted with the Holy Spirit as they work with the children, touching and changing their lives. In fact I was told that one child said, “I love to be part of the Vacation Church School for I feel the love of my teachers.”
Our gospel story this morning reminds us again of how the risen Christ can push open the bolted door of a church, how the risen Christ can enter the fearful chambers of every church and fills the place with his own life. When Christ breathes into our lives, nothing will ever be the same again.
In that moment, the risen Christ will raise those who are fearful, faithless followers to newness of life. And together, we can praise God and share the risen Christ with others.
