The Reading: Acts 2: 1-4, 41-47
When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them. That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.
Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person's need was met.
They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.
The Gospel Reading: John 15: 1-8, 16-17
"I am the Real Vine and God is the Farmer. The Farmer cuts off every branch of me that doesn't bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing is pruned back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken. "Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can't bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can't bear fruit unless you are joined with me.
"I am the Vine, you are the branches. When you're joined with me and I with you, the relation intimate and organic, the harvest is sure to be abundant. Separated, you can't produce a thing. Anyone who separates from me is deadwood, gathered up and thrown on the bonfire. But if you make yourselves at home with me and my words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. This is how my Holy Parent is revealed—when you produce grapes, when you mature as my disciples.
"You didn't choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won't spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask in relation to me, God gives you. "But remember the root command: Love one another.
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Spreading Like a Wildfire 5-27-12
God, we want to be a Pentecost people—filled with your spirit and spreading joy with wild abandon. Show us the way, grant us your peace, send us your power and fill us with hope. May the words I speak today and the thoughts we share bring honor and glory to you. Amen
Whew, there is a lot going on in Jerusalem today and we are blessed to be in the midst of it all. There’s more to the story than what we heard in our reading today and as we watch and listen, we will hear the rest. There were lots of people in Jerusalem that day. There was a feast, a Jewish spring harvest festival held exactly 50 days after Passover—so a lot of people from a lot of different places were present in Jerusalem that day. Luke tells us, in the portion of scripture between the two passages that were just read from the second chapter of Acts, that these people were God-fearing religious people. There were Jews present from every nation—every nation under heaven, Luke says.
The wind appeared, blowing people almost away. There is chaos and fire suddenly falling from the sky—a rather disconcerting sight, indeed. As the crowd, completely in awe, begins to listen; they each heard the disciples speaking in languages they understood. They heard the wonders of God being spoken in their own tongue. Completely confused and utterly amazed, they asked one another, “Aren’t these people from Galilee”? “What does this mean”?
Let us step away from the crowd for a moment and talk about what has happened. We’ll push the pause button so that we can think about what God is doing in their midst. God, as we have seen time and time before, is a God of relationship—relationship with all the creation, including all of us humans, regardless of the language we speak, the clothing we wear, the beliefs we bring to the table. And so, on this day, the day of the great gift of the Holy Spirit, God made sure that it was all—the gift of the Holy Spirit and the teachings of the apostles about all the wonders of God were accessible to everyone. Imagine yourself (and some of you remember well) sitting in church where nothing is spoken in the language you speak—how frustrated, how limited is your experience of the wonders of God. This passage is neither confusing or complicated when taken for exactly what it means: When God sent the Holy Spirit, God made sure that no one would be left out—no matter what language they spoke or understood, they could hear someone speaking directly to them. What better illustration of God’s commitment to relationship could we imagine—the wonders of God revealed in everyone’s own language—spoken so they could understand the teachings of the apostles. God reached out to the Jews in Jerusalem and reaches out to us today, in languages we can all understand—showing us again how much it means to God that we understand the unconditional love and acceptance offered to us all. We don’t have to speak God’s language; God will reach out and speak ours.
As we go back to the crowd, we hear that there are doubters—“these people are not spreading the truth about God, they are merely drunk and spouting nonsense”. Peter, in the moment he has been prepared for, stands, surrounded by the other 11 apostles, and gives the sermon of a lifetime:
“Fellow Jews, and all who live in Jerusalem, listen well to what I have to say to you—your charges that these people are drunk are ridiculous, it’s early in the morning. What is happening was described by the Prophet Joel:
‘In the days to come—it is our God who speaks—I will pour out my Spirit on all humankind. Your daughters and sons will prophesy, your young people will see visions, and your elders will dream dreams. Even on the most insignificant of my people, both women and men, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. And I will display wonders in the heavens above and the earth below:’
He goes on to preach about Jesus; “Listen, all of you in the crowd and beyond, Jesus was a human being, who got his credentials from God—the miracles, sign, and wonders of which you are hearing—these are all about Jesus of Nazareth, the same Jesus who was crucified, died, was buried and who rose again. These things were all prophesied by David and by other prophets. We know one thing for sure and let all of Israel know and believe this: “God has made this Jesus, who walked on this earth and was crucified by religious Jews according to God’s plan, Lord and Messiah.”
Wanting direction, the people in the crowd asked: “What can we do now?’ Peter replied, “Just like everyone else, you are promised the gift of the Holy Spirit when you change your hearts, when you come to understand the forgiveness and accceptance that God offers and that Jesus taught”. This must have been some sermon because over 3,000 of those folks decided right then and there to receive God’s Holy Spirit. Kinda like the first megachurch in history. Our story ends today with all of them living together in harmony, spending time in the Temple, devoting themselves to the teachings of the apostles, to communing together and to prayer.
We do not live in the days just after Jesus walked on this earth. Surely the meaning is different for us. We seek to know—what does it mean to us, right now and right here? Many people think that Pentecost is the so-called birthday of the Church. Some churches today will have birthday cakes, balloons and the like. Whether or not this event in Acts is the actual beginning of the Church as we know it, is open to debate, I suppose. The significance of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, however, is clear and compelling. Jesus promised this gift of the Holy Spirit to his disciples just before he left this earth. This advocate and comforter was coming and soon—and then Jesus was gone. The disciples listened and seemed to understand as they stayed put in Jerusalem just as they had been instructed. And we, like them, are waiting.
Whoosh, we are spinning around with the power of the wind—like a gale force wind—so strong that it is hard to stand. And then the fire falls and spreads like wildfire…confusion is everywhere, no one seems to be quiet, and suddenly everyone finds that God is speaking to them exactly the way they need to hear it. This is our lesson, that God is so committed to us and a relationship with us that language and geography is no barrier—God is bigger than that. That power and prestige is no barrier—God is bigger than that. That age or inexperience is no barrier—God is bigger than that. That culture or ethnicity is no barrier—God is bigger than that. And, perhaps, that being religious or being spiritual is no barrier—God is bigger than that. God is bigger than any barrier we can drum up—than any difference that we believe can divide us. I wonder sometimes, if God must surely tire of all the drama of the part of the creation called “human”—the hatred and evil done in the name of Christianity—God is bigger than that. The doubts and skepticism that some of you have in your hearts right now—God is bigger. God is bigger than anyone and any institution that has tried to separate you from God’s love and peace. God is bigger than that. And God is bigger than any fundraiser we might have, any committee, any disagreement, any scuffle along the way to doing God’s will—God is bigger than that, too.
Today is Pentecost and we are a Pentecost people. We listen with our hearts—God is telling us that we are ready—ready to receive the “power from on high”. We give our hearts and minds to God—and with God’s help, our hearts are pure. We receive the “power from on high” and we are ready—ready to move forward with all God wants for us as people and for this, the Church, the people of God, in this place—now and in the years to come. In the sweet light of unconditional love and abundant grace, we listen, we hear, we receive, and we go forth to live and love and invite in the power of the Holy Spirit—to the glory of God! Amen and amen. We stand, and we sing—Be still for the presence of the Lord is moving in this place—can you hear it? Listen…
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