Break us open, Lord, and set our hearts on fire

"Do not leave us comfortless, O God." This is the prayer we always say on the Sunday between Ascension Day, which was last Thursday, and the Day of Pentecost, which is next Sunday. We are in a place of in-between - between the time when Jesus has ascended into heaven, as we say in the creed, and the time that the Holy Spirit showed up as tongues of flame upon the disciples gathered in Jerusalem, setting their hearts on fire to spread God’s love and healing through the world. 

Jesus had told his disciples before he died that he was going away, but that it was to their advantage, because once he had brought all of humanity right into the heart of God, then God would send God’s spirit to be among the faithful in all times and in all places, even to us today, to be our guide, to be the wisdom that helps us discern how to follow Jesus when Jesus is not physically here, and the voice that prompts us to act faithfully. 

This is our story: Jesus came to show us God. Jesus died, refusing to meet violence with violence. And God has raised him from the dead. And now Jesus has taken our humanity into heaven, all of our humanity, even the terrible parts, even suffering and death, and the Divine Spirit of God is coming to

guide us the rest of the way.

The Gospel of John uses many names for that divine spirit - the Paraclete, the
teacher, the advocate, the comforter.

I think most of us want to think of the Spirit as a comforter. Life can feel so fraught, and we often find ourselves so anxious and sometimes even in anguish about things over which we know we have no power or control.

And so it is natural that what we crave is comfort, a spirit that, as St. Paul said, intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. A spirit that translates to God our fears and anxieties and translates back to us God’s embrace.

But there is more to that Spirit of God than comfort. Once when talking with his bewildered and doubtful disciples about the Spirit that is to come, Jesus said: I have many other things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when the Spirit comes, that Spirit will guide you into God’s truth about those things that you will feel you cannot bear. The Spirit will prompt, teach, urge the community into and through the pain of transformation into a new creation, new life. Because God knows, transformation does not happen without pain. It only happens when our hearts are finally broken open.

While cultural Christianity focuses on the individual’s personal relationship with Jesus as the key to salvation and going to heaven as the goal, Biblical Christianity is communal. It is about building the beloved community where we are. It is concerned with the transformation of the world we are living in now through a love that knows no boundaries. Loving and serving our neighbor is the most basic action a Christian can and should do. It is the every day work of the Christian to look beyond self, to build up the community, to reject violence and degradation, to stand up for the vulnerable, to be God’s love in the world.

And that doesn’t mean just being nice. Yes, Jesus said blessed are the peacemakers, and also Jesus turned over the tables in the temple. Jesus suffered and died an excruciating death and our response to that has to be more than being nice or wanting to go to heaven when we die. Our response to that has to be a rejection of the use of power to destroy the vulnerable, a rejection of greed, a rejection of violence as a means to succeed. 

Nothing Holy can be gained through any of those means. 

And so we must be transformed. We must pray not just for comfort but also for the strength to bear what transformation asks of us. To bear the risk of the kind of love that says that to be one with God means not just saying no personally to our society’s attraction to those unholy things, but saying no communally. 

And I know this is not simple. We live in a complex world that is both beautiful and broken, beguiling and bewildering. Jesus knew when to teach about peace and when to turn over the tables. We must rely on the Spirit to prompt us to know which is which as well, to know when not just to feel but also to act with righteous anger whenever we see the world sacrifice vulnerable on the altar of power and greed. To let our hearts be finally broken open so that we can be a transformational force in the world.

And so on this Sunday as we await the coming of the Spirit again, let us imagine Jesus ascended to the throne of God Almighty, taking the human experience, the human condition, the sorrow and pain and suffering, taking death right into the heart of God and saying to God, here they are and I love them. They’re a mess but I love them. And so I am asking that you send them comfort in their pain, and also send them wisdom to see and know that love is the most powerful force there is. Send them your Spirit that can transform their sorrow into strength. Send them inspiration to come out of their locked rooms and live out your powerful love in the world. Set them on fire for righteousness, God, as you did for me, says Jesus.  Because I love them and I know that they can have the power to use that love to transform the world, if they will but heed your Spirit’s voice.

So come Holy Spirit, come. Come and break our hearts open and set us on fire to show to the world your righteous and transformational love.