Pentecost is the third great Christian festival. On Christmas we celebrated the birth of Christ, our Savior. On Easter we celebrated his victorious resurrection from death. And today we remember Christ's giving of the Holy Spirit.

Our story from the gospel of John takes place on Easter evening, after the disciples had discovered that the tomb was empty and Jesus had appeared to Mary Magdalene. Jesus told her to tell the disciples that he was risen, which she did, but they did not understand. So on that first evening they were gathered in a house with the doors locked, because they were afraid -- afraid of being killed, just as Jesus had been killed three days before. But suddenly Jesus was among them and he said, "Peace be with you."

"Peace be with you." A greeting, yes, but not just, "Hi, how are you?" "Peace" is a huge biblical word. It refers to a wholeness, a completeness, a divine healing that envelopes people. It is a "peace that passes human understanding" (Philippians 4:7); it is "peace, not as the world gives" (John 14:27) -- not merely a lessening of conflict; not just a momentary break in the action -- but the great relief and security and hopefulness that comes from being in the presence of the God of love. To this scared group of former followers, the risen Christ begins by bringing the peace of God.

Jesus said it twice; did you notice? "Peace be with you." We are not to miss it. And in between his speaking, he showed them the marks in his hands and sides, which he had suffered on the cross. Then it began to dawn on them. This was really Jesus, who had been crucified, who had died on the cross, but now he was alive. And it says that the disciples "rejoiced" when they saw "the Lord." Their lives were changed from disabling fear into joy by the presence of the risen Lord.

"Lord" in the Bible is also a huge word. Here it does not mean only "Master" or "leader." It is one of the Old Testament's names for God, after all. To say that the disciples saw "the Lord" is to report that they saw one who was not only their friend and companion and leader but was truly the one sent from God. They had hoped that this was true; they had stuck their necks out to follow him and be his disciples. But when he had been put to death on the cross as a common criminal, their hopes had faltered; fear had replaced faith and sorrow had banished hope. Now Jesus' coming into their midst as Lord, bringing the peace of God, reversed all that.

We might think that this was the climax, but actually it was only the beginning. "Peace be with you" is just the first sentence. Then Jesus continues, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." God the Father sent the only Son from heaven to save the world and now that Son says, "That's how I'm now sending you." Can you imagine those disciples? Here they were, huddled in fear, hiding in a house with locked doors, just trying to save their own skins. And Jesus comes and says he is sending them to save the world. What a turn of events. The disciples were on the defensive; now Jesus sends them out on offense.

Defensive driving is a good idea. An attorney for the defense is important. In sports a good defense is essential. But defensive Christianity is not a biblical idea. The posture of Christian disciples is not hiding in fear trying to protect themselves. No, disciples are sent. There may still be reason to fear; there may still be confusion. After all, if disciples are sent in the same way that Jesus was sent, that could be very frightening. But to be a follower of Jesus after his resurrection is to be sent. In fact, our word "apostle" means "one who is sent."

Like "peace" and "Lord," "send" is also a huge biblical word. In Saint John's gospel it is used over and over about Jesus, the one whom God sent to save the world. When Jesus tells his followers that they are now being sent, this is a divine commission: God is sending them. That's why they were called and gathered in the first place: in order to be sent.

It's a bit like the military: basic training isn't an end in itself; it is for the sake of carrying out future missions. It's like being on an athletic team: practice is not the real thing; it's preparation for the real thing, the game. So too, as Christians, when we gather for worship and study, prayer and praise, these are not all there is to being Christ's followers. We too are sent. If this sounds like more than we bargained for, then we need to be sure to hear the rest of this passage.

After Jesus had told them that he was sending them, it says that he "breathed on them." Now if you have heard even a few Bible stories, those words should be familiar. In the book of Genesis, in the story of God forming the first human beings from the dust of the earth, it says he "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life" (Genesis 2:7). In Psalm 104:29-30, it says that when you, God, take away creatures' breath, they die and return to dust, but "when you send forth your spirit [or breath! They are the same word], they are created." Jesus breathed on those disciples and if that was not plain enough, his words told them what it means: "Receive the Holy Spirit." "Receive the breath of God." In that moment, the risen Christ raised those fearful, faithless followers to newness of life.

This is what Pentecost is: the giving of the Spirit, the giving of new life, from the Father through the Son. The Holy Spirit is what makes it possible for people to go when they are sent. The Spirit is God's active, personal presence that accompanies those who are sent. And the Spirit brings the content and the power for the task for which Christ's followers are sent. Jesus says, "Receive the Holy Spirit. Go and forgive sins." That's what being gathered is all about: that the followers may be forgiven and renewed, sent and equipped, in order that all people may be reconciled to God by having their sins forgiven.

Sin is the problem. Forgiveness is the solution. Sin means that we are enemies of God, that things are not right between us, that we have gone astray, that we do not trust the one who made us in the first place. Forgiveness of sins on account of Christ means that while we were God's enemies, God took it upon himself to wipe away our wrongdoings and our guilt and make us friends. Forgiveness of sins means that God seeks the lost, welcomes back the prodigal, binds up the poor and brokenhearted. Forgiveness of sins means that God in Christ proves to be trustworthy by never letting go of us, so that we can trust again. Jesus sends his followers with the gift of the Holy Spirit to save the world by forgiving sins.

He really seems to be taking a chance by doing it this way. "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." God acts now through those who follow Jesus: they (we!) must pronounce the words of forgiveness if people are to be forgiven. And if they (we) do not do so, if they (we) retain the sins of some, those people will not be forgiven. Heavy words. A lot like, "As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

Some Christian groups have applied these words about our forgiving sins only to the original twelve disciples or (more commonly) only to ordained ministers. But neither here in John's gospel nor in other places (for example, Matthew 18:18, Luke 24:33, 47) is it clear that only some Christians are to speak words of forgiveness. John commonly distinguishes between "the twelves" and a larger group of disciples; "disciple" is more of a generic term for any and all who followed Christ and it is to disciples that Jesus speaks in our passage today.

Just as the promise in the Old Testament was that the Spirit one day would be poured out on "all flesh" (Joel 2:28), and just as the New Testament teaches that no one could believe if not for the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9-17, indicating that all Christians receive the Holy Spirit), so also we need to realize that the command to forgive sins applies to all of us. It simply means that we are all to share the Gospel: as we do it, people will hear and believe; as we do not do it, they will not hear and believe but will remain lost in their sins. That is the risk God takes in Christ.

That's why it is so important that we hear this story today so that through it Jesus can give us peace. We need to hear the story so that Jesus can remind us again that he is sending us to proclaim the Gospel of the forgiveness of sins. We need to know that through his word he again breathes the Holy Spirit, the breath of God, on us -- recreating us as individuals and as a holy people, as his very own body, the church. Pentecost was the day that the church was born. The Spirit was given then. But that wasn't the end of it. That was only the beginning. The mission goes on as God's Spirit today bestows Christ's peace, forgives sins and draws people together in Jesus' name.

[As the capstone of the Spirit's work today we are offered Christ himself, his own body and blood, so that we might be his body in the world: "the forgiven," as someone has said, "learning to forgive." Before we eat the bread and drink from the cup, we will echo Jesus' words, "Peace be with you." For us also it is not merely a casual greeting but a concrete bestowal of the gift of divine peace that comes from Christ to our neighbor through us. God has already begun to equip us to go out forgiving sins by allowing us to be vessels of divine grace at this worship service.]

Each one of us has life only by the constant gift of God's breath of life. Each of us has faith in Jesus Christ and hope for eternal life only by the ongoing work of God's Spirit through the means of grace. Each of us, by the gift of that Spirit, is a disciple of Jesus Christ sent forth in God's world in the company of the faithful.

The Spirit of God, the breath of God, the divine wind that blows where God wills, blows into our bodies in every moment, keeping us alive; it blows into our hearts and minds and souls, bringing us faith and new life; and it brings us the peace of God and sends us out -- blows us out, really -- where we will be swept up in the marvelous saving work of God.

Go in peace. Serve the Lord.