SERMON PENTECOST SUNDAY YEAR B FIRED UP! ACTS 2:1-21 / MAY 24, 2015 Let us pray: May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all of our hearts be acceptable to you, O God, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. YOU MAY HAVE HAD OCCASION TO LISTEN TO TAPESTRY ON CBC RADIO ONE, SUNDAY AFTERNOONS. THIS RADIO SHOW FEATURES DOCUMENTARY AND INTERVIEW PROGRAMMING RELATED TO SPIRITUALITY, FAITH, AND RELIGION. THE PROGRAM S HOST MARY HYNES, NOT TOO LONG AGO, INTERVIEWED SARA MILES, ABOUT HER UNEXPECTED-AND INCONVENIENT- CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY WHEN SHE ENTERED A CHURCH ON IMPULSE ONE SUNDAY. MILES WAS RAISED AS AN ATHEIST AND SHE WAS HAPPILY LIVING AN ENTHUSIASTICALLY SECULAR LIFE AS A RESTAURANT COOK AND JOURNALIST, INDIFFERENT TO RELIGION AT BEST. AS SHE SAYS IN THE PROLOGUE TO HER BOOK, TAKE THIS BREAD, I WAS CERTAINLY NOT INTERESTED IN BECOMING A CHRISTIAN...OR, AS I THOUGHT OF IT RATHER LESS POLITELY, A RELIGIOUS NUT. BUT AS SHE ENTERED THE DOORS OF ST. GREGORY OF NYSSA EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN SAN FRANCISCO ON A WHIM, SHE ATE A PIECE OF BREAD AND TOOK A SIP OF WINE AND FOUND HERSELF RADICALLY TRANSFORMED. AT THE AGE OF 46, THIS WAS HER FIRST COMMUNION AND IT CHANGED EVERYTHING. 1
AND RECALL THAT JOHN WESLEY, THE CO-FOUNDER OF METHODISM, ON THIS EXACT DATE - MAY 24 TH 1738, HAD AN EXPERIENCE THAT CHANGED HIS LIFE WHEN, AT A SERVICE OF WORSHIP, HEARD THE SPEAKER TELL OF THE CHANGE WHICH GOD WORKS IN THE HEART THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST. IN HIS WORDS, I FELT MY HEART STRANGELY WARMED. AND I VE SHARED WITH YOU HOW, IN MY OWN LIFE, AT A TIME WHEN I WAS MOST CYNICAL OF ORGANIZED RELIGION AND WOULD HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE CHURCH, I WENT TO A SERVICE AT A FRIEND S REQUEST, TO HEAR MY FRIEND SING, AND HAD THAT VERYSAME EXPERIENCE OF A STRANGE, POWERFUL WARMING SENSATION IN MY CHEST AFTER WHICH MY LIFE WAS DRAMATICALLY CHANGED. I SHARE THESE STORIES WITH YOU BECAUSE ON THIS PENTECOST SUNDAY WE FOCUS ON THIS BIBLICAL STORY IN ACTS IN WHICH GOD S SPIRIT GOD S PRESENCE WITH US ENCOUNTERS ORDINARY HUMAN BEINGS AND WONDERFUL AND UNEXPECTED THINGS BEGIN TO HAPPEN. PENTECOST IS, IN A SENSE, THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHURCH; BUT IT WAS AN IMPORTANT JEWISH FESTIVAL BEFORE IT BECAME A CHRISTIAN ONE. IT WAS ONE OF THREE PILGRIMAGE FESTIVALS THAT WERE IDEALLY SPENT IN JERUSALEM AND IT OCCURRED FIFTY DAYS AFTER PASSOVER WHICH WAS THE COMMEMORATION OF ISRAEL S LIBERATION FROM EGYPT. IT RECALLED, NOT ONLY THE GIVING OF THE COVENANT TO ISRAEL AT MT. SINAI, BUT ALSO THE CREATION OF A NEW KIND OF COMMUNITY 2
A RADICALLY DIFFERENT WAY OF LIVING AFTER EGYPT. AND THE EARLY CHRISTIANS INCORPORATED THESE THEMES INTO THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF PENTECOST AS WELL. FOR INSTANCE, THE LATE, GREAT BIBLICAL SCHOLAR MARCUS BORG SAID, THE CENTRAL AFFIRMATION OF PENTECOST IS THAT THE SPIRIT PROMISED BY JESUS IS NOW PRESENT AMONG HIS FOLLOWERS AND IN THE WORLD. THE SPIRIT IS THE SPIRIT OF GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST. BORG CONCLUDES, THE CLAIM IS FOUNDATIONAL TO THE NEW TESTAMENT AND EARLY CHRISTIANITY. OF COURSE, MOST CHRISTIAN PEOPLE ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE STORY OF PENTECOST THAT WE FIND IN ACTS, CHAPTER TWO, WRITTEN BY LUKE, WHERE THE SYMBOLS OF WIND AND FIRE REPRESENT GOD S PRESENCE IN POWERFUL AND DRAMATIC WAYS TO THE DISCIPLES OF JESUS, WHO ENGAGE A DIVERSE GROUP OF SPIRITUAL PILGRIMS WHO SPEAK A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT LANGUAGES FROM VARIOUS PARTS OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND WHO HAVE MADE THEIR WAY TO JERUSALEM TO CELEBRATE THE FESTIVAL OF PENTECOST. THESE SAME PILGRIMS ARE ENABLED BY THE ARRIVAL OF THE LIVELY, CREATIVE, UNPREDICTABLE AND UNCONTROLLABLE SPIRIT TO COMPREHEND A UNIVERALLY UNDERSTOOD LANGUAGE. IT S A REVERSAL OF THE STORY OF THE TOWER OF BABEL THAT WE FIND IN GENESIS, WHERE THE NARRATOR SAYS, GOD CONFUSED THE LANGUAGE OF ALL THE EARTH. 3
SO LUKE IS SAYING IN HIS STORY THAT PENTECOST IS THE BEGINNING OF THE REUNIFICATION OF HUMANITY THE CREATION OF A NEW KIND OF COMMUNITY WHICH BECAME THE CHURCH. AND A ONCE TIMID, FRIGHTENED, AND DISCOURAGED GROUP OF JESUS FOLLOWERS BECAME FORCEFUL, CONFIDENT, AND UNIFIED ADVOCATES FOR THEIR EXPERIENCE OF THE RISEN CHRIST, AND A NEW FAITH MOVEMENT AND COMMUNITY WAS BORN. THIS SPIRIT OF GOD WORKS IN AND FOR THE WORLD AS HISTORY MOVES TOWARD THE FUTURE FULLNESS OF GOD S GOOD PURPOSES FOR THE WORLD. SO WHENEVER WE SEE SIGNS OF THE COMING AGE IN WORKS OF LOVE, PEACE, AND JUSTICE WE KNOW GOD S SPIRIT IS AT WORK. BUT, OF COURSE, WE ALSO KNOW THE CHURCH HAS NOT ALWAYS LIVED UP TO THIS HIGH CALLING AS RECIPIENTS OF THE SPIRIT FOR THE GOOD OF THE CHURCH COMMUNITY AND THE WIDER WORLD. IN THE ENGAGING BOOK, LIVING THE QUESTIONS: THE WISDOM OF PROGRESSIVE CHRISTIANITY WE READ: IN MANY FAITH TRADITIONS, IT IS TRADITION ITSELF THAT IS WORSHIPPED, HELD UP AS THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE RELIGIOUS ENTERPRISE. BE IT INFATUATION WITH SMELLS AND BELLS OR RESISTANCE TO INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE, MANY FAITHFUL PEOPLE HAVE CONFUSED DEFENSE OF THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF RIGHT PRACTICE AND RIGHT THINKING WITH WHAT THEY CALL FAITH. 4
THEY INSULATE THEMSELVES FROM THE UNPREDICTABLE, DEMANDING, TRANSFORMING NATURE OF THE SPIRIT WITH A FIERCE, PIOUS, UNBENDING COMMITMENT TO THE CHURCH AND ITS TRADITIONS. THEY PRACTICE WHAT RICHARD ROHR HAS CALLED A COSMETIC PIETY INTENDED TO LOOK GOOD ON THE SURFACE, BUT LACKING ANY REAL DEPTH OR COMPLEXITY. DEFENSE OF THE CHANGELESS NATURE OF THEIR REVEALED TRUTH BECOMES A VIRTUE TO BE ASPIRED TO, REGARDLESS OF HOW LIFELESS AND ROTE THE PRACTICE ITSELF BECOMES. PENTECOST, AS PETER TELLS US IN THE BOOK OF ACTS, IS A FULFILLMENT OF THE PROPHECY OF JOEL, IN THE LAST DAYS, GOD SAID, I WILL POUR OUT MY SPIRIT UPON ALL PEOPLE. YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS WILL PROPHESY, YOUR YOUNG PEOPLE WILL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD PEOPLE WILL DREAM DREAMS... THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES HERE AT AUGUSTINE WHERE THAT HAS HAPPENED FOR INDIVIDUALS WITHIN THE CONGREGATION AND COLLECTIVELY AS A COMMUNITY OF FAITH. THE FIRE OF THE SPIRIT BLEW AMONG YOU, FIRED YOU UP, TO BECOME MIGHTY PROPHETS DECLARING THAT THIS COMMUNITY OF FAITH WOULD BE AN AFFIRMING CONGREGATION WHERE PEOPLE OF ALL SEXUAL ORIENTATIONS AND GENDER IDENTIFICATION WOULD NOT ONLY BE WELCOME BUT WOULD BE BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST FOR AND WITH ONE ANOTHER. 5
THE FIRE OF THE SPIRIT BLEW AMONG YOU, FIRED YOU UP, AS THOSE ACTIVELY, COMPASSIONATELY CARING FOR THE HOMELESS AND THE IMPOVERISHED AS YOU ESTABLISHED AND GREW OAK TABLE COMMUNITY MINISTRY. THE FIRE OF THE SPIRIT BLEW AMONG YOU, FIRED YOU UP, MANY TIMES AND IN MANY WAYS THROUGHOUT THE HISTORYOF THIS CONGREGATION. AND ONCE AGAIN, THE FIRE OF THE SPIRIT BLOWS AMONG YOU, FIRING YOU UP, AS YOUR YOUNG PEOPLE SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD PEOPLE DREAM DREAMS AND ALL OF YOU RECEIVE THE POWER OF THE SPIRIT TO LEAD YOU TO CONSIDER A BUILDING PROJECT ON PART OF THE CHURCH PROPERTY THAT WILL GIVE YOU NEW LIFE AND OPEN UP NEW POSSIBILITIES FOR MISSION WITH AND FOR YOUR NEIGHBOURS. WORK AT THINKING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, NOT SO MUCH AS A SOURCE OF SUPERNATURAL PHENOMENA, AND ECSTATIC EXPERIENCES, AND MORE AS THE ENERGY OF LOVE, GOD S LOVE, AMONG CHRIST S PEOPLE. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE FIRE OF GOD THAT WARMS OUR COLD HEARTS TOWARD EACH OTHER AND TOWARD ALL OF HUMANITY, ALL OF CREATION. WITHIN OUR DEPTHS AS PEOPLE OF FAITH THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE FIRE THAT STANDS OVER AGAINST THE ICE OF OUR SMALL-HEARTEDNESS, AND SELFISHNESS AND DEADNESS. WITHIN OUR DEPTHS THE FIRE BURNS, AND OUR GREATEST SIN IS THAT WE TRY TO QUENCH IT. 6
I SPOKE EARLIER OF THE PENTECOST EXPERIENCE OF SARA MILES. HOW DID HER ENCOUNTER WITH THE SPIRIT CHANGE HER LIFE? WELL, SHE STARTED A FOOD PANTRY AND GAVE AWAY LITERALLY TONS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES AND CEREAL AROUND THAT SAME TABLE WHERE SHE FIRST RECEIVED COMMUNION. SHE THEN ORGANIZED NEW PANTRIES ALL OVER THE CITY TO PROVIDE HUNDREDS OF HUNGRY FAMILIES WITH FREE GROCERIES EACH WEEK. THE HOLY SPIRIT, DESCRIBED IN SCRIPTURE BY THE SYMBOLS OF UNPREDICTABLE, UNCONTROLLABLE WIND AND FIRE TRANSFORMED SARA MILES LIFE AND HER COMMUNITY. WHEN THE SPIRIT IS ACTIVE AND PRESENT, IT S NOT JUST ABOUT ME, BUT ABOUT, WE. IT S ABOUT THE CREATION OF A NEW KIND OF INCLUSIVE, WELCOMING COMMUNITY BASED ON LOVE. AND FOR SURE IT S NOT OFTEN EASY. SARA MILES DISCOVERED THIS AS SHE TRUDGED IN THE RAIN THROUGH BLEAK HOUSING PROJECTS, SAT ON THE CURB WIPING THE RUNNY NOSE OF A PSYCHOTIC MAN, STRUGGLED WITH HER ATHEIST FAMILY, AND DOUBTING FRIENDS. THE SPIRIT BRINGS CHANGE. SOME OF IT IS WELCOME, SOME NOT, BUT ALWAYS DIRECTED TO THE NEIGHBOUR IN NEED. CHRISTIANITY IS NOTSO MUCH ABOUT THINGS WE SHOULD OR SHOULDN T DO, OR ABOUT JUST BEING NICE. IT S REVELING IN THE BEAUTY OF CREATION, ABOUT TAKING PART IN THE WONDERMENT OF IT ALL BY LIVING, LOVING, AND BEING. IT S ABOUT EMBRACING THE PAIN AND THE SUFFERING OF THE WORLD AND TRANSFORMING IT INTO NEW LIFE. 7
IT S ABOUT HARNESSING THE CREATIVE SPIRIT THAT IS SO MUCH A PART OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE TRULY HUMAN. ONE FINAL STORY: ABOUT A CONFIRMATION CLASS OF THREE YOUNG PERSONS. IN ONE SESSION, THE TEACHER WAS INSTRUCTING THEM ABOUT THE FESTIVALS AND SEASONS OF THE CHRISTIAN YEAR, AND WHEN THEY CAME TO THE DISCUSSION OF PENTECOST, HE ASKED IF THEY KNEW WHAT PENTECOST WAS. SINCE NONE OF THEM DID, HE PROCEEDED TO INFORM THEM THAT PENTECOST WAS WHEN THE CHURCH WAS GATHERED TOGETHER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT CAME LIKE TONGUES OF FIRE UPON THEIR HEADS. THEN HE TOLD HOW THE DISCIPLES BEGAN TO SPEAK IN ALL THE LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD. TWO OF THE YOUTH TOOK THIS INFORMATION IN STRIDE, BUT THE THIRD LOOKED ASTONISHED, HER EYES WIDE. FINALLY, SHE SAID, OH MY, WE MUST HAVE BEEN ABSENT THAT SUNDAY. THE BEAUTY OF THAT MOMENT WAS NOT THAT SHE MISUNDERSTOOD PENTECOST, BUT THAT SHE UNDERSTOOD THE CHURCH. IN HER MIND, THERE WAS THE POSSIBILITY THAT THE EVENT OF PENTECOST COULD HAVE HAPPENED, AS IT COULD HAPPEN, AS IT DOES HAPPEN, EVEN IN OUR, SUNDAY SERVICE. MAY IT BE SO. AMEN. Major Sources: Driveway Moments, by The Rev. Dr. Scott Kenefake in http://day1.org/6617-driveway_moments 2015. The Sermon: An Approach, by Dr. Robert S. Crilley in Preaching: Word and Witness, Vol. 00:4 (Year B), pp. 140. Editors: Paul Scott Wilson and John M. Rottman. Liturgical Publications, Inc. New Berlin, WI. 2000. Fire and Ice, by C. David Matthews in Pulpit Digest, May/June 1996, p.48. Editor: David Albert Farmer. Logos Productions Inc. Inver Grove Heights, MN. 8