Good Shepherd Lutheran Church(elca)

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The Gift Of The Spirit

Pastor: 
Pr. Tom Schoenherr
Sermon audio: 
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June 26-27, 2010
Pr. Tom Schoenherr
      Robert Frost in his poem, “The Road Not Taken” ends the poem;
        Two roads diverged in a wood,and                                                                                                                         
            I took the one less traveled by
            And that has made all the difference.
      In our text there are two ways that are divergent from one another; the way of the flesh and the way of the Spirit. We are set free through the love of Christ and the power of the Spirit to love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. But we know that the ways of the flesh are also very much a part of usand they continue to call us to follow that divergent path.
      We Christians must admit it is enticing and feels good at times to bite and devour someone who thinks differently from us. It can be pleasing and satisfying to gratify the desires of our sinful flesh. At times religious people, thinking that they are following in God’s way let their intensity and lack of love, joy, peace, and patience bring destruction on other people. This is not God’s way. Whenever we are given to serving our sinful flesh we are no longer loving our neighbor as ourselves.
      In the service of Affirmation of Baptism or Confirmation we lay our hands on the young people being confirmed and we say this prayer: “Father in heaven, for Jesus’ sake, stir up in this confirmand the gift of the Holy Spirit. Confirm her faith, guide her life, empower her in her serving, giver her patience in suffering and bring her to eternal life.” This is a prayer for the Spirit to shower the person with the gifts of the Spirit like love, joy, peace, patience, etc.
      One of those gifts is patience which is also mentioned in the prayer. Patience seems to have a quality that is different from all the other gifts because it deals with long suffering and confident endurance in the face of the pressures that we confront in life. Patience is centered in Christ and freed from self-indulgence to stand firm when being battered from anxiety or fear.
      In Oklahoma City there is a survivor tree, an 80 year old American Elm tree that tourists drive miles to see. When the Oklahoma City bomb exploded killing 168 people and injuring 850, destroying the Murrah Federal Building, the tree was buried under rubble and soot. No one expected it to survive. At the time, few people gave thought to the tree. But the tree began to bud and sprouts pressed through damaged bark. Green leaves pushed away the gray soot. Life was resurrected from an acre of death. The tree modeled the patient endurance and long suffering of many people.
      When our children were learning to ride a bike, we would hold on to the seat as they pedaled until they got going and at the beginning there were falls, failures, frustrations until we saw little successes. Patience is maybe what keeps us focused on the goal without wavering.
      Patience is a gift of the Spirit that we think we may not have at times. You are all familiar with the prayer, “Give me patience, Lord, and I want it right now.” There are also times when we cannot be longsuffering if our life or safety is challenged by abuse or neglect.
      God’s gift is to be patient and longsuffering with us. God’s self-giving love continues to run alongside of us, holding on to us and encouraging us in cross-bearing and sharing the patient love that Christ ahs given to us. We are not able to be patient on our own, but only as we hold on in faith to Christ who is patient with us. Christ sets us free to patient with one another out of the love that he freely gives to us.
      Our Partnership for Missional Church process has been a work in patience as we pray and seek to discern what God is up to and where God is actively calling us to serve our community. Our PMC team is listening to people in our congregation and community to find out where they see God working in their lives. We are set free to love our neighbor as ourselves.
      “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
        I took the road less traveled by
        And that has made all the difference.”
      Both flesh and Spirit are working in us. It may be easy to say just take the road that follows the Spirit and live our lives in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. If that was all there was to it; if it just depended on our will to choose the right road, then Christ would not be necessary and the whole world would be deeply wrapped in fear and selfishness. We can’t live in the Spirit on our own. But for freedom Christ has set us free to live in the light of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
      Maybe we need to pray that prayer more often: “Father in heaven for Jesus’ sake, stir up in us the gift of your Holy Spirit. Confirm our faith, guide our life, empower us in our serving, give us patience in suffering, and bring us to eternal life.” It is all in God’s hands. Amen.