The Gospel reading today is John. The text is quoting Jesus about the Holy Spirit.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth;
for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and
he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me,
because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the
Father has is mine. For this reason, I said that he will take what is
mine and declare it to you.”
Today Creator celebrated Father's Day with a Father's Day Litany and an entertaining Father's Day Children's Time by Pastor Emilllie. She dramatized how many expectations can be placed on those who fill fatherly roles.
The idea that God is still speaking and that the Spirit
continues to reveal truth to each generation is inspiring. That
encourages believers to remain open to new insights about God, justice,
humanity,
and creation.
At the same time, it is hard to articulate in defining the nature of the Holy Spirit. In church, we tend
to emphasize God, the Father-Creator, and God the Son-Savior. By
tradition, our Lutheran heritage dictates how we perceive God's
presence and work in our lives. We like God still speaking, but we don't
want to be wildly Pentecostal about it and lose control. We like our God to
respect certain "boundaries". I remember many sermons trying to explain the mystery of the Trinity through metaphor. Imagine the Trinity is an egg yolk, white, and shell, and yet still just an egg. And the more the metaphor is pat and logical to the person explaining, the less I understood it.
Pastor Emillie's sermon about the Trinity focused on the mystery of relationships and perspectives. She had us imagine being next to the ocean, taking in the enormity of it, under an immense sky with its stars. She felt small and insignificant in contrast Then she told us a story of how she once was told to look for living creatures on a property and did not see anything alive until a spider web caught her attention. She found tiny spiders crawling in a bush. At that moment, she felt huge. It demonstrated a delicate dance of relationships and perspectives.
Is the
Holy Spirit an inner voice of God, something external to us, or
both? The answer, whatever it is, seems to miss something fundamental. Particularly as we discern what is
next for Creator's ministry. How do we know when we are truly hearing
the Holy Spirit's voice?
From a progressive Christian viewpoint, John 16:12–15 invites believers into a posture of spiritual humility, ongoing listening, and openness to growth and deep understanding. The Spirit’s guidance is not a closed book but a continuing voice calling people into deeper truth, which often leads to radical love, inclusion, and justice in today’s world.
We prayed for the Emanuel 9 in the Prayers of the People. This coming Tuesday, June 17, at 7 PM, Creator will commemorate the Emanuel 9 with Our Savior's Lutheran in Lake Oswego. For those who can't attend in person, here is a link to follow on Tuesday. Or the author of the song's performance. We remember that shooter, who killed nine Emanuel church members after attending a prayer meeting, and that he his family were ELCA members.
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