“When We Don't Know What to Say”
Sermon Preached by
The Rev. Dr. Andrew Stirling
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Text: John 14:15-27
I don't know if any of you have been given a gift card at Christmas for a birthday or anniversary or something like that, but I read a staggering statistic, and whether this is absolutely true and whether it applies to every part of our country or not, I don't know, but it suggests that 30 per cent of the value of all those cards is never ever collected. In other words unless you actually use the card, the money just sits there with that card for a while. I thought, “Aren't people stupid You give them something free, something marvellous, and 30 per cent of it is not used!”
Then this past week I was going through some of my calling cards on my desk and there was a gift card to me from three Christmases ago and I thought, “What does that tell you about yourself? I am stupid too!” I tried to spend it, but unfortunately it had expired just a few months ago. Here was this great gift. It had been paid for. Someone had been kind in giving it to me and I hadn't used it.
There are many stories throughout history of people who have had exactly the same experience and have probably done the same thing. Sometimes you just don't use the good things that you are given even if they are free. I read of an incredible historical example of the great First Nations' leader Crowfoot. He was in charge of the Blackfoot Confederacy in Alberta.
When the Canadian Pacific Railway wanted to run a track from Medicine Hat through to Calgary, they had to go through the Confederacy lands. Crowfoot agreed with this. He was very helpful. He allowed it to happen. One of the things the CPR decided to do for Crowfoot was to give him a lifetime pass for wherever he wanted to go on the CPR. He could actually use it anytime and go anywhere. He was so pleased with this that he actually placed that letter in a leather pouch that he wore around his neck.
Rumour and tradition has it that no one knows if Crowfoot ever used it. He had this great gift but it is doubtful that he ever used it. You see, even the greatest gift, given in generosity, given in thanks for something that had been given, a wonderful thing, has to be used to really have its value. It has to be something that actually makes a difference.
When Jesus sat down with his disciples not very long before he was crucified, died and eventually rose from the dead, He took his disciples aside and he said, “I want to give you a promise.” It was like giving them a gift card. “When I have gone, I am going to send you the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
He called this Holy Spirit by a name to describe what the Spirit does. This Spirit is to be an advocate. An advocate is like a lawyer or someone who is willing to talk for you. Or another term that is used is “Comforter” somebody who is going to help you when you have a time of trouble, someone who is going to be able to protect you. Another term that is used is a “Helper” somebody who is there to assist you in your life.
Jesus knew that he wanted to give the disciples a gift card. He wanted to give them something that would help them in their lives, so he promised them this gift of the Holy Spirit. You and I cannot see the Holy Spirit. We cannot touch the Holy Spirit. It is not like we have a card saying, “Here's the Holy Spirit” and we cash it in and all of a sudden we can see this Holy Spirit. But what he is giving us is a spiritual power that really does change our lives.
Let me give you a couple of examples. There comes a time in your life, maybe not this year, maybe not next year, maybe not in 10 years time, but there will come a time when you will want to talk to someone about your faith and you won't know what to say and you won't know how to describe it. There are a lot of us like that, if we are actually honest. When we are confronted by people who ask us about our faith, some of us just freak out: we don't know what to say. What words do we use to describe what we believe in?
I was reading a piece in the National Post just yesterday about this very thing. There has been a study done by an organization that I belong to - The Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences - and they are having their big meeting in Fredericton this very weekend. One of the writers who is presenting a paper at this conference had met many young Christians, people like yourselves, and this is what he wrote as a quote from one of the young university students that he had met:
These young people feel, and my friends feel like there is a prejudice about talking about religion to people. “I can't pull out my Bible” the student said, “I can't talk about my religion and my faith without it getting put down. I don't even mention it at times for fear of getting a bad reaction, and sometimes I just don't know what to say.”
I think a lot of us feel like that at times. We'll talk about what is wrong with everything - the weather, sports, we'll talk about a lot of things, many things like our friends we are tweeting with, we'll do all kinds of things, but we don't want to talk about or faith. But you know, there will come a time when you will want to, when you will have to, when it will be important to you, and it might be to your children, to your parents, to your grandparents, to your classmates. You never know!
The Holy Spirit will help you. If you ask the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit will give you the words to say. Sure, you are well schooled! You have had great training with Reverend Tamas over the last few months. You know a lot about the Bible, but there will be a time when you simply won't know what to say. Jesus thought way ahead, he knew that there would be a time when his followers would feel that way. But he gave us a gift card and it said, “Here's the Holy Spirit. He'll help you.”
There are going to be times, and you have probably already experienced them, when you feel very alone, when you really, really feel alone, when you have a difficult test, or when you have a challenge with somebody with whom you associate at school. There will be challenges that you face when you feel uncertain and you are not sure what to do. We all feel like that. Jesus has given us a gift card. It is the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit says, “I will be with you. I am your Comforter. I will not leave you alone.”
No matter what you may face in your life, and no matter how down you might become, always remember this: all you have to do is ask for the gift card and the Holy Spirit will be there for you. You might find somebody who is in trouble, and you might see something going on in the world that you don't like, and you are worried about it. You think, “If only this could be put right, if only a friend of mine could receive some comfort and some care...” Well, that is when you open your gift card and the Holy Spirit says, “I am there to bring comfort.”
All you have to do is pray, all you have to do is ask, and the card will be activated. That is all you have to do! But, you notice something: Jesus has made these promises. He has paid the price for the card. He has given it to you. The question is: are you going to use it? Are you going to have a life of faith? Are you going to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit in your daily walk and in your relationships? Are you going to claim the gift and use it?
In a few moments time, you are going to be kneeling and the ministers and your families are going to lay hands on you. Many of you out there will remember your own Confirmations. As we put our hands on you we say: “Confirm, O Lord, this your servant (you), that he/she, by the Holy Spirit, may be yours forever.” From this moment on, you can open the card. The gift has been given. The Holy Spirit, a great spiritual power, is there for you. Open it! Use it! Live with it! It is yours! Amen.