May 31, 2008
By Pastor Laura Gentry
Acts 2:1-21
Yippee! Here we are on Pentecost Sunday with our lovely red geraniums and our beautiful red outfits. Do you ever ask yourself why we do this? We do we make such a big deal about Pentecost? Why do we have to read the same text every year from the book of Acts tongues of fire appearing and resting upon the disciples' heads and causing them to speak in languages they hadn't even studied? And why didn't that happen to me while I was taking Greek class in seminary?
We do it because we can't afford to forget how this all started. We can't afford to forget that the church was born in fire! God sent the Holy Spirit, just as the prophets had foretold—and not just to the Jews, but to all people. Why do you think the first thing the Holy Spirit did was to make the disciples multilingual? It was because the liberating news of Jesus' death and resurrection was not just for an exclusive group in Jerusalem who spoke their same language, but it is for ALL PEOPLE! That's what this yearly celebration is all about—it's about what it means to be the church.
It’s exciting to tell the story of that Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples. It’s a story filled with excitement and drama. Had we been there, we probably would have called up the fire department. Perhaps we are grateful that we weren’t there. All those balls of fire on people’s heads might have caused us to panic!
There is a danger in reading this story, however, of thinking that the Pentecost story is just a happy 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 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.
Do we believe that? Do we really think that God: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is going to come to us and dwell with us? It’s kinda scary to believe this because we know that God does powerful things. If God is in ME, then that means that powerful things can happen through me. Perhaps we should show up at church in extreme sports gear instead of our normal church clothes. We should probably have knee pads and crash helmets and bung cords just in case the Holy Spirit shows up. With all that wildfire power we know the Spirit has, we could be in for a wild ride!
I saw a bulletin blooper once that said, “We pray for those who are sick of this church.” If we are living in the true power of the Holy Spirit as we ought, then no one is going to be sick of this church! This will be a place of great excitement. It is going to be a place where the Spirit of God is increasing, more and more each day. This can be a church where God is sought and found and others catch the vision too. When you allow the Holy Spirit to catch fire within your heart, you will want to share the good news. You’ll have trouble keeping it inside. You may, indeed, need that extreme sports gear after all.
According to a brand new poll by Newsweek, the percentage of self-identified Christians has fallen 10 points in the past two decades. In fact, churches are shrinking so quickly that some call America a country that is “post-Christian.” Why are people going to church less and less? Why are churches closing their doors and turning their buildings into historical museums? Why do people get sick of their church and stop getting involved?
I will tell you why: it is because we are not allowing the Holy Spirit to burn within our hearts. We lose sight of our mission. We don’t live in love and zealously proclaim the good news to all people. The old saying goes: a Lutheran invites a friend to worship once every...26 years. That’s not enough! We get comfortable and in so doing, we block the work of the Spirit.
Nevertheless, the Spirit is at work. Even in our “post-Christian” nation, people are praying. According to Newsweek’s poll, more people profess to pray than they did in 1987. And the people who consider religion important in their lives has held fast for the past decade. People crave God’s power. They want the Spirit to transform them.
The question is: are we as the church feeding the world’s spiritual need or are we standing in the way? As Jesus’ followers, we have been given the Spirit’s power. We are supposed to be able to do even greater works than Jesus did because we are equipped with this life-giving Spirit. Hildegard of Bingen said we are all Sparks of the Divine Flame.
The Spirit is alive and well and burning as brightly as ever. God wants us to be a part of this wildfire and spread the good news throughout the whole earth. May this birthday celebration reignite us to be a part of that fire.
I would like to close with an extended blessing for Pentecost written by Joyce Rupp:
May the enthusiasm of Spirit leap incessantly within you and help you to live a vibrant life.
May the warmth of Spirit's fire be extended throughout your concern and care for all those who need your love.
May the blaze of Spirit's courage enable you to speak the truth and to stand up for respect, dignity, and justice.
May the undying embers of Spirit's faithfulness support you when you feel spiritually dry and empty.
May the strength of Spirit's love sustain your hope as you enter into the pain of the world.
May the clear light of Spirit's guidance be a source of effective discernment and decision-making for you.
May Spirit's patient endurance be yours while you wait for what is unknown to be revealed.
May the steady flame of Spirit's goodness within you convince you every day of the power of your presence with others.
May the joyful fire of Spirit dance within you and set happiness ablaze in your life.
May the spark of your relationship with Spirit catch afire in the hearts in the hearts of those with whom you live and work.
May you be mindful of the Eternal Flame within you. May you rely on this Source of Love to be your constant ally and steady guide.
(Joyce Rupp, Out of the Ordinary, Ave Maria Press, 2000)
No comments:
Post a Comment