The Holy Spirit in You

---

The disciples were in the upper room. From every corner of the known world, they had gathered. The Parthians and Medes and 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 Arabians. 120 of them together, waiting. 

Suddenly, a loud noise ripped through the room, like a mighty rushing wind! And what’s this - were they all on fire? No! Tongues of fire rested on each one of them, but no one was burned. And what’s this that they were hearing? Their own language? How was this possible?

Sounds like something from a movie. Intensely powerful, deeply dramatic, and incredibly miraculous. The Holy Spirit. Wow. 

Today, on Pentecost, we celebrate the giving of the Holy Spirit to us, God’s church. But Pentecost is not a celebration that began in the upper room some 2000 years ago. These people were gathered together to celebrate Shavuot, the Festival of Weeks, called Pentecost because it occurred 50 days after Passover. On this day, Jews gathered from all over the Diaspora to celebrate and rejoice in the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai. 

In the Gospel this morning, we also hear about another important feast day, the Feast of Tabernacles. (Don’t be like me and get them mixed up!!!) This feast lasted 8 days and was a celebration of harvest and a reminder of Israel’s forty years wandering in the desert. They would dwell in temporary booths, tent-like structures to recall God’s guidance and provision for them. They would offer sacrifices of bulls, rams, lambs, and flour. And each day, for six days, they would draw water from the Pool of Siloam, a bubbling pool of water that was always fresh and was thus life-giving and suitable for purification. 

The priest would draw water each day, bring it to the altar, and pour it on the morning burnt offering, and a procession would circle the altar. They would repeat the words of Isaiah 12:3: “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” On the seventh day, they would circle the altar 7 times. 

The eighth day of the feast was the “great day of the feast”, occurred on the Sabbath, and was a day of rest, and this is where our Gospel reading from John 7 picks up. On this day, the final day of the feast, along came Jesus Christ, who cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. However believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’.”

Imagine the shock! Imagine the confusion, the marvelling! Is not the Pool of Siloam our living water? And yet, Jesus seems to be saying that He is the living water! Hmm. Hold onto that thought.

The Acts reading occurs quite a bit later than John 7. It occurs after Jesus has been crucified and raised from the dead, and after He has ascended into heaven with the promise of sending a Paraclete, the Advocate, the Helper–the Holy Spirit. Before this, the Holy Spirit was given to God’s people for specific purposes and at specific times, such as the 70 elders in Numbers 11. The Holy Spirit dwelt in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple, and the high priest could only enter once a year on the Day of Atonement, only with a blood sacrifice, with incense burning and smoke to veil the holiness of God, with robes down to his ankles and a rope tied around him to pull his body out in case God struck him dead. The holiness of God is unfathomable for the human mind. 

In Christ’s crucifixion, He took upon Himself the entire sinfulness of humankind. He took every single one of your sins and mine upon Himself for all time. He died in our place and a great exchange occurred. Christ took our unholiness, our dirt and grime and muck, and gave us His righteousness and His holiness. Before, entering God’s presence was nearly impossible! Now, we have been saved, purified by fire, and made into a new creature in Christ, and the Holy Spirit dwells within our very selves!

Living water flows from Jesus Christ. We have been bathed in His living water through the hearing of the Word and in our Baptism, and have received the Holy Spirit. For those who have received the Holy Spirit, “out of his heart flows rivers of living water”! This living water is the Gospel, Jesus Christ Himself, flowing out of us for the world to see. God has offered the promise of salvation and the hope of the resurrected Christ for every nation and land, in every language and tongue. 

We are the purified, the holy-fied, and the righteous, in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, who offered Himself up for you. The Holy Spirit works within us keeps us in Christ, in our Baptism with Him, and delivers to us the promises of salvation won for us on the cross. The Holy Spirit within us strengthens us, gives us the words we need when we need them, gives us gifts to love and serve those around us at the time and for the purpose of His choosing, and creates the opportunities for us to share and minister to the world. The Holy Spirit, our Paraclete, our Helper, and our Advocate.

Pentecost is today, and Pentecost is tomorrow! Each day we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, leading, guiding, strengthening, and equipping those who are in Christ for the work the Father has created them for. Through Baptism and through the Word, we receive the Holy Spirit just like the disciples received that day in the upper room, and we are unified in the one language of the Gospel: Christ crucified, resurrected, and glorified for you. I can’t wait to dig in with you more this Sunday as we search and wrestle with the powerful, wonderful Word of God. 

One of my favourite hymns is “Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God” by Keith and Kristyn Getty. I often listen to it during sermon prep, but I thought it was particularly fitting for this Sunday. Give it a listen! It is my prayer for us as we prepare for worship this Sunday and as we join together to rejoice and receive God’s abundant blessings for us in Word and Sacrament. 

“Holy Spirit, living breath of God, breathe new life into my weary soul. 

Bring the presence of the Risen Lord to renew my heart and make me whole.

Cause Your Word to come alive in me,

Give me faith for what I cannot see.

Give me passion for Your purity,

Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.”

Amen.

Copyright © 2026 St. Andrew's Lutheran Church, Kamloops

https://standrewslutheran.ca

Visit my Blog: https://standrewslutheran.ca/blogs?blogcategory=Erin+Lussier