We Believe: In the Holy Ghost

I was asked one time, “Why do we believe in ghosts?” The question didn’t grow out of a conversation. The woman had said she wanted to meet with me because she had questions about the church. She had not grown up in a Christian family but had joined the church when she got married. So, when she came in, sat down, and asked “Why do we believe in ghosts?” I immediately tried to figure out what she was asking: Did she mean why we believe in life eternal? Did she mean why do we believe in the great cloud of witnesses? Was she asking about the relationship of Halloween and All Saints’ Sunday? Or was she more generally asking why some people believe in ghosts? Was she thinking of ghost stories and ghost tours and ghost hunters or about people talking about experiencing the spirit of their deceased loved one still being present or about some secular depiction like Casper the Friendly Ghost? Her boys loved Scooby Doo…or had someone in the church told her we believe in ghosts? All of these possibilities darted through my thoughts along with “What DO we believe about ghosts?” as I began, “Well…ghosts…”

She must have seen that I was not at all sure what she was asking because she interrupted and said, “We say it every Sunday, “I believe in the Holy Ghost…” “Ah, that’s different. It’s not really a ghost.” “Then why do we say we believe in it?” “We mean Holy Spirit,” came my feeble response. And I realized I had said those words all my life and never once questioned why we say “Holy Ghost” instead of “Holy Spirit”. I wish I had known more at the time than to say, “they really are the same thing.”

The reason is actually a story of etymology and translation. In Elizabethan, Tudor, England, the word “ghost” also meant “spirit.” It came from the Old English word “gast” which meant “breath or spirit.” The word “spirit” came from Latin. When the New Testament was being translated at the order of King James, of England, there were 2 committees translating. Every time they came to the Greek word “pneuma,” one committee translated it “Spirit” and the other translated it “Ghost.”

The Greek word “pneuma” and the Hebrew word “ruah” both mean the same things: “breath,” “wind,” and “spirit.” The concept of a ghost, like we might find frightening did not come about until the 14th Century, so there was no sense in Biblical times of the Spirit of God being a spooky ghost. In fact, Jesus called the Spirit, Paraclete, in Greek from kaleo which means “to call” and para which means “alongside.” In the passage from John we read this morning, Jesus tells his disciples at the Last Supper as he is preparing them for what is to come, that he will send another, Paraclete, to be with them forever. We translate “paraclete” as “counselor” or “advocate.”

This spirit is not new, though, in fact, in Scripture, we read about the work of the Spirit some 500 times – almost 90 of those in the Old Testament. The first is in the second verse of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.” Throughout the Old Testament, the Spirit of God “rests on,” “is in,” or “comes over” the leaders of God’s people, on prophets, priests and kings. Hermann Gunkel, a German Old Testament scholar, said in his book on Genesis that everything that is powerful and awe-inspiring in life, everything that exceeds human capacity, is ascribed in Scripture to the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is how we describe God working in and through us.

John the Baptist preached that the coming Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire. That baptism came 50 days after the disciples’ Last Passover meal with Jesus on Pentecost. On Passover, the story of God’s faithfulness in bringing Israel out of slavery in Egypt is remembered. 50 days later on Pentecost, the gift of the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mt. Sinai is celebrated with Jewish people from all nations coming to Jerusalem bringing a bundle of their first stems of wheat to offer to God to acknowledge that the harvest to come is from God.

Jesus, as he departed after being with them for 40 days after his resurrection, told them to wait in Jerusalem for the Father’s promise, John the Baptist baptized with water but before many days have passed, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

It sounded like a freight train coming right through the house, the sound of a powerful, rushing wind filling every corner, and just as the Spirit of God rushed over the waters to create the world, the Spirit swept through and created the church. And just as the community of God’s faithful people, Israel, was formed as Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai amid thunder and fire, the community of God’s faithful people, the church, was formed as the apostles received the Holy Spirit on Mount Zion amid thunder and tongues of fire.

Those tongues of fire settled on each one of them. None were left out. Each one was anointed, chosen by God, and filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the major shift in the way the Holy Spirit works. In Old Testament times, certain people were anointed, priests, kings, warriors…now every member of the community, every person who follows Jesus as Lord, is anointed, chosen by God and filled with the Holy Spirit.

And the Spirit gives the church the ability to broadcast the good news to all the world. That day in Jerusalem, the confusion that the Lord caused at the Tower of Babel was reversed. The barrier of language was removed, and they were able to speak to the Jews who had gathered for the festival in their native languages. Today, we have all sorts of ways to translate and transmit the good news.

With the advent of the printing press, the Bible began to be translated and distributed all over the world. With the advent of the radio and then television, preachers and worship services began to be transmitted all over the world. Now, even Farmington Presbyterian is on YouTube! And those are all without a doubt tools the Holy Spirit uses to reach every nook of the world.

But, when we affirm, “I believe in the Holy Ghost” we are also affirming that we receive the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our hearts, to guide our lives, to speak through us. We often describe the work of the Holy Spirit as God’s “nudge”: God leading us in a decision, or giving us an idea, or bringing someone to mind. The Holy Spirit is God, not “out there,” but “in here” whispering, inspiring, calling us to action, lighting flames of passion for serving and sharing, connecting and caring.

Over and over again throughout my ministry, I have heard stories of people who listened to God’s nudge and were in “the right place at the right time” and stories of folks who ignored the nudge and were not.
Rev. Adam Hamilton, a United Methodist pastor, tells the story of one of a member of his congregation, Jennifer, who at first did not listen and then acquiesced to the Holy Spirit’s nudge. Jennifer is a kindergarten teacher and was working on her Master’s degree at night. As she was on her way to night class, her mother called to tell her that Duane, a dear family friend, who was like a grandfather to Jennifer, had been moved into hospice that day. By the time Jennifer was headed to her car after class, she was exhausted and decided to pray that night for Duane and try to go see him the next day. In the middle of the night, Jennifer recalls she was awakened.
“I shot straight up in bed. There was a nudge and an overwhelming feeling that I was to go visit Duane at that very moment. It was the middle of the night, and I was tired, but the urge was relentless. So I got in my car and drove across town to Hospice House. I arrived, and Duane’s sweet wife, Melba, was asleep. So I sat next to Duane and held his hand. I told him it was OK to go, that God was going to help make his transition peaceful and that our Father was waiting.” A few minutes later, Duane’s breathing changed. Melba woke up, and in the middle of the night the two of them held Duane’s hands as he took his final breath.

The Holy Spirit nudged, and she listened.

When I started seminary, I had no source of income and $1,000 that I had received as a gift upon graduating from college. The finance office was set to meet with me 2 weeks after classes started. It was, they termed it, a leap of faith. As summer Hebrew school began, we had chapel one night. After chapel, a man approached me and asked, “Are you interested in babysitting?” I had, since middle school, always kept a busy babysitting schedule. The next night, I ate with their family, and I agreed to work out a schedule for childcare with them that has led to a lifetime of deep connection between our families. Over the years, we have often wondered at and given thanks for the nudge that caused Max to approach me in a chapel full of students. They were desperate to find someone who would agree to work only the few hours they needed because they couldn’t afford more. I was desperate to find something that would allow me to buy groceries and gas and only be a few hours so I could study.

The Holy Spirit nudged, and he listened.

Deciding to change professions, go on a mission trip, give a legacy gift to the church in their will, check on a neighbor, …are all times I have heard people share their experience of the Holy Spirit nudging them. Many of you have similar stories. I encourage you to think back. When has something happened at just the right time, just the right place? When have you just “gone with your gut” and it made all the difference? Share that story. Put it on the Farmington Presbyterian facebook page or if you aren’t on Facebook, email it to me or to [email protected] so we can share it to the Facebook page, or if you are not an email user, pick up the phone and share your story.

Why do we believe in the Holy Ghost? Because we have experienced God nudging us, shaping us, encouraging us, sustaining us. Thanks be to God. Amen.