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April 27, 2008
Denny Gehr
- Guest Speaker
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Scripture: Psalm 66:8-20; Acts 17:22-31; 1 Peter:
3:13-22; John 14: 15-22
The Gift of the Spirit
Opening Prayer -
O God, you have prepared for those who love
you such good things as surpass
Our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you , that we,
loving
You in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which
exceed all
That we can desire; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you
And the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen
Thirty three years ago this Summer I stood in this pulpit and preached a sermon
about my experience of witnessing the love of the Holy Spirit while attending a
religious retreat. I was asking the congregation for their support and blessing
because I had been accepted to the Pacific School of Religion, in Berkeley, CA.
Our minister, Ernie Troutner had encouraged me to apply to the seminary and to
study to become a Methodist minister. I had also received support from another
member of the clergy, a friend of mine who was an Episcopal Priest. I’m thankful
to be here again today to speak about the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Today’s Psalm is a reading that talks about individual thanksgiving, or thanking
God for delivering the people out of Egypt into the spacious place in Canaan.
The Hebrews had suffered many hardships and defeats during the wilderness period
and it had been a test to see if Israel had been loyal to God. The psalmist
regarded these events as typical of all of God’s saving deeds, including the
deliverance out of Egypt, which he had personally experienced. He in his
testimony to the congregation claims, not that he is sinless, but that sin did
not gain control of his inner life and that even in his distress, he did not
lose the spirit of praise. Therefore God heard him and delivered him by an act
of steadfast love.
In the Gospel, Jesus is delivering his farewell speech to the disciples and it
is the first of four teachings in the gospel of John about God’s Spirit. Jesus
describes the spirit as a Counselor, advocate or intercessor. The Spirit
encourages, helps, and comforts us. The Holy Spirit comes as a gift from God,
just as John earlier portrayed Jesus as God’s gift.(John 3: 16)
This Spirit , advocate or Counselor is one who supports and helps us as we seek
to love. The exercise of love is connected with keeping Jesus’ commandments. His
disciples keep Jesus’ commandments in acts of love in and for the community.
Power in the Christian community is given a fresh understanding by Spirit’s gift
and love’s command. Power is not the ability to coerce, but comes in Spirit’s
gift and our openness to that gift.
The longing for intimate relationship with God, and God seeking relationship
with us flows through today’s other readings.
God seeks to create community by the gift of the Holy Spirit and the exercise of
love. We, in turn, find the means to live in community by Spirit’s gift and
through love’s call.
The retreat in the Spring of 1975, was a life changing experience for me. For
three days I witnessed the love of God, manifested through the many voices and
experiences of that weekend. One of the most inspiring voices I heard that
weekend was that of John Emerson, one of the leaders. During breaks I would sit
with John in the cafeteria and discuss theology , Church history, and his life
in the church. I also watched and listened to John when he taught a lesson about
the Christians being forced to hide from the Romans in the catacombs. That
lesson had such an impact on me that I later used his style when I taught
Comparative Religions in high school. His teaching and his counseling had a
great influence on my decision to go to seminary. At the end of the weekend I
felt that I had been blessed by the Holy Spirit.
I was in a state of ecstasy for the next few months. I was witnessing to every
person around me, including family, friends, and members of First Church!
Everything around me seemed more alive! The sky was bluer, the flowers more
fragrant, and I saw the people around me in a "different" light. I began talking
to my wife, my children, friends, and the clergy, both Methodists and
Episcopalians. I talked at length with Ernie Troutner, and I really became more
convinced that I should apply to seminary.
One night, I had a most unusual dream! I dreamt that I was fishing down in the
river, probably the Truckee River, since I had often fished there. I had been
fishing for hours, when I hooked a large fish that took about a half-hour to
land. As I worked the fish to the bank, I noticed that it was about three feet
long and was bright silver in color. The color was so radiant that I was almost
blinded by it. I awoke just as I was bringing it on shore. Again I felt as if I
was being touched by the Holy Spirit! I again approached a number of friends,
family, clergy to help me decide if I should apply to PSR and work towards an
MDIV to become a Methodist minister. I finally decided to enter seminary and was
accepted in the program.
I spent two years at PSR working toward this degree and was the Youth Director
at Epworth United Methodist Church. Our middle and high school programs were
well received by the congregation. Our Drop-In Center, which we opened the first
year I was at Epworth, included at times, hundreds of local Berkeley students,
and was supported by the residents and especially by the city fathers.
At the end of my second year in seminary, I was to go before a committee, made
up of clergy from the California-Nevada Conference, to be considered for orders
to become a Deacon. The Methodist minister who was my advisor, told me the night
before the interview, that he had been told by the committee members that I
would be ordained a Deacon that summer at the Methodist conference. I again felt
that I had been blessed by the Holy Spirit! At the same time, I had been asked
by Ernie Troutner, who was now at Alum Rock United Methodist in San Jose, to
become his assistant, and to finish my third year at PSR, commuting from San
Jose.
The next day I met with the committee, at the local Methodist Church, in the
afternoon and I assumed it was just a "pro -forma" meeting. As we met in one of
the church offices, I sensed that something was different. The committee members
were rather curt and I knew within a few minutes that I wasn’t going to be
ordained a Deacon that summer. They had decided when they gathered that
afternoon that I should finish my third year at seminary, which was unusual at
that time, before applying again for orders. I didn’t know why there had been
this change with the committee members and they wouldn’t elaborate. I walked
back to our house. My wife immediately knew that something had happened. I was
in a state of shock, since I had been told that everything was on track for my
ordination! I kept saying to myself, my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?
Looking back, I realize What pride! What ego! I had in that statement.
For the next month I finished my classes at PSR, finished my contract at
Epworth, and told Ernie that I needed the rest of the month to pray, to try to
find out what my future was to hold. I spent hours in the chapel at PSR and at
Epworth, praying, asking God for guidance. One day I suddenly felt as if God was
telling me to go back to teaching and continue to do the things that I loved the
most, working with students and working in the church.
I spent many hours talking to my wife and to my friends. After much deliberation
and prayer, I decided, along with Patsy’s support, to come back to Reno and go
back into high school teaching.
Since that time in Berkeley, I have taught thousands of students in the
Reno/Sparks schools and at TMCC. I have been teaching classes in Comparative
Religions, in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. I have also been teaching
classes on the Reformation, on Fundamentalism in the United States, and the
Evangelical Movement in the U.S. I believe that God’s leading me back into
teaching is an example of His Spirit working in mysterious ways! Going to
seminary actually helped me to become a better teacher.
We might want to ask ourselves these questions about our Christian journey:
Where and how have we searched for God? Who has helped us along the way? What
has been our experience of the Holy Spirit’s gift in our lives and that of our
faith community? In what ways might Christ’s call to LOVE change how we respond
to the situations we face?
Shalom,
May the Peace of the Lord be with you
Always!
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