The Intercession of the Holy Spirit

July 20, 2014


SECOND LESSON: Romans 8:18–27

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
L: This is the Word of the Lord.
C: Thanks be to God.

One of my favorite Bible verses is from today’s Epistle reading, Romans 8:26-27. “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

When we do not know what to pray, or how to pray, or when we are too weak or too disturbed or too stressed to pray, these words give strength and courage to our feeble prayers. Sometimes our prayers actually are groans. When we are sick in bed with a fever, in pain we groan and moan and sigh. Then add an “Amen” to your sigh and you have a prayer. The Holy Spirit hears that and then intercedes for us to God the Father. It is like the Holy Spirit is a translator, or an interpreter. The Holy Spirit knows our hearts and minds and bodies, and so knows the full reason for our pain. And then the Holy Spirit intercedes for us.

When I first started thinking about this passage for this sermon, I was thinking only about our personal human groans. But when I read again Romans 8:26, it says that it is the Holy Spirit that is groaning! “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” And what causes the Holy Spirit to groan? It is because God loves us, and so when we are in pain or in trouble, God knows that pain. In Jesus Christ, our pain and grief were taken upon Jesus who suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane and upon the cross. He groaned on the cross. On the cross he prayed for us. When God sees our sin, it also makes him sad. Perhaps that is what makes the Holy Spirit groan the most. He knows our sin. He knows that we cannot approach the Holy Throne of God as sinners, so the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, and so through the death and resurrection of Jesus, our sins are forgiven. When you feel sorry for your sin, utter a sigh, whisper an “Amen,” and make it a prayer. The Holy Spirit hears you, and prays for you.

But sometimes when there is a problem, rather than groaning we let out a curse word or some profanity. Can you add an “Amen” to that and make it a prayer???? When you hit your thumb with a hammer and let go with a curse upon that poor hammer, I think the Holy Spirit knows your pain. The Holy Spirit sees your tears. The Holy Spirit knows your frustration when you get angry with someone and call them a derogatory name. But can that be a prayer???? “You idiot, amen.” The Holy Spirit is going to have to do some juggling and somersaults and translation. And we, too, in our hearts have to make it a habit that we turn our curses into prayers for blessings, and our insults into concern for the other person’s welfare. We make the Holy Spirit groan. But that same Holy Spirit, into which we were baptized, intercedes for us before the Throne of God.

Not only people, but nature itself is groaning and complaining. St. Paul wrote, “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” Creation itself is groaning under the burden of human sin. The earth rumbles and grumbles in an earthquake. The wind moans and groans and screeches in a typhoon. The waves crash in a tsunami. The polar ice cracks and splashes into the warming sea. Wild fires crackle and explode with heat and fear. The sweltering summer heat simmers. Pollution chokes the air we breathe. St. Paul does not call this “global warming,” rather it is a “global warning.” It is a warning or announcement that the end of all the futility and decay will end. It is a sign that gives hope. Jesus spoke about this in Matthew 24, “7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.”

Both Jesus and St. Paul call the groaning of nature “birth pains.” Something new is about to be born. Freedom is to be born. Salvation is to be born. This is the hope we Christians have. Creation will be set free from its bondage to decay. We who are reborn of the Holy Spirit will receive “adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” We have this hope, and so we wait for it both eagerly and with confident patience.

While we are suffering and groaning in this fallen world, it is hard to have patience. Christian patience is based on hope. This hope is based on our faith and trust in Jesus Christ who will keep his promises. But sometimes our faith is weak. When we see the troubles of the world and hear the groaning of the world, we begin to wonder about things. Nature is groaning, people are groaning and whining, the economy is in a mess, there are wars and rumors of new wars, there are family problems, and each one of us has problems that make us groan. We have our worries, we have our aches and pains and sicknesses. And they don’t seem to go away soon. We need patience.

When we complain about our own longsuffering, we have to remember the sufferings of Jesus. The Bible tells us he did not complain when he took upon himself the sufferings of the world. He did not shout and curse his accusers or executioners. Because he loved us, he took upon himself all the sin and suffering of this world. Then in his death he forgave the sin of the world and in his resurrection he gave hope to the world. This hope of resurrection and salvation gives us hope in the midst of our sufferings. We have hope and patience.

There are a lot of things to legitimately complain and whine about. But at the same time, since we have hope in Jesus Christ, we have a lot of things to pray about and work for. And when we can not pray or do not know how to pray, we thank the Holy Spirit for praying for us.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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