Where Can I Go From Your Spirit?
Preaching
The Life Of Christ And The Death Of A Loved One
Crafting The Funeral Homily
A Funeral Homily For Pentecost
Music: Come, Gracious Spirit
When Jesus preached his famous Sermon on the Mount, one of the things he said was, ''Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.'' Today, as we gather together to pray, we know firsthand the promise of Christ's words.
For it is natural, at such a time as this, to turn to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Comforter, as Jesus called the Spirit. We pray that the Spirit at this time of Pentecost may fall fresh on us again, to surround and protect and comfort us in our time of sorrow and loss, to quiet our fears, to dispel our doubts.
When you are cast down, not knowing where to turn, overcome with sorrow and grief, I encourage you to turn to the Holy Comforter, who will supply all your need, revive your hope, and increase your faith.
For our confidence is this: that the ever--present Spirit will not abandon the Christian in time of need. In Psalm 139, one of the most moving Psalms in all of Scripture, the Psalmist cries out, ''Where can I go then from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?''
The answer? Nowhere - ''If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.'' The Spirit who has been with us from the time of our baptism, the Spirit who strengthens us in confirmation, the Spirit who pours out the abundance of blessing in holy matrimony, the same Spirit who leads us to confession and keeps us in eternal life, the Spirit who anoints us inwardly as we are outwardly anointed with oil during prayers for healing, this same Spirit does not abandon the Christian at the time of death:
Where can I go from your Spirit? If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the bed my grave, you are there also. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand hold me fast.
Neither height nor depth nor distance, not joy, not grief, nor physical separation can wrest us from the ever--present Spirit.
The Spirit also knows us inside and out. Again, the Psalmist writes:
You have searched me out and known me, you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You trace my journeys and my resting places and are acquainted with all my ways. Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, but you, O Lord, knew it altogether.
You see, the Spirit knows us, inside and out. Both our outward actions and our inward thoughts, our times of activity, and our times of rest, both our ways and our words.
''Even there your right hand will lead me and your right hand hold me fast.'' We are upheld in the Spirit's love and embrace.
Neither can darkness separate us from the Spirit. Not the darkness of night, nor the darkness of fear, nor the darkness of pain, nor the darkness of difficult circumstances:
For if I say, ''Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,'' Darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike.
We also rejoice in the Spirit who knew us before we were born, who created our inmost parts, who knit us together in our mother's womb. ''I will thank you because I am marvelously made; your words are wonderful, and I know it full well.''
The Psalmist gave thanks for the wonderful gift of being a human being. Today, we give thanks for the wonderful gift of N., his [her] life among us, his [her] love, wisdom, talents. It is right and proper to express our thanks over and over again to God for this unique person with whom we have had the privilege of knowing and sharing a part of our life.
And we rejoice because the One who made us in secret, weaving us together in the depths of the earth, fashioning us day by day, when we were not, will, after we die and return to the earth, keep working in us, keep fashioning us. We are not hidden from God after we die anymore than we were hidden from God before we were born.
The Spirit is with us today to comfort us in our sorrow.
The Spirit is ever present with us.
The Spirit knows us inside and out.
The Spirit is in us, working in us that which is perfect in God's sight.
In the words of Simon Browne:
So come, gracious Spirit, heavenly dove,
with light and comfort from above;
be thou our guardian, thou our guide
o'er every thought and step preside.
Lead us to Christ, the living way,
nor let us from his precepts stray;
lead us to holiness, the road
that we must take to dwell with God.
Lead us to heaven, that we may share
fullness of joy forever there;
lead us to God, our final rest,
to be with him forever blest.
(''Come, Gracious Spirit,''
The Hymnal 1982, 512)
Amen.
Music: Come, Gracious Spirit
When Jesus preached his famous Sermon on the Mount, one of the things he said was, ''Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.'' Today, as we gather together to pray, we know firsthand the promise of Christ's words.
For it is natural, at such a time as this, to turn to the Holy Spirit, the Holy Comforter, as Jesus called the Spirit. We pray that the Spirit at this time of Pentecost may fall fresh on us again, to surround and protect and comfort us in our time of sorrow and loss, to quiet our fears, to dispel our doubts.
When you are cast down, not knowing where to turn, overcome with sorrow and grief, I encourage you to turn to the Holy Comforter, who will supply all your need, revive your hope, and increase your faith.
For our confidence is this: that the ever--present Spirit will not abandon the Christian in time of need. In Psalm 139, one of the most moving Psalms in all of Scripture, the Psalmist cries out, ''Where can I go then from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?''
The answer? Nowhere - ''If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the grave my bed, you are there also.'' The Spirit who has been with us from the time of our baptism, the Spirit who strengthens us in confirmation, the Spirit who pours out the abundance of blessing in holy matrimony, the same Spirit who leads us to confession and keeps us in eternal life, the Spirit who anoints us inwardly as we are outwardly anointed with oil during prayers for healing, this same Spirit does not abandon the Christian at the time of death:
Where can I go from your Spirit? If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the bed my grave, you are there also. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand hold me fast.
Neither height nor depth nor distance, not joy, not grief, nor physical separation can wrest us from the ever--present Spirit.
The Spirit also knows us inside and out. Again, the Psalmist writes:
You have searched me out and known me, you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You trace my journeys and my resting places and are acquainted with all my ways. Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, but you, O Lord, knew it altogether.
You see, the Spirit knows us, inside and out. Both our outward actions and our inward thoughts, our times of activity, and our times of rest, both our ways and our words.
''Even there your right hand will lead me and your right hand hold me fast.'' We are upheld in the Spirit's love and embrace.
Neither can darkness separate us from the Spirit. Not the darkness of night, nor the darkness of fear, nor the darkness of pain, nor the darkness of difficult circumstances:
For if I say, ''Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,'' Darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike.
We also rejoice in the Spirit who knew us before we were born, who created our inmost parts, who knit us together in our mother's womb. ''I will thank you because I am marvelously made; your words are wonderful, and I know it full well.''
The Psalmist gave thanks for the wonderful gift of being a human being. Today, we give thanks for the wonderful gift of N., his [her] life among us, his [her] love, wisdom, talents. It is right and proper to express our thanks over and over again to God for this unique person with whom we have had the privilege of knowing and sharing a part of our life.
And we rejoice because the One who made us in secret, weaving us together in the depths of the earth, fashioning us day by day, when we were not, will, after we die and return to the earth, keep working in us, keep fashioning us. We are not hidden from God after we die anymore than we were hidden from God before we were born.
The Spirit is with us today to comfort us in our sorrow.
The Spirit is ever present with us.
The Spirit knows us inside and out.
The Spirit is in us, working in us that which is perfect in God's sight.
In the words of Simon Browne:
So come, gracious Spirit, heavenly dove,
with light and comfort from above;
be thou our guardian, thou our guide
o'er every thought and step preside.
Lead us to Christ, the living way,
nor let us from his precepts stray;
lead us to holiness, the road
that we must take to dwell with God.
Lead us to heaven, that we may share
fullness of joy forever there;
lead us to God, our final rest,
to be with him forever blest.
(''Come, Gracious Spirit,''
The Hymnal 1982, 512)
Amen.
