Pentecost Sunday
Scripture Text: Acts 2:1-21
Let us pause for a moment to give thanks to God in prayer:
as a community gathered here today,
we thank you for your spirit of love and faith.
Like a gusty wind that sweeps over the plains,
through mountain passes and city streets,
we pray that you will sweep through our lives
refreshing us with the winds of your creative spirit
and the empowerment of your constant presence.
As we remember the stories of our ancestors in faith
help us realize they are our stories as well
and that our lives are evolving stories
of faith, hope and love.
Inspired by the life and ministry of Jesus,
and people of The Way throughout the ages,
we give thanks and praise to you, O God.
Amen
The dramatic reading which Kevin offered at the beginning of our worship service was a retelling of Luke's Pentecost story found in the Acts of the Apostles. Drawing on the words of the prophet, Joel, Jews in the 1st century (C.E.) believed that one of God's acts would be to pour out God's Spirit on all people. For the early Jewish-Christian community, Joel's prophecy was fulfilled in their experience of a powerful encounter with the Holy Spirit which Jesus had told them would happen when his physical presence was no longer with them.
This encounter happened on the day of Pentecost which was one of three central holy days in the Jewish calendar. Devout Jews came from far and wide to gather in Jerusalem to celebrate and worship together. We don't know everything that happened to the disciples on that day of Pentecost but we do know that it was a powerfully transformative experience for those involved. Timid disciples became bold apostles teaching and preaching and carrying on Jesus' ministry in a way that became their own.
This Pentecost experience is vividly recalled with the symbolic imagery of gusting winds and dancing flames to describe an encounter which was far too mystical and powerful to adequately describe in common language. The experience so entirely energized and united Jesus' followers that they became, what the apostle Paul called, the Body of Christ. So important was this experience as a turning point in the cohesion and growth of the early Christian community that biblical scholars often refer to this event as the birth of the Christian Church. Theologian and author, Jan Richardson, says that, "They are no longer a group of believers but rather a catalyzed community, a body that, enlivened by the Spirit, will endure and continue the work of Christ." (The Painted Prayerbook website)
The image of wind used in the Pentecost story is an important symbol. The word for spirit in Hebrew is ruah, which literally means breath or wind, so God's spirit is like breath to human beings and is everywhere like the winds of creation.
Flames of fire would have recalled God's presence in the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:1-5) and God's guiding presence to the Hebrew people in the pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21) which provided light in the dark night and guided them through the wilderness.
Herman Waetjen, a scholar of the Christian Scriptures, has noted there is a similarity between a first century Roman coin and the imagery of tongues of fire in the story of Pentecost. On the 1st century coin, "divided tongues of fire appear over the head of Caesar as a sign of royalty - even a sign of divinity. 'Caesar is the Son of God', the symbol proclaims to the first-century world." (Feasting on the Word, Year A, Vol. 3, p.19) Therefore, tongues of fire resting on the heads of Jesus' followers, blessing them with the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, emphasized Jesus' sovereignty and their assertion that "Jesus is Lord" and Caesar is not. This was both a challenge to the Roman Empire and an affirmation of the Reign of God that Jesus proclaimed.
And, the symbolism of the comprehension of every language on the day of Pentecost was a powerful reversal of the ancient Hebrew story of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) in which there was great division, confusion and lack of understanding caused by many different tongues.
During the Pentecost experience people speaking many languages were gathered and through the transformative power of the Holy Spirit they understood each other and were unified as one body.
This unification of the Spirit encouraged and empowered Jesus' followers. Peter addressed the crowd in the most stirring speech of his life and many (3,000 people) were so impressed by this that they were baptized and welcomed as members of the Body of Christ. The book of Acts notes that these new members "devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and...prayers." (Acts 2:42)
Theologian, Harvey Cox, in his book The Future of Faith, says that "faith is about deep-seated confidence...we place our faith only in something that is vital for the way we live" and that "Christianity...began with Jesus and his immediate disciples when a buoyant faith propelled the movement he initiated. During this first period of both explosive growth and brutal persecution, their sharing in the living Spirit of Christ united Christians with each other...To be a Christian meant to live in his Spirit, embrace his hope, and to follow him in the work that he had begun." (pgs. 3-5)
Cox also argues that, "Christianity, which began as a movement of Spirit guided by faith soon clotted into a catalogue of beliefs administered by a clerical class. But, now due to a number of different factors, the process is being reversed. Faith is resurgent, while dogma is dying. The spiritual, communal, and justice-seeking dimensions of Christianity are now its leading edge as the twenty-first century hurtles forward, and this change is taking place along with similar reformations in the other world religions." (Ibid, p. 213)
The emerging-church movement, Cox believes, is similar to the early Christian movement with its emphasis on following Jesus and striving to actualize the Reign of God. It is about living the message rather than simply proclaiming it. (Ibid, p.219)
Canadian theologian, Gertrude Lebans, in her book, In All Things Goodness: A Christian Vision for the 21st Century, writes, "Our era is an era of faith, rather than belief. It is hard to know what to believe; faith however, is a form of trust. We trust that God will not abandon us; we trust that each door of knowledge we unlock will have as much promise as danger. We trust that no matter how far we may stray, the Holy Spirit will guide us back to a 'truer' vision of life." (pg. 9)
The era in which we live is a challenging time for the Christian Church. There is a pervasive distrust of institutions and organized religion in our society. We see this most often in the "I'm spiritual not religious" comments that are so often heard these days. I believe that we are living in a time of great change and challenge which offers an amazing opportunity to make a positive difference in our world. At the same time as there is distrust and suspicion that organized religion holds rigid doctrines and beliefs there is also a tremendous yearning for spirituality, for living meaningful lives, for experiencing the blessings of community and the desire to share in work that benefits the world.
The winds of the Spirit are blowing. I pray we will be brave enough to let go of the anchors that tie us down and let God's spirit fill our sails and guide us into the unknown future with faith. Let us open our hearts as we pray:
we walk by faith in a wondrous and mysterious universe,
increase now our trust in you,
that in the midst of the many things we cannot understand,
we may not doubt your love or miss your delight,
or fail to offer you our thanksgiving.
Amen
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