A sermon for Pentecost

Preached on May 19, 2002, Concord Covenant Church, Concord, NH

Texts: Acts 2:1-21; 1 Cor 12:3b-13

The Rev. Beth Jenkins Ernest

Recently, I was privileged to have a conversation with a very open and, I found, a very nice person who admits to having no faith—only an historic connection with the faith of his ancestors, Judaism. He had been bar mitzvahed and observed the high holidays with his family, but only as a connection with the past. That one could pray prayers prayed by people thousands of years ago was seen by this man as intriguing, interesting, and kind of cool. But this person had absolutely no sense that faith has something to offer today, in this moment, be it joy, excitement, comfort, peace, or understanding. Faith for him is an historic fact, not a daily resource.

Was it like that for many of the Jews celebrating Pentecost in Jerusalem, ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven? Did they arrive in Jerusalem for the week-long harvest celebration happy enough to do that their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents did before them—namely, get dressed up, do some holiday shopping in the market of items they couldn’t get in the village, visit relatives, do some feasting, go to the temple and offer the proscribed sacrifices? Perhaps they were thinking, "Oy weh, how time flies. Seems like just yesterday it was Passover! But no, that was 50 days ago. Oy weh, how time flies." Perhaps for some people gathered in Jerusalem that year the major festivals helped them mark time more than grow in their faith. Isn’t it that way for many today?

The Book of Acts says there were devout Jews of "every nation under heaven" (Acts 2:5) living in Jerusalem--perhaps they were remembering what the celebration had been like when they were younger, among the Jews of their own land. Since they were devout, there must have been some celebrants who were very observant, wanting to fulfill the letter of the law in regards to their sacrifices. Wanting to ponder or debate the covenant God made with Noah, which was also remembered at this particular holiday, hoping to bring praise to God and find joy in his presence.

And then there was an extended group of Jesus’ followers, celebrating along with everyone else, keeping the Jewish calendar as did Jesus. At the last holiday, Passover, they had seen their master crucified. Now they are riding high—he returned from the dead, spent time with them, went up to heaven and promised them the Holy Spirit. The disciples of Jesus Christ are, no doubt, still spinning, wondering what would happen next.

But nobody could foresee this one. Not the people who were in town out of custom, not the devout who longed to fulfill their religious obligations, not even the disciples who should have been used to the unexpected by now.

This whole large, diverse group of people is gathered together for the festivities when the sound of an incredible ball of fire comes their way. A frightening sound. A LOUD roar barrels toward them like a forest fire on the loose! And then the fire lights on Jesus’ followers, but doesn’t burn their bodies. Instead, it animates their souls. It excites their minds. It loosens their tongues and a cacophony of words pour forth, unable to stop. Confusion reigns, as the believers realize they are speaking Arabic, Persian, and sundry Greek dialects without ever going to Berlitz! What is going on? You can hear them now! "Pentecost was never like this!" "Was werden wir jetzt machen, auch noch tanzen?"

As Christians, we call Pentecost, "the birthday of the church," for from here, the followers of Jesus began to multiply like wild-fire and move out into the world to tell others.

We can face this holiday like many people face Christmas, Easter, Hanukkah or other religious celebrations; as an interesting, historic event that link us with believers in the past. Or, we can open ourselves to the unlikely, the unknown, the unexpected—namely, the movement of the Holy Spirit as a resource for living our lives now, today, and every day to come.

You may remember from the Ascension story last week that the followers of Jesus had been given a commission; they were sent out into the world. But first, they needed the anointing from on high and were told to wait for that. They needed to be equipped; trained, sparked, inspired, gifted, and shoved out the door. While waiting, they gathered together to pray. They were not sent to school, they were not told to read a certain book, they were not met by a supervisor who told them what to do. Instead, their readiness came from the outpouring of the Spirit and their receptivity to it—for remember, they had been praying.

We might think we need some special training to accomplish our mission. And special training can’t hurt—or at least, it usually doesn’t. But when the Holy Spirit bursts through the space-time continuum, it bestows an instant degree! What we thought was going to be needed, might be not needed at all. The Spirit sets the agenda and gives the word—we just move our mouths!

I know there have been occasions throughout the years in my preaching when I have felt woefully inadequate, even ill-prepared. Or, I have just thought that the words I had to offer that morning were not so very original or well-put together. (And they weren’t!) But God has often turned just those messages into an occasion for the Holy Spirit to speak to someone’s heart. As a preacher, I might not have known that I was speaking a certain language that morning, but a certain listener heard that as his or her mother tongue and despite my vast limitations, God was praised. I am sure others of you have had that experience, of being inadequate to a task, yet finding that the Holy Spirit has worked through your limitations.

The coming of the Spirit seemed to activate various gifts the disciples had and allow them to show forth. Like when you get a credit card in the mail—you have to call this special number to activate it before it will work. That’s what happened with the disciples and can happen with us. God has given us various gifts, gifts we may not even know we have and the Holy Spirit activates them. Can you think of something you have been empowered to do by God, something you didn’t ever think you could?

Teach a class when you were scared.

Talk to someone who was hurting, when you didn’t know what to say.

Tame your spending so your stewardship could grow.

Show love and patience when approached by a little one—or a very old one—with the same question for the fifth time in one morning.

Connect with someone from another country, culture or sub-culture even though you don’t see the world in quite the same way.

The point of the gifts we are given by God, the gifts that are activated by the Holy Spirit, is to use them for the community of faith, so that all believers may be encouraged and served and that others may come to believe.

Where has the fire of God touched your life? What is your gift? Are you still in that time of prayerful preparation? Has your gift been activated for use?

As I look at this congregation, I see many gifts. Some are in Paul’s list—wisdom, knowledge, faith—others are not. In some of you I see the gift of compassionate prayer for others. In some I see the gift of patience to deal with long-standing difficulties. In many of you I see the gift of selfless giving; the gift of perpetual willingness to serve in ways noticed or unnoticed. I see the gift of Christian hospitality, stewardship, teaching, organization, and encouragement. The gifts of music and dance.

Are we ready to prayerfully ask the Holy Spirit to activate the gifts within us, sending the fire of God on our fellowship? Hear these words from the Rev. Thomas Hall: