Even in the room's darkness Rachel's face was seen streaked with tears. She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. Rachel had been an un-named disciple since Jesus had first visited her village. They had already celebrated two passovers. It had been that long ago. She was not important in the way that Simon and his brothers were important. She could not speak eloquently, nor command evil spirits to disappear. Nor could she carry her side of debate about the religious law. Also, she was a woman. But Rachel called Jesus her Lord. She considered herself a disciple and traveled with that loyal band up to the Holy City. That meant that she had been in the temple crowd when Jesus debated the rulers. She had been in the shadows of the upper room and in the darkness of the garden. She shared in the horror of crucifixion hill - and in the empty loss the day after. It was just too much for her to accept. "How could God do this," she sobbed.

Now, in the dusk of the first day of a new week she, and the other better known disciples, were learning that God was using even the shameful cross for his purpose. She was learning that by the power of the Spirit-presence there was yet work to do. Rachel's tears of deep grief were becoming others tears - in time, tears of joy.

Back during a time when boys were drafted into the armed service, a devout young man was drafted from a farm in south Georgia and was sent into the army. He had never been but a few miles from his home. Now he was suddenly thrust into a new, highly structured environment. But as he left his home he took with him the Christian faith and practices that had been an important part of his life since childhood. That meant, for him, such things as reading the Bible regularly and kneeling by his bed each night for a time of prayer.

Such overt piety infuriated the rough sergeant who was in charge of the company of recruits. He set about to deliberately humiliate the young Christian. He sought to make the young man's life over into the image of hostility and brute force that he (the sergeant) lived. That sergeant abused the man verbally. He issued him all sorts of unfair treatment. He used every opportunity to harass the soldier. Yet, at no point did the young Georgian resort to "returning evil for evil." He endured all the abuse without a word of complaint. Again and again he found occasion to do kind things for his antagonist.

Late one Saturday night the sergeant came through the barracks three-fourths drunk. On seeing the young man kneeling by his bunk, the sergeant exploded. He shouted, and tried every way he could to distract the boy. When nothing seemed to work, the sergeant took off one of his muddy, heavy boots and threw it at the boy. Sailing across the room it hit the young man on the back of the head. It stunned him so that he fell to the floor. In a moment he regained his composure and without a word resumed his prayer time by the side of his bunk. Further enraged, the sergeant took off the other boot and flung it at the young recruit. It, too, hit the boy, but he did not retaliate in anger. Then the sergeant reeled off a string of oaths and stumbled into his own quarters and to bed.

The next morning when the sergeant awoke with swollen eyes and throbbing head, the first thing he saw were his boots: clean and polished, sitting by his bed. The sight was more than he could take. With tears in his eyes he walked into the barracks, found the young man and said, "What is it with you? I have done everything in my power to break you. Instead, you have broken me. What do you know that I do not know? What is your secret? What is your power?"

The young boy replied, "God's Spirit!"

That is a story from which afternoon soap operas are made - or used to be made. At its most profound level it is witness to the sensed presence of God in life. That young recruit was giving witness to the unseen things that mattered in his life, spiritual affirmations. He was living out a belief that God is a very real presence in daily life. That witness is the singular purpose of this sermon!

To be such a person, as the Bible defines it, is to be a person touched by God's Holy Spirit. God's Holy Spirit: that mysterious influence that takes human life, buoys it up to heights beyond which it otherwise could not attain. The Holy Spirit: gifting strength when we are prone to weakness. The Holy Spirit: offering moral guidance when we tend to drift. The Holy Spirit: providing courage and trust when we are apt to be afraid and cynical. One writer says, "The Holy Spirit is the NOWNESS of God." It is the immediate presence, the power of God in the moment. It certainly was for that young recruit.

The scripture text is of a remembrance from Easter evening. In fear the disciples are hiding. In that dark fear, Christ "stood among them." In his presence they are confronted with the peace and power of that Holy Spirit. In a way it can be understood as the transfer of that peace and power that began for Jesus down by the Dead Sea. It was the beginning of his earthly ministry.

Jesus was 30 years old, we suspect. He encountered his cousin, John, in that hot, scrubby, separated, devastated area. John was preaching a call to repentance, inviting people to a change in life. He was marking that interior change with a sacramental washing in the Jordan waters. People came from all over the territory to hear the preacher, and to receive the baptism.

John spoke of the evil that lurks in the hearts of men and women. He spoke of the great calamities that awaited those who did not repent of their evil and return to God's ways. His use of the Jordan waters was a symbol for washing away the past evil, washing away the past lethargy, washing away the past sin! And the crowds responded. They came to him as in an ancient Woodstock! They plunged into the Jordan to have their spirits washed clean. They stepped up on the river's shore newly washed in God's sight!

But John was familiar with the ancient expectations of the people. He knew of the coming Messiah! And he knew that Messiah would not only cleanse, he would also liberate the people - set them free to be what God intended. Messiah would offer a new relationship to God. John saw himself as preparing the way for that Messiah. Into the muddy waters of the Jordan stepped the carpenter from Nazareth. Some accounts of scripture say that John saw him, singled him out. (Matthew, John) In other reports, Jesus is simply part of the crowds that sought baptism in the river's water. (Mark, Luke)

In either case, Jesus was alone in those moments. That is usually the situation, isn't it? Life's biggest moments come internally - inside us, working in such ways that the world outside is unaware! He was there gifted with the Holy Spirit of God. He entered the water as Jesus from Nazareth. He left the river as Jesus the Christ, the anointed One.

But, of course, there is more to the mystery of God's spirit. What became a presence for Jesus was promised to those who followed him. Now that Jesus' earthly ministry is ended, that Spirit is handed on to those who must continue the ministry. John's gospel - in this text - tells of this spiritual baptism being given the frightened disciples the very evening of the Easter affirmation. Other scriptures tell of this gift coming later. "Wait," said Jesus in Luke's remembrance, "Wait for the gift of God's spirit." (Acts 1:4)

And it did come! With that gift the disciples became apostles. The Holy Spirit changed them from learners to teachers, from receivers to givers. And it has continued through the ages, right down to the current moment. It is a gift to you! Life today finds strength and meaning in that Holy Spirit of God.

Do you remember Paul's words, speaking to Christians in Corinth? "In each of us the Spirit is manifested in one particular way, for some useful purpose. One, through the spirit, has the gift of wise speech, while another, by the power of the same spirit, can put the deepest knowledge into words. Another, by the same spirit, is granted faith; another, by the one spirit, gifts of healing and other miraculous powers, another has the gift of prophecy, and another the ability to distinguish true spirits from false, yet another has the gift of ecstatic utterance of different kinds and another the ability to interpret it. But all these gifts are the work of one and the same spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)

I am not old enough and, I hope, am honest enough, never to presume to say how God's Holy Spirit works. That is mystery. My mortalness is too real to pronounce the Spirit's limits, where its presence is most seen, best seen or not seen. I really cannot preach of where the spirit of God touches you! I do believe that the boy who confronted his army sergeant knew the "nowness" of God for his life. He had received the Holy Spirit in an enduring and empowering way. But that is one boy in one situation.

The witness of the church is that God's Holy Spirit, coming down upon a receptive humanity, works miracles!

John Wesley changed a nation's understanding of the work of God's spirit as he moved across England 250 years ago. He was the little man who found "my heart strangely warmed" by God's Holy Spirit. The Wesleyan openness to the leading of God gave birth to many a human transformation. Two hundred fifty years ago John Wesley, touched by God's Spirit, worked miracles!

And, I believe that about Mother Teresa today. We remember her gentle touch upon the untouchables, upon those persons who would have had only the street curb upon which to die, except for her kindness, her divine caring. God's Holy Spirit came into her life in such ways that community life was sensitized to a great human need. All people of good will see the presence of God's Holy Spirit through her living.

But it is not just for the historic or famous. You and I know that God's spirit has been part of the lives of some good folks whom we have known and continue to know. We thank God for them! There are countless examples of God's spirit within daily life. God's Holy Spirit is reality!

Therefore, the only conclusion to this witness is to call us to be open to the Spirit's leading - to be open to God's descending presence. The only purpose of this preaching is to encourage each of us to move into living in such ways that we may receive and hold that Spirit - to encounter the experiences of living in such ways, with such open-mindedness, that the Holy Spirit may be received. Such is the promise and the power!