Sunday, June 8th, 2025: "The Energy of the Spirit"
The First United Presbyterian Church
“The Energy of the Spirit”
Rev. Amy Morgan
June 8, 2025
Acts 2:1-21When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 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. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘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.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit,
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
John 14:8-17; 25-27
8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
My car has a 215 horsepower engine. Well, since it’s an electric car, it technically has a 158,132 watt engine. But, if we wanted to, we could also say it has a 38,293 calorie engine.
It sounds strange to talk about a car engine in terms of watts or calories, but these are all measures of energy. When we talk about horsepower, watts, or calories, we’re talking about the same thing. But we’re also talking about very different things – cars and light bulbs and what we ate for breakfast.
Trying to talk about the Holy Spirit feels similarly strange. There are so many different images and words used to reference the Holy Spirit in scripture. It is a diving dove, a rushing wind, a fiery flame, a fierce advocate, empowering wisdom, creative force. These are all talking about the same thing, the Holy Spirit, but these are all very different things – birds and elements and relationships and thought processes.
The church has struggled to define, measure, or consistently describe the Holy Spirit over the centuries. Early on, it was this animating force that confirmed one’s incorporation into the community of believers. Later, the Church claimed the Spirit was a gift given at baptism that conferred salvation. The Reformers later emphasized the Spirit as empowering and equipping all people for ministry. And the Pentecostal movement of the early 20th century insisted the Spirit gave believers power to speak in tongues, prophesy, and even miraculously heal people. I’ve heard the Spirit described by cerebral Presbyterians as that “still, small voice” that is the wisdom of God guiding us. Or the comforting, warm feeling of God’s presence with us. Or maybe even some sudden insight or epiphany we could not have come to on our own.
So what is the Holy Spirit? What’s it for? How do we qualify or quantify it?
Biblical images of the Holy Spirit and their interpretation over the centuries may be diverse, but they are all talking about the same thing. It is the same thing, in a way, as horsepower, watts, and calories. Because the Holy Spirit is energy. Spiritual energy.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration states that, “Scientists define energy as the ability to do work. Modern civilization is possible because people have learned how to change energy from one form to another and then use it to do work. We use energy for a variety of things, such as walking and bicycling, moving cars along roads and boats through water, cooking and refrigerating food, lighting our homes and offices, manufacturing products, and even sending astronauts into space.”
The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to do work – God’s work, of course. People have learned how to change energy from one form to another to do work, and God changes the Holy Spirit from one form to another to do work. To do God’s work, we need to know that we are loved unconditionally and beyond measure, and so the Holy Spirit flies in the face of our self-doubt and self-condemnation with holy affirmation on its wings. To do God’s work, we need to be pushed out of our attachment to safety and security, and so the Holy Spirit rushes in like a hurricane and sends us sailing. To do God’s work, we need to be refined to our truest selves, and so the Holy Spirit burns like fire to turn our false selves to ash. To do God’s work, we need to know that God is on our side, and so the Holy Spirit shows up as our advocate. To do God’s work, we need guidance and inspiration, and so the Holy Spirit shows up as wisdom. To do God’s work, we need to become co-creators with God, and so the Holy Spirit shows up as that creative force.
The Holy Spirit is energy, the energy to do God’s work.
When Jesus told his disciples that he would be killed, they were frightened and sad. They were looking for some kind reassurance that God would still be with them, even when Jesus was not. They were wondering what energy would keep the work of Jesus going, help them remember what they were supposed to do, when the animating force of Jesus was gone. Jesus tells them that the energy he runs on is God’s presence within him. And he promises that his presence will dwell in them in that same way through the Holy Spirit. He promised his disciples that the Spirit would change into the form of energy they needed, a force that would come alongside them, stand up for them, teach them and comfort them and give them peace. The Spirit would be their energy to do God’s work.
On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were huddled together in a room, confused and depleted, maybe even bored, as they waited around for whatever was supposed to happen next after Jesus ascended into heaven. And the Spirit came in the forms that were needed for that time and place, pushing the disciples out of the safety of their closed room and onto the streets, refining their new purpose and empowering them to share the gospel. There was so much Holy Spirit energy on that day that it showed up as wind, flame, and words. Multiple forms of energy were needed to get the church up and running.
And that is still true today. The Holy Spirit is the energy that gives us the ability to do God’s work, the energy that animates the church. Whether we measure it in horsepower, watts, or calories, the Holy Spirit is the energy that binds us together in community and sends us out to love our neighbors. It is the energy that saves us from self-destruction and gifts us for service in the world. It is energy that inspires and instructs us and gives us peace.
I felt that energy eight years ago when I stood in this pulpit for the first time and talked about the Holy Spirit. On that Sunday, I was preaching as a candidate to be your next pastor, the ____th pastor in this church’s 150-year history. And in that sermon, I said that I was blessed that the Spirit had blown me here, “to this wonderful church, into a place that is vibrant and ready for growth and so full of life…a church filled with fresh winds of the Spirit.” I sensed the Holy Spirit’s energy in new carpet and new ideas for ministry and mission, in the warm embrace of this community and your advocacy for your neighbors in need. The energy of the Spirit showed up in so many different forms that day, and in the eight years since that day.
And it still does. That energy takes the form of hugs and calls and cards when someone is suffering a loss. That energy takes the form of smiles and songs and paint and games with kids who come to Art Hub. That energy takes the form of laptop computers and hand-made hats for youth with no place to call home. That energy takes the form of a bellowing pipe organ drawing folks in off the street. That energy takes the form of caring for creation. That energy takes the form of radical generosity. That energy takes the form of building renovations, sermon conversations, and worship innovations. The energy of the Holy Spirit is in this place, beloveds, and whether you measure it in horsepower, watts, or calories, it is powerful!
Eight years ago, I said that it was “My hope and prayer…that we will do things together in ministry that neither you nor I can imagine right now. Over your long history, this church has been born again and again. And you are ripe for rebirth. You are open to the winds of the Spirit. And so the only thing I really expect is to encounter in ministry here is the unexpected.” I was confident then, and I’m certain now, that the “Spirit will blow all of us into unexpected places as we minister together in the years to come.”
So let’s keep drawing on that energy of the Holy Spirit, as it sends us and saves us, equips and empowers us, reassures and inspires us. Even when we are frightened or sad, confused, depleted, or bored, that Holy Spirit energy will enable us to walk with Christ, move in the direction God is leading us, shine our light in the world, create with God a world of love, justice, and peace, and, who knows, maybe it will send us places we can’t even imagine.
To God be all glory forever and ever. Amen.
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