The Holy Spirit, a promise kept John 14:8-17

Glory be to the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit AMEN

Pentecost Sunday is a day to remember, to celebrate, and to dream. Jesus promised to send us an advocate. He said,

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate; to be with you forever. ¹⁷ This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. (John 14:16-17 NRSV)

God comes to us not at our command; but entirely of at a time and through a means of God's own choice. Jesus keeps his promises. He has promised to send the Advocate. And just like the wind the Spirit moves free and strong among God's people today.

Thousands of years ago, in the land we today call Iraq, a civilization took shape that we know of as Babel. We heard about them in our first reading. It's people looked at themselves as especially unique. They shared so much in common from their language to their dreams. They had big aspirations. They wanted to make a name for themselves.

They built a great city and at the very heart of their city they started to build a tower. These people wanted to approach heaven so they built their tower to reach into heaven. A friend says that the people of Babel built a ziggurat, a great stepped pyramid meant to either entice God to come down them or to allow them to reach up to God. These people weren't the only ones in human history to build such great structures. People still build today hoping to either reach the divine or to entice the divine to come to them.

God saw what the people had done. He saw that they were seeking glory; and he came down among them confusing their language ending their unity. The people scattered to all corners of the world no longer unified by human will.

Today God seeks to unite us not through language or earthly glory; instead God sends out the spirit free to unite us one to another as witnesses to God's power in our lives.