Holy Spirit Fire! May 27, 2012 A sermon by The Rev. Dr. Laura Barnes Coney Danville Congregational Church United Church of Christ
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.
Pentecost is such an odd little holy-day. It is not like Christmas which is celebrated by practically everyone we know... it is not like Easter, with big trumpets and cries of He is Risen!... Rather, Pentecost it is an odd little holiday, tucked away in somewhere between Memorial Day and the time that school gets out for summer... it seems rather obscure... it is the only time the liturgical calendar calls for the color red... and yet, it has deep significance to the creation of this community we call church. So, what is Pentecost, really? Pentecost is that time where we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the church is born. It s rather odd name come from a Greek word that means fifty Pentekoste (Πεντηκοστή) because we are exactly fifty days past Easter. We wear red on this day to remind ourselves of the tongues of fire, the flame of the Holy Spirit Fire that filled those in the Upper Room that day. Red is the liturgical color for the birthday of the church and the color of passion. Pentecost is the day we claim the church was born, but it is also so much more. It comes at the end of the season of Eastertide, which is a six week period of time to reflect on the power and mystery of the resurrection...it is a pregnant moment something incredible is about to happen. Pentecost is that special moment where humankind gives birth to the community that will worship, study scripture and pray together. It is that time in history when the teachings of Jesus begin to take hold among his followers and they go out to share the good news of the gospel with the world. Pentecost is a time for new beginnings, new possibilities for all of humanity... it is a time for new life. This text from Acts 2 is read almost every Pentecost Sunday it is always such fun to see how well the liturgist deals with all those names of foreign countries that no longer exist like Phrygia (Frig-ee-ah) and Pamphylia which Wilson handled with great aplomb! These were regions in the first century CE that were located not far from Israel. We think Phrygia (Frig-ee-ah) was part of what is central Turkey now. Pamphylia was also in Turkey...along its southern coast... and the Greek name itself means 1
of mixed race and tribes...which describes this first century Pentecost gathering perfectly on that day there were a lot of different people from different cultures and regions that came together and actually listened to and understood one another. What a great way to start the church! The first Pentecost gathering over two thousand years ago included a large group of very diverse people gathered together, who are filled with this Holy Spirit Fire and then able to communicate successfully with one another. Every person there spoke in their own language and they still were HEARD... which is a great cause for celebration and something our modern world still needs to work on listening to one another! There were many who gathered there in Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Weeks, which in Hebrew is השבועות חג Shavuot (shab-bah-ote) 1. This is the Jewish celebration of that time in Israel s history when the law was received from Moses. These are the laws we call the Ten Commandments. Moses had communicated directly with God on top of Mt Sinai and came down to give the Israelites the commandments. Shavuot is also a bit of an obscure holiday on the Jewish calendar... which may be one reason Pentecost is as well. It had been only fifty days since the resurrection and many of Jesus followers had remained there in Jerusalem. They had gone through His crucifixion, encountered the risen Christ, shared meals with Him and then felt His absence when He ascended into heaven forty days later. A lot has gone on in their community in that short time and on this first Pentecost morning they are gathered in a house, probably just trying to catch their breath. They must have been filled with indecision and with fear. Jesus was gone and they were in mourning. This upand-coming movement was in crisis and the absence of Jesus made them even more aware of how fragile their community was... 1 From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord. (Leviticus 23:15-16) 2
And then, and then when they were at their most fearful, when they felt hopeless and without direction, the Holy Spirit descends upon them with a rushing wind, tongues of fire and this powerful gift of understanding. They worshipped there together, that first Pentecost morning, and found courage and strength from their experience. They listened to Peter s sermon, his words of encouragement, and they felt hopeful again. This first Pentecost morning was where we get the idea as Christians to gather weekly as a church, to worship God, to listen to one another... to hear the word proclaimed and to be filled with the Holy Spirit for the week to come... and here we are in worship thousands of years later, on Pentecost, pondering the mystery that we call the Holy Spirit... Pentecost is a time for new beginnings. It is a time to welcome the surprises it holds for us... it is a time to be willing to open ourselves to the movement of the Holy Spirit within and among us. It is a time to dream, and to imagine the possibilities ahead for us as a church. It is a time to create a new vision for the body of Christ... a time to embrace change. So, don t you think that perhaps Pentecost is the perfect season for us here at Danville Congregational Church. It is our time for new dreams...it is our time for a new vision and for us to look forward to the possibilities that are coming our way. Peter himself preaches about that in his first recorded sermon that morning of Pentecost. He encourages those gathered around him to boldly envision their future together as he preaches. He quotes the Hebrew prophet Joel and promises them that their sons and daughters shall prophesy, and [their] young men shall see visions, and [their] old men shall dream dreams Joel 2:28-29. What did they dream on that first morning when the church was born? What shall we dream together for our church? What are we visioning with our young men and women? In this story from Acts, we get that those gathered in the house that day were full of uncertainty about their future. Jesus was no longer among them and they were not sure which direction to take. The Spirit descends upon them and they are filled with courage to be followers of Jesus... and they are filled with the strength 3
to communicate the good news and, the best gift of all, they were filled with hope. Courage. Strength. Hope. Holy Spirit Fire! Where are our Pentecost moments? When have we felt the movement of the Holy Spirit Fire among us? When have we been filled with strength, or courage or experienced hope in recent times? Last weekend, I met a group of people that were filled with the most incredible inner strength... I spent the day with members of the Cancer Support Community, formerly the Wellness Community. I had the privilege of accompanying my friend, Mary DeauClaire, to the Strike Out Cancer day at AT&T Park. The Giants BEAT the A s, much to my delight. It was fedora hat day, as you can see, and we got to have lunch with Javier Lopez (just call me Jave he told us...). I posted our photos on Facebook, feel free to check them out when you get home. Bill and I got to spend the day getting to know them and hearing their stories. There was such strength and faith within this very diverse group of people both the survivors and their families. Mary herself is a survivor of breast cancer and has been clear of it for over two and a half years now thanks be to God. Her inner strength is an inspiration to me. I know several of you who are also survivors here in our congregation. The strength you display in your journey is inspiring and gives others strength for their journey. Courage. Strength and Hope. Holy Spirit Fire! There are many stories of courage we could share. This one is about Rev Oliver White and his church in St Paul, Minnesota called Grace Community UCC. It was founded in 1990 in a relatively poor African-American neighborhood. It has struggled financially for a long time, but was growing until 2005, when Rev White was at the UCC General Synod in Atlanta. There the Synod voted to support same-sex marriage. I remember, because I was there too...it was a very powerful moment and I could not have been more proud to be a member of the UCC. However, when Rev White brought the idea back to his church he found his congregation was bitterly divided over the issue. Membership began to decline. Regardless of the pressure, White continued to be a champion of equal rights for gays and lesbians. 4
Recently, our sister UCC church in Dallas, Cathedral of Hope, sent a donation to Grace Community to support them and to help them pay their bills. Rev White continues to be outspoken and has never wavered on his support for the LGBTQ community there in St Paul. His courage is surely an example of Holy Spirit Fire among us, and it inspires me in my own ministry here in Danville as well. Rev White is demonstrating the kind of courage that comes from a mysterious and unknown source we call the Holy Spirit. It is this kind of courage that needs to be celebrated on Pentecost. Courage. Strength and Hope. Holy Spirit Fire. And then there is hope, I lift my eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help? (Ps 121). Help comes in the form of Hope from the Creator of those hills - our Still Speaking God - and from the Holy Spirit that appeared early that first Pentecost morning with the rushing winds and red tongues of fire. In our darkest moments of grief, despair and hopelessness we get Hope from a loving God who knew us before we are even born (Psalm 139:13-16) and welcomes us home when we die. I have seen you, time and time again, offer hope to those who mourn. In a few moments we will be lifting up all who have died this past year during our Prayers of the People. We have had several memorials recently and each time, you are there to offer your support to the families who have lost a loved one. Each time the Diaconate has provided a lovely reception. Each time this church family shows up to pray, to mourn and to surround the bereaved with hope. This past year alone we have offered hope to the families of John McKinley, Ed Evans, Marilyn Blair, Jim Davis, Mary Kay Anderson and others. Hope springs eternal wrote the 18 th century poet, Alexander Pope. Here at Danville Congregational we gather here each Sunday to be reminded of that... we come to be filled with Holy Spirit Fire... to renew our strength, our courage and to be reconnected to our church family... We come here each week to offer hope and to receive hope. We are here weekly to be reinspired to go out into our crazy, broken and suffering world and share the good news of God s unconditional love. This Pentecost, let us welcome this Holy Spirit Fire. 5
May we all be filled with courage and strength that comes from God. May we all be inspired by the fire of Pentecost to go out and share that unlimited love and hope with others. May we all be reminded we are here to dream and to find new ways in which God s vision for Creation can be realized... together. Happy Birthday Church! Happy Pentecost to you all. Amen Bibliography Brueggemann, Walter; Charles B. Cousar; Beverly R. Gaventa and James D. Newsome. Texts For Preaching Year B. Pentecost. Westminster John Knox Press. Louisville, KY. 1993. p.346-354. What is Pentecost? http://www.christianpost.com/news/what-is-pentecost-sunday- 51096/ Story of Grace Community UCC: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/18/gracecommunity-united-church-closure_n_1526311.html Pope, Alexander. An Essay on Man, Epistle 1. 1733. Hope springs eternal in the human breast; Man never Is, but always To be blest: The soul, uneasy and confin'd from home, Rests and expatiates in a life to come. 6