June 4, 2017
Pentecost Sunday Year A

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:1-21)

“I think we’ve misnamed the Holy Spirit. The word Jesus uses in John’s Gospel, as you know, is Paraclete, which we sometimes translate as “Advocate” and often translate as “Comforter.” It’s this second name in particular I’m calling into question, as I just don’t think it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to make us feel better. Yes, I know, it’s not that simple. The Holy Spirit as Comforter eases our distress, encourages us, and comes to us in times of trouble to remind us of Jesus’ presence and promises. And it’s just that kind of comfort, I imagine, that is at the heart of Jesus’ discourse to his disciples in the Fourth Gospel. They were distressed, feeling orphaned and abandoned, and so needed that kind of comfort and advocacy.

Why, then, do I think the Holy Spirit is misnamed? Because everywhere I look in these familiar Pentecost texts, the Holy Spirit isn’t comforting anyone or anything but instead is shaking things up. Since we’ve already mentioned John, let’s start there: the Advocate comes to testify…and to prompt the testimony of the disciples. It’s Jesus’ testimony to the truth, of course, that got him in trouble in the first place, and the Holy Spirit comes to prompt the disciples to make the same disturbing, disruptive, and world-changing testimony that calls into question the values of the world.

In Acts it’s even more pronounced. I mean, goodness, but there’s nothing particularly comforting about the rush of a “violent wind,” let alone descending tongues of flame. And once the disciples take their new multi-lingual ability into the streets of Jerusalem, pretty much everyone who witnesses their activity is described as “bewildered,” “amazed” and “astonished.” Again, the Spirit didn’t comfort anyone but instead prompted the disciples to make a very public scene with the troubling good news that the person the crowds had put to death was alive through the power of God. Romans is pretty much the same. The Spirit doesn’t take away our problems or make all things right. Rather, the Spirit instead helps us name the inward hopes, desires, and longings that attend anyone who is waiting for God’s redemption. The pain of creation can seem so great and the coming of God’s redemption so far away that the Spirit intervenes, interrupts, and intercedes by giving voice to our deepest needs. Do you see what I mean? The Holy Spirit is as much agitator as advocate, as much provocateur as comforter.” (David Lose, ..in the Meantime website, COME ALONGSIDE, HOLY SPIRIT, May 18, 2015)

Did you ever watch a butterfly fly? They fly in a straight, purposeful direction, right? No, they are all over the place. Did you ever release a balloon into the air? When you released it, it went straight to the ground, right? Nope, unless it was a lead balloon. No the balloon went wherever the wind was blowing it. Both of those examples are how the Holy Spirit works in our lives. It is powerful – it is unpredictable – it is chaos – it is God’s presence. And, here’s the hardest news to hear today – the Holy Spirit does not come to solve our problems – nor does it prevent failure from happening. How did the lives of the disciples end? They were all martyred for their faith. But, they did have great opportunities to see God’s power unleashed in the world, and in their lives. My friends, be open to the unpredictable experience of the Holy Spirit. EXPECT IT – but you can’t predict when or where. PREPARE FOR IT – though preparation is not necessary. LOVE IT – though it will not solve your problems, and most likely will make your lives more difficult. It will change you – it will surprise you – it will scare you – it will take you to places you could never imagine – but it is God’s presence – and it will be the journey of a lifetime – ETERNAL LIFETIME that is…

Pastor Dave

June 3, 2017
Devotions: Personalities of the Reformation: Primoz Trubar

Primoz Trubar was born in 1508 and died on June 28, 1586, in the village of Rasica, central Slovenia, in the Duchy of Carniola which was under the Hapsburg Monarchy. He moved to Trieste (seaport in Northeastern Italy) and under the tutorship of the Roman Catholic bishop Pietro Bonomo he met the humanist Erasmus. In 1528 he enrolled at the University of Vienna, but did not complete his studies. In 1530 he returned to the Slovene Lands and gradually was moved to support Protestantism. He was expelled from Ljubljana, the capitol of Slovenia in 1547. In 1550 as a Protestant preacher in Rothenburg (Bavaria Germany) he wrote the first two books in Slovene, Catechimus and Abecedarium. Catechismus also contained the first Slovene musical manuscript in print.

We remember Trubar because he was a Slovenian Protestant Reformer and is remembered for introducing Lutheranism to Slovenia. He is lauded as the author of the first Slovene language printed book. He was the founder and the first superintendent of the Protestant Church of the Duchy of Carinola. Most importantly, he is remembered for creating the foundations of the Slovenian literary language. He was rebuffed through the introduction of the Counter-Reformation by the Austrian Hapsburgs.

Altogether, Trubar authored 22 books in Slovene and two books in German. He was the first person to translate parts of the Bible to Slovene. He translated the Gospel of Matthew in 1555 and published a translation of the New Testament by 1577. From 1561 and 1565 Trubar was the manager and supervisor of the South Slavic Bible Institute. Trubar died in Derendingen, now part of the city of Tubingen, Germany, where he is also buried.
Austrian Hapsburgs: also known as the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy must not be confused with the House of Habsburg. The Habsburg Monarchy is the countries and provinces that were ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg (1521 to 1780). Under the Hapsburg Monarchy each province was governed by its own customs and not always ruled by the same person, with junior members of the family ruling certain lands as private holdings. In the 17th century, the Catholic Church suppressed Protestantism which severely hindered the development of literature in the Slovene language. The Enlightenment in Central Europe, particularly under the Habsburg Empire, was a positive period for the Slovenian people. It accelerated economic development and facilitated the appearance of a Slovenian middle class. (parts were adapted from “slovenia.si/slovenia/history, A Time of Revival”)

Catechimus: Along with Primoz Trubar’s 1550 book, Abecedarium (Abecedary-an inscription consisting of the letters of an alphabet, almost always listed in order – typically, abecedaria (or abecedaries) are practice exercises) Catechismus was the first book published in Slovene. Catechismus served as part of a foundation of the establishment of a national identity for Slovenes. It contains hymns and a litany, all with musical notation. Based on the German patterns, they are original poems in four different forms of stanzas comprising altogether 500 verses.

Counter-Reformation in Slovenia: Although at one time the majority of the Slovenian population followed Protestant teachings, Slovenia became re-Catholicized under archduke Ferdinand of Inner Austria. Re-Catholization had strong support from Catholic Jezuiat order, which took over schools in Ljubljana and educated people in Catholic faith. Catholic Hren, a famous counter-reformator, asked the Pope to allow him to use the Slovenian translation of the Bible, but all other Protestant books were burned. During the time of Counter-Reformation almost nothing was published in Slovenian language and in general it was a huge step back for Slovenian literature. There were, however, many churches built in the Baroque style in Ljubljana (the capitol of Slovenia) in order to attract believers to the Catholic church. A small Slovenian Protestant community remained in Prekmurje (north-east Slovenia), which was under Hungarian rule, and who did not treat the Protestants as harshly as the Hapsburgs.

Pastor Dave

Please bring in sunscreen and hand sanitizer for Trinity’s Table.