In our gospel reading for Pentecost Sunday, Philip asks Jesus for something supernatural - a revealing of God the Father that is obvious to his physical senses. But instead of granting this request, Jesus promises to the disciples that the Father will send the Holy Spirit, to be present with them forever, and to satisfy their longing for the confirmation of their faith. And in our first reading today, we hear about how Jesus' promise was kept - the dramatic story of Pentecost, where the apostles receive the Holy Spirit in the form of supernatural wind and fire, and are given a very useful supernatural gift for that time and place - the ability to speak to the thousands of foreign tourists surrounding them. What supernatural things can WE expect to see, to confirm OUR faith?....
All through scripture, there are times and places where God has revealed himself. The bush that wondrously never stopped burning for Moses. The voice that repeatedly woke up young Samuel. The cloud that surrounded the transfigured Jesus on the mountain. The sudden blindness for Saul of Tarsus on the way to Damascus. How could someone go through an experience like that, and still doubt God's presence? In fact, what an incredible blessing it would be for God the Father to show himself to us right here this morning in church - think of how confident we would be in our faith after such an event!
Philip was thinking the same thing in our gospel reading for today - IF only God the Father would show himself to me, THEN my doubts would be completely removed. And Philip does receive the next best thing in the Pentecost experience: the dramatic entry of the Holy Spirit, followed by the dramatic gifts of the Holy Spirit. It must be hard to stay skeptical of God, when this strange tongue of fire rests above your head, and in an instant, you can perfectly speak and understand Phrygian and Pamphylian.
We wish we could expect these kinds of supernatural gifts! The ability to speak in a completely foreign language…the ability to heal people...the ability to raise people from the dead. If we had these gifts, there would no longer be even the shadow of a doubt that we are God's people, and that God has called us to be a part of his mission. Evangelizing would be a piece of cake. We would be constantly making disciples everywhere we went. For us, the Christian life would be very satisfying. And it wouldn't hurt that we would be able to amaze other people with the mighty things God is doing through us.
And besides, Jesus seems to egg us on towards the dramatic gifts in our gospel reading today. He says, "If in my name you ask me for ANYTHING, I will do it." Why wouldn't we ask for a really dramatic supernatural gift, like raising a loved one from the dead, and then at the end, say aloud, "in the name of Jesus"? Well, the Greek phrase translated "in my name" means much more than just "by saying my name." It means following his commission - being under his authority - acting according to his will. If we ask for something in Jesus' name, it means we are asking for something because Jesus wants us to. Sometimes, a dramatic, supernatural gift is exactly what the kingdom of God needs at the time, and it is what the Holy Spirit is drawing us towards. But most of the time, when we ask for something dramatic and supernatural in Jesus' name, we ask it to satisfy ourselves in some way - to bolster a faith WE have neglected or let the world steal from us, to heal a relative WE can't let go of, to impress other Christians with the work Christ is doing through US. Most of the time when we ask for something supernatural in Jesus' name, we have only our small, personal picture in mind, and not the BIG picture of the purposes of God's kingdom throughout the world and throughout all time. We MAY be given supernatural gifts and revelations if it suits God for the purposes of the kingdom, but we should not EXPECT them or worse yet, QUESTION our Christianity if we don't have them.
So what, then, DOES God give us to satisfy us and all our doubts? He gives us the Holy Spirit. He MAY, at the appropriate time in Ezra's baptism this morning, give Ezra the Holy Spirit with the sound of a violent wind, and a tongue of fire over his head like at Pentecost....but probably not. Because it is not truly the dramatic ENTRY of the Spirit that erases our doubts; it is the ongoing PRESENCE AND GUIDANCE of the Spirit that erases our doubts. It is the Spirit's pull on us to love Jesus and keep his commandments, that keeps us strong in faith. It is the Spirit's voice in our heads telling us what to say when we have opportunities of evangelizing, that keeps us strong in faith. It is the Spirit's guiding us to pray for others in the community, that keeps us strong in faith. And it is the gifts that the Spirit gives to us, that also make it clear that we ARE God's people, and that God has called us to be a part of his mission. These gifts are not usually dramatic or supernatural. It could be the gifts of producing food, or producing energy, or teaching children, or healing people, or extinguishing fires, or entertaining, or motivating. But these gifts will always be useful in God's plan, and we will always be able to ask Jesus for any other gifts we need in following God's plan.
Like the gifts of being able to hear and understand what people OUTSIDE the church are telling us about God and themselves. Like the gifts of being able to speak the language of people OUTSIDE the church, and relate on the level of friend. Like the gifts of being able to show God's love in ways that are relevant here and now. As the Spirit leads us to ask for THESE gifts, and as Jesus grants them to us, we WILL be satisfied. Because we will know that God's kingdom is progressing, and that we are a part of it.
Heavenly Father, we thank you for sending the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who abides with us forever, and satisfies our doubts. Make us bold to ask for those things you want us to have, and to do those things you want us to do, in Jesus' name. Amen.