“Veni Creator Spiritus”
Original sermon given on Sunday, June 8, 2025 written and delivered by Pastor Jeff Leininger at First Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church.
Watch the sermon live.
“Veni Creator Spiritus”
Acts 2, Romans 8, John 14
Acts 2, Romans 8, John 14
In the name of the Living God and the Risen Christ.
Today’s an awkward day. Not so much for me — I stand up here in a red poncho a few times a year. Not so much for Ivan, baptized this morning in the One Holy Christian Faith (although he tells me he gets shy in front of crowds). And not so much for our new members, all of whom have already been worshipping with us for some time. No, today is the most awkward and uncomfortable of all days… for the Holy Spirit. The third person of the Holy Trinity is sometimes called “the shy member of the Trinity” because the Spirit doesn’t like talking about himself. Sorry, Holy Spirit, it’s Pentecost. Today is your day. It will be over in less than an hour… but of course, no it won’t.
It won’t be over soon because although the Holy Spirit likes to be behind the scenes, the Spirit is ever at work in the Church. Through the word and sacraments, the Spirit is always pointing us to Christ Jesus and his saving work on the cross. The Holy Spirit is always at work through us, as the baptized body of Christ, wherever our crosses take us. In this way the Spirit is unseen but indispensable; mysterious but doing concrete work; never about himself but always affecting everything.
Our Lord Jesus himself, who promised his disciples the “Paraclete,” the “called-beside-one,” illustrates this in John 3. In a conversation with a great Jewish teacher, Nicodemus, our Lord likens the work of the Spirit with the wind. This is no accident because in Hebrew, the words for wind, spirit, and breath are all one word: Ruach. (Yet another reason why we’ll all be speaking Hebrew in heaven. Might as well start learning it now, right?) Jesus tells Nicodemus to consider the wind — you can’t see where it comes from or where it goes, but you know it’s real by its effects. Like the gently quaking aspen tree, which you know instinctively isn’t moving itself; or the fluttering of the red ribbons on the fence outside the church this morning; or the rhythm of the waves on Lake Michigan; or the powerful wind of the tornados in St. Louis a couple of weeks ago. You see only the results, but the cause is clear.
This is always the way it’s been with the behind-the scenes but unquestionably-at-work Holy Spirit. The first scene in the Bible, Genesis 1, has the Spirit mysteriously hovering over the waters of chaos, but the result is the beauty and order of God’s creation. Or Ezekiel standing over the valley of dry bones. A crazy old guy starts preaching, and a dead army comes to life. Or this morning’s reading from Acts 1, describing the Day of Pentecost. The first believers feel the rushing wind, see tongues of fire, hear in their own languages of God’s deeds and power. No Spirit actually seen, but no doubt he’s there. Or St. Paul’s stirring and powerful chapter 8 of Romans — perhaps the greatest chapter in times of greatest difficulties — sinful, broken, suffering people cry out “Abba Father” and despite everything still know they’re children of God. That’s the Spirit at work. Or our Lord’s words in today’s gospel, John 14: no matter what’s about to come, his disciples know an otherworldly peace: unseen but indispensable; mysterious but concrete; never about himself but always affecting everything.
Although the Day of Pentecost gives us great comfort, knowing the abiding presence of the Spirit, it also has a convicting edge to it. There are things “not of the Spirit”; there is a “spirit of this world” and there are evil spirits which roam the world. We are warned on this day to be vigilant against these. And we know that we can deny, grieve, and even sin against the Holy Spirit.
You might at this point in the sermon want to know how to avoid this (I’m here to help). I’ll give you two things to take with you today to remain in step with the Spirit: truth and love. Veritas et Caritas, as the old Latin phrase goes. First, truth: we believe, teach and confess the truth of God’s word which ever points us to Christ. We strive after God’s truth, ask the Spirit for wisdom and discernment, and ever remain vigilant knowing that this world will always twist and oppose the truth. Like the first believers in Jerusalem, we bear witness to the truth that the incarnate son of God, born into our flesh, crucified for our sin, but risen bodily on the third day is both Lord and Christ (Messiah). We confess the one true faith expressed in the ecumenical creeds and have a confession of faith as Lutheran Christians precisely for this reason: that knowing true things matters — it matters eternally—and the Spirit leads us further into true things.
So that’s the veritas (truth) part — now for the caritas (love) part. The Spirit works within us to produce the fruits of faith — the godly life of a Christian. Just like we can work against the Spirit in false teaching, so also in false living. What we know matters, but what we show matters too. Both are that unseen but indispensable; mysterious but concrete; never about himself but always affecting every work of the Spirit in us. St. Paul’s fruits of the Spirit, outlined in Galatians 5 come to mind, don’t they? “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Against these gifts there is no law because they aren’t done by force or compulsion, but by the free working of the Spirit within us.
This convicting word that we are to confess the truth by the Spirit and live the truth by the Spirit, surely prompts in us to call upon the Spirit for aid. We need the “Helper” don’t we? I sure do! There’s an ancient prayer of the Church used on this day: “Veni Creator Spiritus” — Come Creator Spirit” — which has made its way in one form or another into many of our Pentecost hymns. Our choir will sing a version of it as well this morning. Martin Luther loved this prayer “Come Creator Spirit” although it seems a strange prayer for us. Don’t we already have the Holy Spirit? Wasn’t the Spirit given to the Church at Pentecost and poured into us at Baptism? Yes, but like so many of our prayers we often ask for what we already have. For example, we seek to know again what we’ve always known. We pray for grace, knowing it’s already here. We beg for mercy, knowing he’s already given it. So, on this day, when the spirit of this fallen world works so hard against truth and love, we pray even more fervently for the Spirit to come among us and remake us anew: Veni Creator Spiritus. Come creator spirit, through the word of God and his sacraments, and lead us to all truth and love.
Unseen but indispensable; mysterious but concrete; never about himself but always affecting everything, the Spirit works through Christian poetry too. Beautiful words where the beautiful gospel is conveyed. A new hymn text for Pentecost by David Rogner (which you can hear more about in Adult Forum today), beautifully conveys both the seeking after truth and the showing forth of love for which we ask the Spirit’s aid:
Come now with pow’r divine, I pray;
Renew me, Heav’nly Dove,
That everything I do or say
Might flame with holy love.
O Spirit Blest, instruct my soul;
O Wisdom, guide my heart.
By Your indwelling make me whole,
And perfect peace impart.[1]
Come soon Lord Jesus… and come Holy Spirit. Amen.
[1] From The Westfield Hymns, Copyright David Rogner, 2025.