Sermon Text - May 11, 2008
"God's Spirit Unleashed"
Rev. Susan Towner-Larsen
Acts 2:2-21
The scripture for Pentecost is Acts 2 beginning with verse 1. It’s found in your pew bible if you want to follow along. The setting is Jerusalem, in the area of the temple. The world that was known at that time was gathered in this place for their celebration of Pentecost. It came 50 days after Passover and was a celebration of springtime harvest, and also the commemoration of the law being given to Moses. The book of Acts was written near the end of the first century, and it's believed that it was written by the same author as the Gospel of Luke. This story is full of imagery and almost overwhelmingly so. It's hard to know where to start exactly. The most famous image is the one we heard of course, that sort of rushing a wind – the sound of the rushing an overwhelming wind.
It's used in this story to vividly described how the Spirit came on an entire group of people. And then there are also the tongues of fire that rest on each person's head. In the Hebrew Bible or our Old Testament, both wind and fire are used to talk about and depict the presence of God. Think about the Genesis story and the spirit of wind hovering over the face of the earth. Or think about Moses taking off his shoes as he stood on holy ground before a burning bush. So in the Acts story of Pentecost listen or both wind and fire. And remember that over the ages this very dramatic story has been used to talk about and tell about the coming of the Holy Spirit on those followers of Jesus that day. May it be God's word for you.
When the day of Pentecost had come. They were all gathered 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.”
What do we do with this sort of fantastic story? Wind, rushing wind, tongues of fire, Spirit descending for the first time ever, speaking and hearing that goes on in many different languages. The day that marks the birthday of the Church, this is the way we tell the story, a sort of party perhaps. You might like some biblical scholars want to connect it back to the story of the Babel in Genesis 11. The people, the descendents of Noah, are all of one language and they desire to live all together and they are fearful of being scattered and so they decide to build a tower to the sky, and city walls to surround them and keep them in, in one homogenous group. But God is biased towards diversity and has a plan for many nations, many races, different color people, and so the buildings and the tower come tumbling down and their languages fracture off from one another. Unfortunately as the story went on, the history of humankind in different linguistic traditions and cultural groups is by the time of Acts and some would say by our own time, a story of hostility and violence, crucifixions and anger, against one another wars, lack of reverence. And so into this time and this still sort of bedraggled band of Jesus’ followers comes the rushing wind and empowering spirit and things are never the same again. On that rushing wind, a new kind of oneness is born. A unity not of towers or language, not of cities or nations, instead the spirit unites the world, comes to every single person and all receive the same message – the same good news of God's forgiveness and love. And in that receiving they are one.
I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young ones shall see visions and your old ones shall dream dreams. God is present in the form of wind and fire and spirit unleashed, a brand-new movement, a brand-new world. The dividing walls of language and culture come tumbling down that day. In that dream of gods, that dream of peace, that dream of harmonious diversity. That was the dream. Today in retelling the Pentecost story we glimpse it perhaps, catch a little hint of it, flame and wind bring not destruction in the story, but new life and the astonishing capacity to be transformed as an entire community. More in our unity than any one individual can never be.
Have you ever felt moments like that? Moments when I our differences enrich us and enliven us? Moments when we reach across culture and language and economics and amaze ourselves with a deep sense of unity and caring. Have you ever? Last night at our Cinco de Mayo celebration I have a sense of that. An amazing sense of camaraderie that was told about between this small band of North American people and the whole village of Mexican people. A shared answer to prayer, a mutual coming together, all in one place as the Bible says. To accomplish more together than either group could have done on its own, and that's God’s good news. Neighbor caring for neighbor – neighbor helping neighbor. Where else do we find that presence, that movement of the spirit? I’d like us to ponder that question together for a few moments, in the quietness of our own hearts and in the stillness and safety of this sacred place.
I’d like to invite you into a short guided meditation. It’s an ancient practice, where one person leads another or others into imagination, where we get to experience in a different way a story. So I invite you along as we all consider in silence where the spirit might be moving in our lives and in our world. So sort of settle into the pew if you haven't already and get comfortable. Put both feet on the floor if they're not already and take a few deep breaths. I invite you to close your eyes and just let the stillness of this place and its sacredness wash over you. Breathe in deeply, breathe in the quiet and the stillness.
Now imagine that you and some of your friends from church have gathered together. Maybe someplace fun like a shelter at Lincoln Park, maybe in the Glen Garden, or right here in the chancel. Pick a gathering place. Gather some folks in your imagination. Where would you be? Who is there? Now keep imagining and imagine that God really wants to get your group's attention. God has lots of choices about how to do this in positive and life-affirming ways. What would God to? How can you imagine God breaking into your little group? What would the message be that God gets through to you in this moment? What does our world, what do you most need to hear from our still speaking God?
Perhaps it's a phrase. Perhaps it's a feeling. Perhaps it's just a word. With your eyes still closed imagine that your heart quickens as you hear that word from God and those around you turn in amazement and hear it too. And you all know without a doubt that God is near and God has in some mysterious but certain way, spoken. Hear the message. Now imagine that God wants this message unleashed into the world, shared with others, may be others in church, others in your family and neighbor or two. No pressure, no guilt, just sharing. Think of the message.
Think of how to unleash it, share it, pass it on. You are the messengers, a bit of Holy Spirit has infused your soul. Consider in the quiet how the spirit in you will be unleashed in our world today. Imagine it. Pray with me – breathe upon us Holy Spirit of God, with gifts of new life, new inspiration, and fresh energy to witness to your saving love. Breathe upon us Holy Spirit of God and unleashed in us, and in the world, your power to heal and a be new in your saving love, Amen.