The Fire of Pentecost Acts 2:1-21 Pentecost May 24, 2015 Edward Markquart is the pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines, Washington. He once helped his congregation celebrate and remember Pentecost by teaching them 3 quotations that he had them repeat again and again. Since he was fairly effective in doing so, I thought that I would borrow his idea and teach you those same 3 quotations. I believe they can be very helpful in our celebration and remembrance this very important day. The first of the quotations is attributed to Phillip Brooks, the same Phillip Brooks who wrote O Little Town of Bethlehem, and it goes like this: Nothing kindles fire but fire. Would you say it with me? ( Nothing kindles fire but fire. ) The second quotation is said to have originated with Harry Emerson Fosdick, one of the great preachers of the 20 th century, and it goes like this: If you want to set something on fire, you have to burn a little bit of yourself. Let s say that one together. ( If you want to set something on fire, you have to burn a little bit of yourself. ) Finally, there is a line from the 19 th century English Baptist evangelist Charles Spurgeon that reads, A burning heart will soon find for itself a flaming tongue. Repeat it with me. ( A burning heart will soon find for itself a flaming tongue. ) Now like Rev. Markquart, I am going to ask you to repeat these lines several times during the next few minutes. In other words, we re going to preach this sermon together. We have a lot of educators in this room and I have to imagine that they have probably used this technique a time or two. So the rest of you just pick out one of them to watch and follow their lead. You will be fine. If you don t know who s who in this congregation, then just look at the screen behind me. You too will be fine. Now when the time comes I will begin with the first part of one of those quotations, and then I will point to you to finish up with the second part. When I say Nothing kindles fire.., for instance, then you respond with but fire. When I start off saying If you want to set something on fire, then you come back with you have to burn a little bit of yourself. Finally, when I blurt out A burning heart, you can finish the sentence by saying will soon find for itself a flaming tongue. Got it? Very good. Let s get started. 1
In order to do so, I must confess that I am somewhat of a Survivorman/Dual Survival nerd. Some of you may know that these are the titles of two different television series on The Discovery Network that feature trained outdoorsmen trying to survive in various wilderness situations. As the titles suggest, Survivorman revolves around one person using his outdoor skills in a hostile environment, while Dual Survival features two wilderness experts doing the same. As a former Boy Scout, those two shows fascinate me (my wife not so much). Now the one thing that both shows constantly preach is that without fire it is very difficult to last very long out in the wilderness. Out in the wilderness you quickly come to realize that fire is essential for life. So building a good fire is always a top priority. Now there are a variety of ways to get one started. Using matches or a lighter are the most obvious. But then, what kind of show would it be if all these so-called experts needed to do were to strike a match? So the survivalists usually resort to the tried and true method of rubbing two sticks together. Of course, that s actually a misnomer. Unless your name is Johnny Storm, aka, The Human Torch of Fantastic Four fame, simply rubbing two sticks together hardly ever works. So they usually resort to the hand drill method. You ve probably seen it work. A V-shaped notch is cut in a rather broad and somewhat flat stick, under which a wad of hopefully bone-dry kindling is placed. A small depression is then carved adjacent to the notch. Its purpose is receive a pointed stick or spindle which is then rolled between ones hands or by a bow string until its tip begins to warm and an ember is eventually formed. The ember is then deposited onto the kindling beneath which, by gently fanning the wad to provide needed oxygen, will suddenly burst forth into flames. It looks so easy on television. Even before the first commercial break, a life-giving fire has been started. By the way, did you know: If you want to set something on fire you have to burn a little of yourself. A burning heart will soon find itself a flaming tongue. Perhaps you have noticed that the 3 quotes that I ve mentioned all center upon the image of fire. While not the main focus, the image of fire is very prevalent in Luke s version of the story of Pentecost; the holy day we celebrate this morning. You will remember how he 2
explained that 50 days after Easter the disciples 120 of them in all were holed up in an upper room somewhere in Jerusalem. In other words, they were hiding. Even though they now knew that awful day on Calvary did not have the last word, they were still fearful of the authorities; still didn t know what to make of everything they had experienced; still very unsure of what to do next. But sometime just after breakfast they experienced something remarkable. I have already mentioned that I am a former Boy Scout. I am also the father of two Eagle Scouts who has built plenty of campfires in his lifetime. Because of my past experience I personally think that Luke s description of what happened that day is backwards. Rather than the wind first and then the flames as his story reported, I believe that as the disciples were all together in that room it suddenly appeared to them as if flames had suddenly fallen upon each of them. Almost immediately afterwards, they then heard what sounded like the rush of a mighty wind that blew through the house and started fanning those flames. Suddenly the entire room; or maybe it might be better to say that each heart in that room, ignited. Like Jeremiah before them, it was at that moment that all 120 of those followers of Jesus felt an intense burning inside; a burning so great that it emboldened and encouraged them to burst out of that upper room and spill into the streets below. Once outside that room, each one of them began telling anyone they could find that Jesus was the Lord of life and the Savior of all. And soon that group of 120 followers of Jesus swelled to more than 3,000 followers of Jesus. Why? Because: If you want to set something on fire you have to burn a little bit of yourself. A burning heart will soon find for itself a flaming tongue. Like most young boys, I used to be fascinated with fire. As I began to grow older, I discovered that my fascination was not one just reserved for young boys. Much to my delight God seemed to be fascinated with fire too. It was with fire, you may remember, that God confirmed the covenant with Abraham with a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch. Check out Genesis 15 if you don t believe me. It was in the fire of the burning bush that Moses first met God. It was with a pillar of fire that God led the children of Israel up out of Egyptian slavery and to the freedom of the Promised Land. It was with fire that God helped Elijah defeat the 3
prophets of Baal and it was with a chariot of fire that God was able to swing low and carry him home. Just like the little boy that is still inside of me, God loves a good fire! In the biblical drama fire almost always served as a sign of divine power and presence. Long before it was celebrated in the church, Pentecost was celebrated in the synagogue. There it was a time to remember God s giving of the Law. There s a story in the Book of Exodus that describes the incandescent moment that Moses hiked up Mt. Sinai to receive the stone tablets. Listen to the description of what he saw: And Mt. Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire; and the smoke went up like the smoke of a kiln, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. I love that image. According to the Book of Exodus, on the day that Moses and the others received the Law the fire of God s power and presence came down and rested upon Mt. Sinai. Now keep that image in mind as we skip ahead in history. According to the Book of Acts, on the day that Peter and the others received the Spirit the fire of God s power and presence came down and rested upon those 120 followers of Jesus. Do you see? The Day of Pentecost was and is a reminder that the Law was no longer written on stone tablets, but on human hearts. Not only that, but Pentecost is also a reminder that the divine fire was burning away everything that kept the disciples from being the witnesses God needed them to be. You may remember that scripture uses fire as a metaphor for God s ability to purify and burn away everything that is not needed in life. Scripture often refers to that which is not needed in life as chaff and dross. With those images in mind, Malachi said that God is like a refiner s firer; that God promises to purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver; a promise that appears to foreshadow the day of Pentecost. Now it hurts both literally and figuratively to have those things that are not needed burned away, especially those things that keep us from God. But that is part of what Luke s telling of the Pentecost story is all about; part of what it means to be touched by God s fire; part of what needed to be done in order to get the disciples then and the disciples now out of that upper room and into the world. After all: Nothing but fire kindles fire. If you want to set something on fire you have to burn a little of ourselves. 4
A burning heart will soon find for itself a flaming tongue. Today we celebrate the Day of Pentecost: that moment when the Holy Spirit invaded the hearts of the disciples and set them on fire. How appropriate, then, that our celebration of Pentecost this year falls on the same day that we observe Aldersgate Day. It may not be as wellknown as Pentecost, but for United Methodists it s just as important. It occurred 277 years ago today. An Anglican priest by the name of John Wesley was moping around London. Yes, I said moping around. He was doing so because had just returned from a rather disastrous trip to Savannah, Georgia where everything he once believed about his Christian faith and his own life s vocation had completely fallen apart. He was an absolute mess. Questioning everything he once believed Wesley lamented, I went to America to convert the Indians, but who shall convert me? Like the disciples before him, he did not know what to make of all that happened to him and was very unsure of what to do next. But that all changed on May 24, 1738. After spending the morning worshiping in a church and the afternoon praying as he walked the streets, he was invited to attend an informal Bible Study at the house of a friend. Listen to how he described what happened in his Journal. In the evening, I went very unwillingly to a society on Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death. Did you hear it? Wesley s heart was strangely warmed. Could it have been anything less than the fire of the Holy Spirit that caused it? Like the disciples before him, someone who was filled with doubt and uncertainty and who did not have the slightest idea of what to do next was suddenly touched by a flame that not only ignited him, but a movement that changed the course of both English and American history as well. You are sitting in a church this morning because of the fire that first ignited in that upper room in Jerusalem. You are sitting in a 5
Methodist church this morning because of the fire that first ignited in a house on Aldersgate Street. But then that s really no surprise. After all: If you want to set something on fire you have to burn a little of yourself. A burning heart will soon find for itself a flaming tongue. Leslie Weatherhead was an English Methodist and rather famous preacher and author. Perhaps you ve read his books The Will of God or The Christian Agnostic. He once told the story of a visit he paid to Aldersgate Street in London. The building in which Wesley s heartwarming experience took place has long since been demolished, but there is a small chapel on the site to commemorate what happened. On the front wall of that chapel is a plaque that reads On this spot on May 24, 1938, John Wesley s heart was strangely warmed. After looking around, Weatherhead decided to sit in the back pew and spend some time pondering what happened on that historic night. As he did an old man with a cane entered the chapel by the side door and slowly walked down the aisle. When the old man finally got to the front he read the words on the plaque. Not seeing Weatherhead sitting in back, he dropped to his knees, and exclaimed, Do it again, Lord! Do it again! It is my hope and it is my prayer that the very same fire that ignited the disciples and warmed the heart of John Wesley will do it again in me and in you. May the Holy Spirit enter you and set you ablaze with fire of God s love. And as it does, I hope that you will remember that: If you want to set something on fire you have to burn a little of yourself. A burning heart will soon find for itself a flaming tongue. 6
It is Pentecost, O God. On this day long ago you sent your Spirit and filled a bunch of fearful, uncertain, and troubled disciples. Your gift changed them from those who huddled inside to those who rushed outside; from those whose faith went from something they kept to themselves into something they shared with others. On that day your church was energized, and it became your hands and feet in the world. On this day send your Spirit once more and fill those of us that are fearful, uncertain and troubled. Change us from those who are content to huddle inside and keep our faith to ourselves into those who are prepared to rush outside and share our faith with others. Energize your church once more, O God, and help us to truly become your hands and feet in this world. This is our prayer on this Pentecost Day. We offer it in the name of the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in his name we pray 7