Pentecost 12-Ezek 37, john 16

On Pentecost the Spirit the language of the apostles to be instantly translated into different languages to further common understanding. When we of a certain age hear the argot of teenagers, either slang or technobabble, we sometimes fear that we are not speaking the same language. We need the Spirit to help us translate perhaps. After all, this is the great day fo the Holy spirit in the Christian community. Jesus speaks of the Spirit a good bit in this long goodbye to his friends. This is a spirit of truth. this is a spirit that lives and breathes new and deep messages through our lives all of the time. Spirit’s presence-Listen to the catechism the new members of the church examined. maintenance of baptism personal claim: “The Holy Spirit is the personal bond by which Christ unites us to himself, the teacher, who opens our hearts, the comforter who leads us to repentance, and empowers us to live in Christ’s service.As the midwife of the new creation, the Spriit arrive siwth the Word, brings us to rebirth, and assure su of eternal life. The spirit nurtures, corrects and strengthens us.” Some fear that the mainline church is a pile of dry bones. Perhaps they are correct, as older established churches continue to hemorrhage members, and our children prance off to different groups, or to none at all, with that horrid phrase, spiritual but not religious. They make a claim of assent to a faith that has claimed them since baptism. That very diversity is a demonstration that the spirit does not insist on lockstep patterns of life. Not that long ago, parents had a bag packed, ready to go to the hospital, to bring a new life into the world. Now parents sit in stunned realization that the same child is taking an adult step into the world and becoming a full audlt member of the church.In Paul’s world view, this claim of their baptism is of cosmic significance. Once again the separation of heaven and earth is breached, and the voice from heaven claims, these are my beloved in whom i am well pleased. Paul’s apocalyptic sense that the life and death and resurrection of Jesus turned a decisive chapter. I look around and fear that truth lies in tatters. With the press for speed, it is not surprising that reporting has more errors. It goes beyond that though. Ideological blinders close our minds, so we accept some things as factual and reject others out of hand due soley to our point of view.It was not long ago that we would have committed people to instiutions for saying things that are now publicized on the news programs. The christian faith skirts the issue by pointing to a single life as revealing the truth of God and human life to us in Jesus Christ. Led by the spirit these young people are claiming their citizenship papers in the commonwealth of heaven for themselves as active adult members in the community in which they were baptized. In our tradition, the spirit has touched their lives in a concrete, direct way that they share with us this morning. One of the remarkable things about the spirit is the willingness to touch us in a way that fits our personality and situation in life. The spirit realizes our growing edges and accommodates its energies toward them as we grow in the faith. They take a milestone step in their journey with God this morning. Those of us who are a bit older than they may tell them that presence continues.