Immersed

The scriptures referred to are Acts 19:1-7.

They say your musical tastes are pretty much fixed at age 14. And your movie tastes are probably are probably fixed by the time you are in your 20s. When I was young I picked up great lines from movies without effort. I could tell you the plots in detail. I knew every actor in every movie and the James Bond films scene by scene. And I remember being outraged when they were edited for television. I was immersed in movies. I was a walking Internet Movie Database. Now I can barely remember what I watched last month. Probably because of age. And probably because during the pandemic my wife and I have been watching a lot of TV and movies. And possibly because of IMDb itself. Who has to remember such stuff when you look it up? They say that's how our smartphones are making us dumb.

So I can't remember exactly where I got this quote. 2 characters are discussing the McGuffin of the film, the powerful whatever-it-is that everyone wants. One character says that it must never fall into the wrong hands. And the other character holds up his or her palms. The first character looks at them quizzically and asks “What are these?” The second character laughs and says, “The wrong hands!” And we now know who the villain is.

Of course, that is something a person would only say in a movie. In real life, nobody thinks of themselves as a villain. We always think we are the good guy. Or the victim. We didn't do what we did because we are evil; we were trying to do the right thing. Or we are misunderstood. Or maybe we were just getting back at someone who wronged us. At most we made a mistake that everyone is blowing up all out of proportion.

An actor knows that the key to playing a villain convincingly is to play him or her with the conviction that they are right. They know better than others. Or they are just more honest than others. What they do is justified. In Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, the titular villain probably speaks for all supervillains when he says, “The world is a mess, and I just need to rule it.” Hitler felt that way. As does every dictator and every conqueror. The problem is they are human. Their perspective is too limited to rule everything. And it isn't possible for them to resist all the temptations that come with power. If you are using your power for the good of the movement or the organization or the country or the world, what's wrong with using that power to do some good for yourself and your friends? Don't you deserve some of the benefits of that power? Of course you do!

Which is why we have so many scandals concerning people who are talented and have done a lot of good. I own every album Bill Cosby recorded. He made a lot of good TV for kids and for families. And it really hurt when we found out how he was using the power and popularity all that good had garnered him: by drugging and raping young starlets who came to him looking for help in the business. John Lasseter is responsible for a lot of wonderful movies made by Pixar...and he sexually harassed his employees. I just read a biography of Florence Nightingale, one of my heroes. She improved and organized nursing and hospitals and public health. She pioneered women's freedom to work and fought prejudice and poverty. She saved a lot of lives...and literally worked some of her supporters to death. And part of her justification was that she felt called by God to nurse the sick.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Which is another way of saying that people feel the end justifies the means of achieving it. And the minute people feel that way, they are not following God. Peter thought he was right to tell Jesus, the man he just identified as the Messiah, that he was wrong about having to die. Jesus startled him by saying, “Get behind me, Satan. You are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's.” (Mark 8:33) Christians and churches often get into trouble because they think they are pursuing God's interests but really it's their own. Or they are trying to do God's work but by any means necessary. And the devil, as they say, is in the details.

The problem is that you can't follow God's will if you don't have the right Spirit. If you are trying to do the right thing in order to make a name for yourself, or to prove to yourself that you are a good person, or to earn the approval of others or even of God, the fear and pain of failure will tempt you to focus on the goal to the exclusion of worrying about exactly how you “succeed.” But God is interested not in whether you succeed or fail by human standards but in how you live. After all, Stephen, Paul, Peter, and even Jesus did not succeed in terms the world sees as success. They didn't become rich or politically powerful or popular celebrities. They were condemned as criminals and traitors and heretics and killed by their opponents in painful and shameful ways. But in God's eyes they did what they should. They did what was right. They walked according to his Spirit.

In 1 John it says, “The one who says he resides in God ought himself to walk just as Jesus walked.” (1 John 2:6) Walking in these contexts means living. The metaphor is that our life is like a journey to return from exile to our true home with God. But we are not alone or searching to find our way. The Spirit is here to guide us and equip us and help us and transform us.

The night before he died Jesus said, “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13) That truth is specifically about Jesus and what he has taught us about himself, God, his kingdom and how citizens of his kingdom live. As it says in Psalm 143, “Teach me your will for you are my God. Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness.” (Psalm 143:10, WEB)

The Spirit also guides Christians in fulfilling their mission. The Spirit told Philip to talk to the Ethiopian eunuch and help him understand the scriptures about Jesus. (Acts 8:29-39) The Spirit led Peter to baptize a Gentile family. (Acts 10:19-22) The Spirit changed the itinerary of Paul's second missionary journey, diverting him to Macedonia and guiding him to take the gospel to Europe. (Acts 16:6-10)

The Spirit also equips Christians to serve God's mission. He gives us talents and skills. Paul lists a few, like gifts of speaking wisdom, sharing knowledge, faith, healing and more. (1 Corinthians 12:7-11) The Spirit gives us roles in the church, like preaching, teaching, serving, leading, giving financial support and acts of mercy. (Romans 12:6-8) All of these gifts and roles are given, as Paul says, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, that is, to build up the body of Christ, until we all attain the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God—a mature person, attaining to the measure of Christ's full stature.” (Ephesians 4:12-13) They are not given for the individual's benefit but to equip everyone to minister to the whole body of Christ.

And to keep us focused on the reason for these gifts, the Spirit produces in us qualities like “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) Notice that these are social qualities. This is underlined by the fact that immediately after the list Paul says, “Against such things there is no law.” There is no divine or human law against such pro-social attitudes and what they produce.

Paul contrasts these with the anti-social qualities that our fallen nature produces, including “hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions” and more. Paul warns that “Those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21) If you stir up such things or let them dominate your life and relationships you obviously cannot live in the kingdom of the God who is love. It's like saying the Nazis would be right at home in heaven. Instead they would turn it into hell. Humans have a history of doing that to any paradise that presents itself.

Indeed it is letting the natural human tendency towards selfishness and creating factions and letting differences escalate into anger and hate that have turned movements and organizations intended to do good into instruments of evil. We cannot do sustained good without letting the Spirit of God control our thoughts, words and acts. When we try to seize control from the Spirit, things will eventually and inevitably go off the rails.

To check if an idea or speech or action is of the Spirit, I propose using something similar to the saying “What would Jesus do?” Use the fruit of the Spirit. Ask “Is this loving? Is this joyful? Is this peaceful? Is this patient? Is this kind? Is this generous? Is this faithful? Is this gentle? Does this display self-control?” If not, it does not come from the Spirit.

The Spirit helps us. In John's gospel, Jesus describes the Holy Spirit with the Greek word paraclete. It is impossible to translate this into English by using just one word. It literally means one called to someone's side to aid them. A paraclete could mean a lawyer or a character witness for a defendant on trial. It could mean an intercessor. It could mean an advocate or an adviser. It could mean a comforter or a person who encourages you. So basically the Holy Spirit is a helper, especially when you really need someone to help you. The Spirit has your back when you're under attack.

That why Jesus said, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I am going away. For if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7) In his earthly life, Jesus could not be everywhere or with every follower of his in every situation. But the Spirit can. Jesus said of the Spirit, “...you know him because he resides with you and will be in you. I will not abandon you as orphans. I will come to you.” (John 14:17-18) So when Jesus said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age,” he was talking about the Spirit. (Matthew 28:20) Indeed 1 Peter refers to the Holy Spirit as “the Spirit of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:11) And Paul also calls him “the Spirit of Christ,” (Romans 8:9) and “the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:19) In Galatians he says, “God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts...” (Galatians 4:6) The Spirit who was in and who empowered Jesus in his earthly life is within us and will help us...provided we do not try to quench the Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 5:19)

Finally, the Spirit transforms us. The first law code dates back to the 24^th century BC and covers things like murder, theft, hunger and the blind. The code of Hammurabi, coming 7 centuries later, deals with slander, perjury, fraud, liability, rape, and divorce. The Torah prohibits incest, legal injustice, and animal abuse. It protects resident aliens, the poor, widows and the fatherless. Jesus commanded us to love everyone, neighbor and enemy, and not to retaliate but to forgive. If morality was simply a matter of knowing what is good and what is evil, we would be living in a much better world. We know what to do; we just don't want to do it. Not all the time. Not in every instance.

What we need is a change of heart, a new spirit. Which God promised through the prophets. In Ezekiel 36, God says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” (Ezekiel 36:26-27) And on the Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection and ascension, God fulfills that promise by pouring out his Spirit on the church, the body of Christ on earth.

So why do we not see more evidence of the Spirit in the church today? Because as we said, it is possible to quench the fire of the Spirit in us. You have to feed a fire to keep it going. You have to take in proper nutrition to grow and to stay healthy. We know how people are radicalized for evil purposes: they feed themselves on and immerse themselves in hateful writings. Worse, they twist even things meant to inspire goodness. Islamic extremists ignore the parts of the Quran that speak of peace with Christians and Jews and of not harming noncombatants, focusing exclusively on the parts written during armed conflicts. They misinterpret the concept of jihad, which most Muslims take to be the spiritual struggle to be a good Muslim. In the same way, some so-called Christians focus on the parts of the Old Covenant that apply to the conquest of Canaan and bronze- and iron-age Israel, ignoring the commandments there to love that Jesus makes central to his New Covenant. White supremacists, sovereign citizens, and so-called patriots who say they love this country, while ignoring the Constitution and democracy that make it unique, immerse themselves in irrational conspiracy theories that back up their beliefs that all our problems come from “those people.” And they can put into that category of “those people” anyone in the world they don't like. We are all on the hate list of someone who cannot admit that they themselves might be part of the problem.

Evil likes to parody what is good. And these people are simply corrupting the process by which we can let God's Spirit transform us. We are to feed on and immerse ourselves in God's word. As the psalmist says, “Let me understand the teaching of your precepts; then I will meditate on your wonders.” (Psalm 119:27) And if we do that we will see that “good” is spoken of 100 times more than “evil” and “love” nearly 3 times as often as “hate.” As Paul says, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians 4:8)

Extremists groups attend rallies to stir up their hate. We attend worship to celebrate the God who is love. Extremists recruit people into their hate groups. We are to share the good news of Jesus Christ who died to save us and rose again to give us the Spirit of the God who is love. Extremists define themselves by whom they hate. Jesus said, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35) If we try to do this on our own, however, we will find the effort hopeless. We can only do this “because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)

Just as a body without breath is dead, so is the body of Christ without the Spirit. And some parts of the church seem to be holding their breath, so to speak, inhibiting the movement of the Spirit. Yet we see the Spirit active in other parts of the church. We see the love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and generosity and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control the Spirit is producing in those places.

In our passage from Acts, Paul encounters would-be Christians who did not have the Holy Spirit. Paul baptizes them in the name of Jesus and they receive the Holy Spirit and miraculous things happen. Baptism means immersion. We have already been baptized in Christ. But are we staying immersed in his word and in his Spirit? Because if so, watch out!