(or the Pentecost Difference)
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself as He is pure.
- 1 John 3:1-3
When I was young, as in, child and teen years young, searching for Bigfoot was a big deal. Bigfoot was the missing link between apes and humans, and various persons and organizations searched diligently for Bigfoot. Sightings were often reported, and grainy photos of the creature were displayed in documentaries. Bigfoot got his name in the late 1950s from a construction crew in northern California that discovered 16-inch long, human-like footprints while working on a road. Interest in Bigfoot seems to have waned in popular culture, or maybe I don’t watch enough television.
Although Bigfoot is a North American phenomenon, he is a cousin to other similar creatures of legend such as the yeti, for example. For all of recorded history, people have believed these Bigfoot-type creatures exist. To date, we have no conclusive evidence that this missing link exists now or ever has existed, as in, there are no fossil records of such a creature.
On the face of it, it seems odd, if we think about it (though I’m not totally convinced we think very much or very well). If we evolved from monkeys and other in-between species (think: Neanderthals), why would Bigfoot be huge when its predecessor and progeny are both smaller? Just a thought I had… I don’t believe in Bigfoot or any other “missing link” between animals and ourselves. How many of us are aware that the physical evidence for a direct ancestor to human beings is sketchy at best and likely impossible to find? That’s not how it’s presented to us. As debates rage about speciation and branch species, the evidence for any pre-human lineage to human beings is almost exclusively speculative or indeterminate. More important, no other creature is the image of God. One doesn’t evolve into God’s image.
Yesterday was Ascension Day. We celebrate Ascension Day on the Thursday before Pentecost, so most of us have no idea what it means because, really, who goes to church on Thursday evening? No doubt, we’re all glad Jesus ascended, and most of us are glad there was and is a Pentecost, which we see as the birth of the Church. Yet, there is a great deal more to both events than these brief sentences, and that we know so little about the implications for our own lives is something we need to remedy.
The Ascension reveals human destiny, much as does the Transfiguration. We know the Resurrection is crucial. Death is defeated! And we know Pentecost is when the Spirit of God is poured out on all who earnestly desire new birth into the family of our Father, into His Kingdom. The Ascension, though, escapes our notice, and that’s to our detriment. When Christ ascended into heaven, He ascended in His human body. The Son of Mary was raised from the dead and ascended into heaven. Where is that?
We cannot see it, but it’s all around us. As Paul wrote, “In Him, we live and move and have our being…”. There is far more to reality than we see with purely natural eyes and experiences. To live solely in the physical world is to miss the larger portion of what is real. The abode of God is in an eternal realm that is all around us but also inaccessible to the finite creature, unless…
Unless God makes it possible for us to enter into His eternal Kingdom and engage with Him as His children. This, He has done in Jesus Christ, but He has guaranteed our life in Him through Pentecost. He has given us His Spirit that we can be His children. This goes to the heart of Christian life. Already, we are His children, but we do not begin to imagine what we will fully be one day, when we see Christ and discover that we are like Him.
This morning, as we awakened to continued power outages, more flooding, and damage from yet another storm that blew through, we awaken as children of the One Who holds the whole of creation in His hands. That changes how we view our circumstances. Whatever else may be true, what we see is not the measure of what is. No situation is hopeless, and our Father can and will bring forth good for us.
Much of the chaos of American society is a result of our rejection of all things spiritual. It didn’t happen quickly, and therefore, many of us slowly accepted the diminishment of the spiritual realm – the diminishment of God Himself. Yet, contrary to what we think, our opinion of what is true is not nearly as important as what is actually true. A great deal of what ails us as a people is directly correlated to our lack of knowledge and awareness of spiritual forces. One doesn’t have to believe in God for God to act for good in the world, nor does one need to believe in demons for Satan to wreak havoc and destruction in the minds of men and women.
Christian, you have been given a spirit of love, not of fear. You have access to the throne of God. The Creator of all that exists invites you to call Him Father – or more correctly, Abba, Daddy. The One Who called creation into being, Who knew you when He formed you in the womb, has called you friend and brother or sister. The Ascension reveals that all that He is, is who we are destined to become, fully human and born of God, meant for a world beyond our vision now. In turn, Pentecost is our new birth in Christ uniting heaven and earth in the Church and in each of us long before we are able to grasp the magnitude of the promise.
In the last blog, I wrote about the difference between being descendants of monkeys versus descendants of the image of God. While many would have us believe that we have progressed beyond religious superstition, they are mistaken that there is progress in these views. There is only regress – a movement away from authentic humanity in Jesus Christ. We are indeed boldly living Paul’s condemnation, “Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” Human life possesses the capacity for communion with God and ultimately, union with God. Casting aside the rich potentialities of God’s image, we have accepted the limitations of animals. In short, for the cause of progress and advancement, we forfeited our souls, for animals do not have souls in the image of God.
When we look around at popular culture or listen to news reports, there is so much rage and despondency, as well as an inundation of vulgarity and disrespect alongside proud and rampant selfishness. To call this progress is delusional. What difference does great technology make if it is used for the destruction of all that is truly human? Our progress to a purely biological state has left us bereft of meaning, beauty, dignity, and hope. While we celebrate our freedom from our Creator and thereby forego the dignities of human life and nature bestowed by Him, we are made less while telling ourselves we are more.
Jesus Christ would raise us up with Him and unite us to our Father in eternal and everlasting love in His Presence. That process begins when we are born of the Spirit into the family of God. One day we will see the fulfillment of who we truly are; our “selves” will be filled to fullness with the Spirit of God among His family. Christians need to live this truth in defiance of every contradictory claim and value. If we Christians do not live wholly into the life we are given, then we participate in the death of our humanity and the capitulation to animal life that is beneath us.
Try something new between now and Sunday. Purify yourself. Confess your sins, even if only on paper, but do not let them wander through your mind hidden from the light of day. Name the people you’ve hurt, and count the grudges you hold. How have you sought your own comfort and ignored the misery of others? Strive for virtue and humility. To be pure is to be without blemish. We do not reach that state in a single accounting, nor do we reach such a state apart from the presence of the Spirit. But at least, let us strive for the purity and virtue needed to receive the Holy Spirit and experience Pentecost more deeply anew and afresh – refreshed with life.
In Christ –
Rev. Elizabeth Moreau
Copyright 2024, All Rights Reserved
Comments