SPIRIT HOLES

A Sermon for Pentecost Sunday
May 27, 2007
by Pastor Laura Gentry

Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, 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 Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: "In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." (NRSV)

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Today is Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the church. We hear the story of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the first reading from Acts. Let us imagine, for a moment, what it would have been like to witness this dramatic Spirit encounter first-hand. So let’s pretend we are the disciples gathered in a house following the ascension of Jesus. Suddenly a huge wind roars through the room, like a terrible storm. A tongue of flame appears and hovers in the air above us. Before we even know what’s happening, this giant flame splits into smaller flames that hovers over each one of our heads.

About the time that we’re ready to phone the volunteer fire department, our mouths open and we start preaching in different languages. Strange. We never studied these languages. How can it possibly be that we are speaking in them? And we’re not just speaking like you do in a foreign language class with simple phrases like “Hello, what is your name?” No, we are preaching, preaching passionately about the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ. And we go out and proclaim these words in various languages and the foreigners gathered around can understand and believe. And 3,000 people are converted and baptized!

What an absolutely amazing story and how thrilling to put ourselves into the shoes of those disciples to whom it happened. But there is a danger here in thinking that the Pentecost story is just a tale from the past. There is the trap of considering it another one of those miracles of the Bible that don’t happen any more.

But the reason we celebrate Pentecost day, followed by the lengthy season of Pentecost, is that we hold fast to the fact that the Spirit’s outpouring is on-going. Jesus made this amazing promise to his disciples: “Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our dwelling with them.” Jesus assures us that, by the Spirit, he and the Father will come to us—will dwell with us.

This Spirit speaks for us, on our behalf. “Advocate” is only one translation of the Greek word, which can also be translated as “intercessor,” “teacher,” “helper,” and “comforter.” Notice that all these words refer to someone who is called upon to aid another person and to defend them. The Spirit advocates for us and this same Spirit, in turn, urges us to advocate for others.

This Spirit of advocacy didn’t first show up on Pentecost Sunday. When Jesus first preached in the temple, he read from the Prophet Isaiah, who declared: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's Favor." Jesus, led by the Spirit throughout his time on earth, preached good news to the poor. He tirelessly advocated for those who here helpless, defenseless, the economically poor, the poor in Spirit. Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit precisely for such a mission: and he in turn poured out the Spirit on his disciples so that they might continue the same mission.

And so on the day of Pentecost, the powerful Spirit of advocacy anoints the disciples for service as well. They become able to speak in other languages, not just for dramatic effect, but to reach out to all, especially those most in need. That’s why the early believers lived together and shared their possessions, giving to all, as any had need.

These early believers who first received the Holy Spirit show us that the poor are the first priority of the infilling of the Spirit. The Spirit is not just for our inward blessing, it is also for outward service to those in the world. The Spirit blows through us and convinces us to care for others.

In the middle ages, churches would sometimes leave a gapping hole—a Spirit hole—in the ceiling of their sanctuary as a sign that they were still open to the Holy Spirit. This hole was a reminder that they wanted the Spirit to fall afresh upon them, to advocate for them and to urge them to be advocates for others.

Now we don’t have a hole in our ceiling. It would be very messy on rainy days. But it is an interesting image, isn’t it? Do we have Spirit holes in our hearts? Do we leave room for the Spirit? Do we want the Spirit to come in and take hold of us? Someone once criticized the preacher, Dwight Moody, for speaking so extensively on the Holy Spirit. They said, “Does he think he has a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?” and someone—in his defense—said, “No, but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on him.” The question for us to ask ourselves this morning is: Does the Holy Spirit have a monopoly on us? Jesus said that his followers would do even greater works than he did because of the power of the Spirit.

This Pentecost, may we widen the Spirit holes in our hearts and say yes again—yes to the fiery, windy, powerful Spirit of God that blows where it pleases. May we renew our commitment to working for peace and justice on behalf of the poor as Jesus did. And may the Spirit call us to an even deeper life of faith and service.

Let us pray: God of glory, your word is like a fire, like a hammer splitting rock. Your word in me is a burning fire, burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones, and I am weary with holding it in. Let it burst from me like fire and flame to transform the earth and all its people to the glory of your name. To you be glory and praise, celebration and song, forever and ever. Amen.
(by Miriam Therese Winter from Woman Prayer, Woman Song)

Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

© Laura E. Gentry 2007