Descent of the Holy Spirit / Pentecost Cycle C (3)

Let me ask you a question this morning: how many of you are bilingual—that is, you speak two languages? Or tri-lingual . . . if you want to show off? If so, were you raised speaking a language other than English, or did you learn that second language as an adult?

There is a federal agency called the Foreign Service Institute that trains diplomats to operate in other countries. The folks at FSI also provide advanced language training in over 65 languages.

Sometime back, they ranked all the major languages according to how difficult they are to learn. They discovered that among the easier languages for English speaking people to learn are Swedish, Spanish and French. You want to guess the more difficult languages? How about Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. (1) Of course, some of us who speak only English have a difficult time getting it right.

It reminds me of an amusing story told by Rev. Frank O’Neill who has pastored at various churches in the United States. Like many Floridian pastors, Fr. O’Neill is originally from Ireland. He came to the U.S. to study at Catholic University. After he had been in this country a couple of weeks, he needed to catch a cab to the local Dept. of Motor Vehicles.

The cab driver heard his Irish brogue and asked how long he had been in this country.

Fr. Frank said, “Two weeks.”

The cab driver responded, “You sure did learn the language fast!” (2) I guess that this cab driver didn’t realize they speak English in Ireland

If you are looking for a new challenge, though, and have some time on your hands, then you might want to consider learning another language. Who knows how God might use that skill to help others?

During the 2020 Olympic Games held in Tokyo, there was a heart-warming scene in which a Japanese surfer lost a surfing event to a Brazilian surfer. The Japanese surfer handled his defeat with grace, however.

In an interview after the competition, a reporter asked the Brazilian surfer a question in Japanese. The Japanese surfer, who speaks Japanese, English and some Portuguese, realized that his rival surfer spoke only Portuguese and had no way of understanding the reporter’s question or responding to it, so he graciously volunteered to serve as a translator. Fortunately, the interview went off seamlessly much to the relief of all involved. (3)

But think about it. What a gift this Japanese surfer was able to give his competitor by translating the reporter’s questions into the Brazilian surfer’s native language. I think that’s a beautiful image to keep in mind as we read our scripture lesson this morning from Acts 2, the day of Pentecost. That, of course, is the day when the Holy Spirit gave ordinary men and women the ability to share the message of Jesus in multiple languages. In this way, they were able to fulfill the promise and the commission Jesus gave them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

Our story begins like this, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” The “they” in this verse refers to about 120 people, followers of Jesus, both men and women, Jews and Gentiles, who were waiting for the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised them just before he ascended into heaven. That’s not the part I want to focus on right now, however. Let’s focus on the last part of that verse, “they were all together in one place.”

The actual Greek word used here is a compound word, two separate words, actually, mashed together to create a new concept. It’s a difficult word to pronounce [hom-oth-oo-mad-on’]. (I warned you it was difficult.) This word is used only twelve times in the Bible, but it’s used ten times in the Book of Acts. The two words separately mean “to rush along” and “in unison.” To rush along in unison. It sounds like a good word to apply to a close-knit sports team, or to a professional orchestra. In the Book of Acts, it refers to a group of people who have one mind or one passion. (4)

If we want to understand the story and the miracle of Pentecost, if we want to experience that same blessing in our church and community, then we must understand how it began. The blessing of Pentecost began with a shared passion. That’s a powerful concept, isn’t it? The idea of a group of people rushing along in unison, operating with one mind or one passion. And that passion was to honor Jesus Christ as Lord in a place and time where that declaration could get them persecuted or killed.

What if we developed that same shared passion to honor and live like Jesus in our culture no matter what sacrifices that required? What do you think a group of people can accomplish when they are completely of one mind and one passion? With the way our world is today, hopefully we could find at least one way it could be belter.

When I think of the power of a shared passion, I think of the life of Frank Laubach, a missionary to the Philippines from 1915 to the late 1950s. Most of us probably do not remember Frank Laubach’s name and that is a shame. He was a great Christian.

There were few people who could read or write in the remote Philippine communities where Frank Laubach served, so he developed a simple literacy method that employed charts linking pictures with words and syllables. His instructional method was so effective that it was easily adapted into a worldwide system for teaching literacy.

But then Frank Laubach’s mission funding was reduced, and he couldn’t hire and train enough teachers to meet the needs of his community. When he told a local community leader about the problem, the man replied that he should encourage every new learner to teach someone else. They adopted the slogan “Each One Teach One,” and encouraged new learners to pass on their skills to others in their community. It didn’t take much encouragement because the new learners were so overjoyed and empowered by their newly acquired ability to read and write in their own language that they were passionate about sharing the gift of literacy with their friends and neighbors.

Since it was developed in the 1930s, Frank Laubach’s “Each One Teach One” system has been used to teach 60 million people around the world to read in their own language. Here is something you probably didn’t know: Frank Laubach is the only missionary in the United States to have a postage stamp issued in his honor.

What inspired Frank Laubach’s passion for missions? I think we can see his inspiration in a quote from his writings: “Every person we ever meet,” he wrote, “is God’s opportunity.” Think about that: “Every person we ever meet is God’s opportunity.” (5)

Let’s return to our Bible passage. As the believers were joined together with one mind, with one passion, waiting for Jesus’ promise to be fulfilled, the Holy Spirit came from heaven with the sound of a violent wind and the appearance of tongues of flame resting over their heads. And suddenly, each one of these 120 believers could speak in other languages. How amazing is that? The Holy Spirit filled the believers with the ability to speak in multiple languages but with only one message. Verse 11 says they were “declaring the wonders of God.”

Pentecost on the Jewish calendar marked the day the covenant of  the 10 commandments was given to the Jews. It was the creation of the new people so it is fitting that on Pentecost the Spirit comes and makes those who are gathered at new people called the church

The first blessing of Pentecost was a shared passion. And that shared passion resulted in the second blessing of Pentecost, which was an outbreak of praise. That’s what happens when the spirit of Jesus fills individuals or fills churches. We become passionate about declaring the wonders of God.

In World War II, sisters Corrie and Betsie ten Boom were imprisoned in the Ravensbrück concentration camp in Germany. Their only crime was protecting Jewish families from Nazi persecution. In the evenings, after the two sisters had finished their hard labors, in the prison camp, they led a worship service in the women’s barracks. The women knew that if the guards caught them worshiping together, they could be beaten  or even killed. Still, the sacrifice was worth it to them. They gathered around a Bible that someone had smuggled into the camp. They began each service by singing hymns so softly that they were almost in a whisper. And then Betsie or Corrie would open the smuggled Bible and begin reading it aloud.

There were women from various countries in the concentration camp. So how did these women of different nationalities and languages worship together? Corrie and Betsie read the Bible passage in their native Dutch language, then translated it into German. Then other women in the barracks translated the German words into French and Polish and Russian and Czech. In waves of whispers, the women ensured that every person in the barracks heard the word of God in her own language.

As Corrie would later write of these secret worship services, “They were little previews of heaven . . .” (6)

The Catholics in the camps had a similar but different experience in that the priest would say Mass with crumbs of bread and wine made from raisins,  Christ would be come present among his people – heaven on earth.  The people all spoke one language Latin..  We gathered here have Christ present in his body and blood so we too have a preview of heaven.

And that’s exactly what Pentecost is meant to be: a little preview of heaven. In Revelation 7, John is given a vision of what heaven will actually look like. In verse 9, he says he sees a “great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.” And what is the great multitude doing? Singing praises for their salvation through Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God. So Pentecost was a preview of this explosion of praise that naturally flows from God’s people.

But so is worship. Every time Jesus-followers get together to worship or pray and sing praises, there should be an outbreak of praise. If we want the transforming power of the church at Pentecost, then we need to start with a shared passion for God’s work and an outbreak of praise to God.

And the final blessing of Pentecost is a call to prophesy. Notice what Peter says when he quotes the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”

Notice: it says “All . . . Everybody.” “And they will prophesy . . .” God isn’t just talking about those 120 believers who were there on the day of Pentecost. God is talking about a day when every believer will prophesy in God’s name. God is talking about you and me.

Don’t let the word “prophesy” scare you. Prophets are simply truth-tellers. They are chosen by God to share the message of God. A message of warning. A message of hope. But every prophet’s message is essentially the glorious and grace-filled message .  Filled with the Holy Spirit the words of Jesus is the message that we need to spread the message you and I need to share with our family and friends and neighbors and co-workers and random strangers and everyone. Share it with your words. Share it with your actions. Share it with your life.

God didn’t pour out the Holy Spirit, so we could keep God’s glory and power and love and truth inside these four walls. A Franciscan friar from the 14^th century once said, “There is little good in filling churches with people who go out exactly the same as they came in; the call of the Church is not to fill churches but to fill heaven.” (7) I like that. “The call of the Church is not to fill churches but to fill heaven.”

1. “Revealing Map Shows How Long It Takes to Learn the Most Popular Languages in Europe” by Sara Barnes on November 30, 2017. Sources: Reddit, MyModernMet.com h/t: [Open Culture, Reddit] https://mymodernmet.com/language-map-europe/?utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=series&utm_content=link&utm_term=forever.
2. http://apps.pcusa.org/ga216/worship070104.htm.
3. “At an extraordinary Olympics, acts of kindness abound” by Sally Ho, AP News August 2, 2021, Associated Press reporters Pat Graham, Jimmy Golen and Jim Vertuno contributed. https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-acts-of-kindness-sportsmanship.  f7484946288e2a078b2a1f9eccbc1232?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter.
4. http://www.godrules.net/library/kjvstrongs/kjvstrongsact2.htm.
5. Sources: ThisDaysThought.org https://thisdaysthought.org/favorite-quotations/; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Laubach; https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/l-m/laubach-frank-charles-1884-1970/; Each one teach one: a personal approach to literacy (Laubach Literacy Program), Paziuk, Lynda; Gamey, D Lark. Canadian Woman Studies; Downsview Vol. 14, Iss. 4,  (Fall 1994): pp. 95-97. https://www.proquest.com/openview/e83cfeee67500da403f06dbada8ea15c/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=44042.
6. “10 Amazing Things You Never Knew about Corrie Ten Boom” by Debbie McDaniel iBelieve Contributing Writer, June 29, 2016.
7. Andrew of Perugia, ThisDaysThought.org, https://thisdaysthought.org/favorite-quotations/.

 

 

 

 

Descent of the Holy Spirit / Pentecost Cycle C (2)

 

Children

Доброго дня, діти.  Buen dias, ninos. Do you know what I just said? I said, “Good morning, boys and girls” in Spanish. Can you speak Spanish? What language do you speak? Most of us speak English, don’t we? But if we lived in Mexico, or Spain, or Puerto Rico, we would speak Spanish. And if we lived in other places, we would speak other languages. For instance, if we lived in Korea, we would speak some form of the Korean language. And in a country like India, there are at least fifteen official languages spoken in that one country. Did you know that there about 3,000 different languages spoken in the world? Can you understand 3,000 different languages? I sure can’t. But that’s what we’re going to talk about understanding.  

Do you know why there are all these different language?  Story of the Tower of Babel.

In our Bible story today, a group of Jewish men and women from different countries came together to celebrate a Jewish festival. Now, these people all spoke different languages, so they couldn’t understand one another. About 120 Jewish people from different countries were all gathered together in one big room, when the Spirit of the Lord came upon them. And suddenly, they could speak each other’s language, and understand one another. The only way they could do this was by God’s Spirit coming to them and giving them this knowledge. And these people all worshiped God together, and praised Him for His great power. You see, we may only understand one or two languages, but God knows and understands every single language on earth. And He loves everybody, no matter what language they speak. He sent His Holy Spirit on these believers so that they could worship Him together. And even today, there are people all over the world who are worshiping God in their own language, just like we are worshiping Him in English.

 

Adult

You have probably heard people tell you that you do not need to go to a priest to confess your sins.  Why do we go to confession because as it says in today’s gospel that Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to his apostles – not to the whole church – for the purpose of forgiving and retaining sins.  We do it because surprisingly the Bible tell us so.

I’m always amazed when authorities can take a childhood photo—particularly when someone is missing or abducted—and project it ahead. “This is what Shirley would look like at 15,” they say. And they morph the child’s picture before our eyes, broadening the face, lengthening the chin, darkening the hair, as if the continuity between our earlier years and later ones was all that clear. I know I’ve been surprised to see an old photo of a group and someone says, “There you are, in the corner,” and I have to look for two minutes to recognize myself. Or others are looking at me when I was 19 or 20; “That can’t be you,” they say. Sure enough it was.

How about the continuity of the Church, Christ’s community of believers. Can we imagine ourselves in the 1800s in Ireland, or the 1700s in France? What did Medieval Christianity really look like? Or Christians in the first millennium? Would we have felt comfortable in St. Ambrose’s Milan? Or St. Martin’s Tours? For that matter, do we see ourselves in the first reading the 2^nd Chapter of Acts?

On first sight, it all looks strange. Blowing winds. Flames of fire. People speaking and being heard in a dozen languages. It certainly doesn’t look like us. But if we pull back, we can see some distinct features that really show our Catholic Church. We notice two things right off the bat. First, people are in Jerusalem from seemingly every known nation. We just have to look around our congregation to see how we more than maintain that trait. We are from everywhere. This is truly what it means to be Catholic – Universal.

Next is the communication of languages. Here the Apostles are not speaking in tongues which is when someone utters a totally peculiar language. Rather, they are speaking their regular language with their Galilean accents. What happens is that people from all these regions are able to hear them. People from other cultures are able to hear and accept the message of salvation. That, of course, is the history of the Church: from one land to another, from one culture to another, from one language to another, the proclamation of Good News.

What are those tongues of fire, you ask? Images to show people whose tongues were loosened so they could share their faith. What is that blowing wind? The same wind that has energized the Church from the beginning—wind meaning Spirit, meaning divine presence. Pentecost is the transfer of Jesus’ Risen life and power to those who accept him. Pentecost is our biography. Jesus breathes on them, breathes through history, and breathes upon us—breathing out the wind of divine love and salvation.

A little girl was visiting her grandmother one beautiful spring morning. They walked out into grandmother’s flower garden. As grandmother was inspecting the progress of her flowers the little girl decided to try to open a rosebud with her own two hands. But no luck! As she would pull the petals open, they would tear or bruise or wilt or break off completely. Finally, in frustration, she said, “Gramma, I just don’t understand it at all. When God opens a flower, it looks so beautiful but when I try, it just comes apart.” “Well, honey,” Grandmother answered, “There’s a good reason for that. God is able to do it because He works from the inside out!”

God Works From the Inside Out. That is the great message of Pentecost Sunday

It’s interesting to note that the three classic symbols for the Holy Spirit in the Bible remind us of how God works through us and how God works from the inside out. Do you remember what they are? The three traditional symbols of the Holy Spirit in the Bible: Breath: the symbol of Life. Fire: the symbol of Power. The descending dove: the symbol of Peace. Let’s take a look at these one at a time.

1. FIRST, THERE IS BREATH… THE SYMBOL OF LIFE AND VITALITY.

Remember in the Garden of Eden when God created Adam and Eve, He shaped them… but they were lifeless until He breathed into their nostrils the breath of life. They didn’t really come alive until He breathed His spirit into them. Again, we see it here at Pentecost. The Breath of God, like the rush of a mighty wind, blew upon that place… and the disciples came alive.

A few nights ago I was watching the National Basketball Association play-offs on television. After the game, the coach of the losing team was being interviewed. He was not happy with the way his team played and he said, “We deserved to get beat because we were absolutely listless out there tonight. We had no drive, no emotion. We were like zombies… just going through the motions. We had no life at all!” And then he said, “We had no spirit!”

As he said that, it made me think that that’s how some people go through life spiritually… absolutely listless with no zest, no commitment, no drive, no fervor. Like robots, they stonewall through the days just going through the motions of living, but not really living at all. They have blocked the Holy Spirit of God out of their lives… and they are not really living at all!

Listen! How is it with you this morning? Is God in your life? Is the Holy Spirit in your soul? Has God’s spirit breathed on you the breath of real life? If not, you are not really living! You may be existing, coping. You may be floating along… but until the Holy Spirit comes into your heart, you are numbered among the lifeless… you are numbered among the walking dead.

SECOND, THERE IS FIRE, THE SYMBOL OF POWER.

We often put those two words together, don’t we? We talk about firepower. In the Bible, fire is often used as the symbol of God’s presence and power. For example, we see it in the burning bush of Exodus and again here in the New Testament story of Pentecost.

In the novel Barabbas, a Christian man named Sahak is brought before the Roman governor because he refuses to renounce his God and this dialogue takes place:

Roman Governor: “If you renounce your God, no harm shall come to you.

Sahak: “I cannot.”

Roman Governor: “Why not?”

Sahak: “I cannot deny my God.”

Roman Governor: “Extraordinary man… surely you must be aware of the punishment you force me to sentence you to. Are you really so brave that you can die for your God? Is not life dear to you?

“Yes,” answered Sahak, “it is.”

Roman Governor: “But if you do not forswear this God of yours, if you do not renounce your God, nothing can save you. You will lose your life.

“Yes,” answered Sahak, “But I cannot lose my God!”

Do you know what Sahak was saying? He was saying “I have fire power of Pentecost! Do you? Do you have that? Do you have that kind of power and strength? Can you stand up and defend the teachings of the Church?  Are you willing to die for God? (An interesting question to ask to people who are willing to die for their country.)

THIRD AND FINALLY, THERE IS THE DESCENDING DOVE… THE SYMBOL OF PEACE.

The early Christians in creating this symbol were very wise to show the dove descending because peace does indeed come from above. Inner peace… the poise, the serenity, the courage, the confidence to meet life and its troubles with steady eyes comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

Three times this past week, I was reminded of this. Three different conversations with three different families revealed vividly the peace that comes from having God in your life…

• A young couple facing a nightmare experience beyond description in the sudden illness of their baby,
• An older couple dealing with the bad news of a medical report and considering their alternatives,
• A heartbroken woman grappling with the abrupt loss of the man who had been her husband for over 50 years,

… And all of them displaying a peace that passes understanding, a peace that comes only from the presence of God in their lives.

 

That’s the good news of our faith and the message of Pentecost… God is with us right now working from the inside out, giving us the Breath of Life, the Fire Power of Commitment… and the Peace That Passes All Understanding.

 

Descent of the Holy Spirit / Pentecost Cycle C (1)

 

Mark L. Feldman and Michael F. Spratt in their book Five Frogs on a Log tell about a family visiting Mexico that found itself in a difficult situation. On Sept. 6, 1960, the Salado River in Sabinas, Mexico, overran its banks. Flood waters filled the main road leading from Sabinas across the border into the U.S. Numerous cars and trucks stalled while attempting to cross the border. However, a tow truck driver observed the mess with happy anticipation. You can guess why. He charged an exorbitant fee to tow waterlogged cars across the border.

Along came this old station wagon, packed with this family from the U.S.–a man, a woman, and three small children. They were obviously tired and eager to return home. The man approached the tow truck driver about a tow across the border. The truck driver demanded an outrageous sum of money. As the man considered his options, a Greyhound bus pulled up to the road. Suddenly, the man knew what to do! As the bus charged across the flooded road, the man pulled his station wagon behind the bus and traveled in its wake. The bus displaced enough water to clear the roadway for the station wagon. (1)

Welcome to this celebration of Pentecost. Pentecost is sometimes referred to as the birthday of the church. More properly it is the day when the Holy Spirit descended upon the believers and empowered them to do amazing things. Metaphorically, the Spirit parted the waters to help those early believers reach thousands of people with the Good News of Christ.

An even better analogy to Pentecost is a story that comes to us from the 1800s. Some people were attempting to build a bridge across Niagara Falls. “Engineers were consulted. Money was raised. No stone was left unturned, but they could not get a cable across the Falls. They could not float it across the rapids. They could not shoot it far enough with a bow and arrow. They could not climb the steep cliffs and get it across that way.

“Finally, a ten-year old boy made a ridiculous suggestion: ‘Fly the cable across the gorge on a kite.’”

“How absurd!” said the engineers. “How foolish!” declared knowing adults. Yet, after trying every other conceivable method, that is exactly what they finally did. They flew the cable across with a kite. (2)

The reason this is a better analogy is, of course, the relationship between the words, “spirit” and “wind.” The word spirit in both Hebrew and Greek means “breath” or “wind.” Both a breath of air and a breeze are appropriate images for the Holy Spirit doing its work in the world.

You remember when God created Adam. He breathed into him the breath of life. In other words, God breathed into him His own Spirit. The point is that the Holy Spirit breathes new life into the believer and gives us the lift we need to witness to the presence of God in the world.

Our lesson for the day from the second chapter of Acts demonstrates the Holy Spirit in action. You know the story well. The day of Pentecost had come. The disciples were all in one place. The King James Version says they were “in one place with one accord.”

I’ll remind you of the old joke about the little boy who told the story of Pentecost and said that when the Holy Spirit came the disciples were all crammed into a Honda. That is because the Bible says they were “all in one Accord.”

I didn’t say it was a good joke, only an old one.

The word “Pentecost” is literally translated, “fiftieth day.” It was originally a Jewish holy day celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Sabbath of the Passover week. It was an annual feast and was one of the three great annual feasts of Israel (Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Booths). The fact that Pentecost was a major festival is indicated by the fact that Jews from all over the Mediterranean region had poured into Jerusalem for the celebration.

On the Day of Pentecost the apostles were also in Jerusalem where they were gathered in a house. We would need Hollywood special effects to do justice to what happened next. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the house, and the Apostles saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. Suddenly they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them. This phenomenon spilled out into the streets and attracted a crowd. Remember, Jews from all over the known world were visiting Jerusalem on that day. Do you suppose that was a coincidence? Hardly. What a wondrous opportunity for disseminating the Gospel all over the known world!

When these visitors heard the sound of the disciples speaking in these different languages, they were bewildered, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans . . . ?”

They were essentially asking, how are these uneducated rednecks speaking in all these languages? Good question. And there is only one explanation–a miracle. Of course, there is more than one way of viewing this miracle.

The highly esteemed poet W. H. Auden once suggested that we reread the second chapter of Acts. The miracle of Pentecost was not only the gift of tongues, says Auden, “but was it not equally,” he asks, “the gift of ears?” 

And, of course, he’s right. The miracle here is not only what was said but what was heard. Each heard and understood in his own language.

Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Some, however, made fun of the disciples and said, “They’ve had too much wine.”

Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel.” Then he began to quote the words of the prophet: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.”

Notice, Ladies, that the prophet said that men and women both will prophesy. It is true that in many ways society was strictly male dominated back then, but the Holy Spirit was already breaking down those divisions.

Then Peter began telling the story of Jesus. And when he was finished, the writer of Acts tells us, “those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” And the church, indeed, was born that day. A mighty movement began that would shake the world. Like a Greyhound bus parting the waters for an old station wagon or like a kite bearing a cable above Niagara Falls, the Holy Spirit took a handful of uneducated men from a rural region of an obscure part of the Middle East and started a movement that is still at work more than 2,000 years later preparing the world for the kingdom of God. It’s a wondrous story, but how does it connect with our lives, your life and mine?

Notice, first of all, that Pentecost is a God thing. Most often in life God works through very ordinary processes to bring His will into being. Sometimes He uses people who are specially gifted, but it is rarely very dramatic.

A professor sits at his desk one evening working on the next day’s lectures. His housekeeper has laid that day’s mail and papers at his desk and he begins to shuffle through them discarding most of the mail to the wastebasket.

He then notices a magazine, which was not even addressed to him but delivered to his office by mistake. It falls open to an article titled, “The Needs of the Congo Mission.” Casually he begins to read the article when he is suddenly consumed by these words: “The need is great here. We have no one to work the northern province of Gabon in the central Congo. And it is my prayer as I write this article that God will lay His hand on one–one on whom, already, the Master’s eyes have been cast–that he or she shall be called to this place to help us.”

And Professor Albert Schweitzer closes the magazine and writes in his diary: “My search is over.” He gives himself to the Congo. That little article, hidden in a periodical intended for someone else, is placed by accident in Schweitzer’s mailbox. By chance he notices the title. It leaps out at him. Was it chance? (3)

Well, that depends on your theology. It certainly was not chance that Professor Schweitzer responded to God’s call. It is evident that God had been working on him for some time. And even though Schweitzer’s commitment touched millions of believers around the world, it was a gradual thing. There was nothing very dramatic about it in the beginning.

That’s the way God normally works–through the normal processes of daily living. If you are waiting for something spectacular to happen in your life as a sign that God is calling you, you will probably miss God’s call. That would be a real shame.

At Pentecost, however, God worked in such a way that no open-minded person could doubt that this was a God-breathed event. First there was the wind and the tongues of fire. Then there was the gift of inspired speech.

A Pastor tells of walking through an airport concourse. He saw a display case full of matching yellow boxes, each with the name of a language prominently displayed upon it. At the counter, a traveler could purchase a set of tapes for learning any of a number of the world’s major languages. With these tapes, plus time and persistence, it was possible to become, if not fluent, then at least familiar, with the everyday speech of millions of people.

 What’s available for sale at that airport counter came free to the first disciples on the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit of God filled them so that they spoke diverse languages which were recognized by the cosmopolitan crowd which thronged the streets of Jerusalem that day. People in the crowd were bewildered to hear folks from nearby Galilee talking in languages from all around the Mediterranean basin. (4)

The mighty wind, the tongues of fire, the speaking in many different languages all said this is not from man, but from God. However, the best indication this event was from God was the instantaneous change that took place in the disciples, especially Simon Peter. This is the same Peter who was so timid the night the soldiers took Jesus in the garden that he denied he even knew him because he was afraid of being killed also. This is the same Peter who wanted to go back fishing despite being called to be a fisher of men and having been commissioned to go into all the world. And yet, here he is on the Day of Pentecost before this enormous crowd, boldly declaring that Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead. And quite miraculously three thousand souls are baptized and added to the church. Wow! Peter could never have done this on his own. Pentecost was definitely a God thing.

Of course, God-things are still happening anywhere people will wait on the gift of God’s spirit and allow God’s spirit to do great things through them. That’s the place of worship in our lives. I hope you don’t come to church as you might come to a museum or a theater, to be fascinated or to be entertained. I hope you come here each week prepared to receive a life-changing encounter with God’s Spirit. I hope you come anticipating a God-thing occurring in your own life.

Author Anthony De Mello tells a story that I think is particularly appropriate for Pentecost. It is about a man who invented the art of making fire. The man took his tools and went to a tribe in the north, where it was very cold, bitterly cold. He taught the people there to make fire. The people were very interested. He showed them the uses to which they could put fire–they could cook, could keep themselves warm, etc.

The people of this tribe were so grateful that they had learned the art of making fire. But before they could express their gratitude to the man, he disappeared. He wasn’t concerned with getting their recognition or gratitude; he was concerned about their well-being. He went to another tribe, where he again began to show them the value of his invention.

People were interested there, too, a bit too interested for the peace of mind of their priests, who began to notice that this man was drawing crowds and they were losing their popularity. So they decided to do away with him. They poisoned him, crucified him, put it any way you like. But they were afraid now that the people might turn against them, so they were very wise, even wily. Do you know what they did?

They had a portrait made of the man and mounted it on the main altar of the temple. The instruments for making fire were placed in front of the portrait, and the people were taught to revere the portrait and to pay reverence to the instruments of fire, which they dutifully did for centuries. The veneration and the worship went on, says Anthony De Mello, but there was no fire. (5)

Of course, his point was that this could be a picture of many churches today. The veneration and the worship go on, but there is no fire. We don’t gather in this place each week to simply pay our respects to the crucified Christ. We gather here in the expectation that we might encounter him in this place and that he might fill us with his Spirit, fill us with his love that we might go forth from this place to do great things in his name. Pentecost is a God-thing. Through the power of the Holy Spirit God worked in a wondrous way to lift the church to a new level of service to the world. On that first Pentecost a new movement began and it continues today. Today it is in our hands. Is the fire still burning? Is the wind of the Spirit still blowing? Are the waters still being parted? The Spirit is still willing to do its part if we are faithful to Christ’s call to make disciples of all people. May Pentecost 2016 be a time when God’s Spirit fills each of us and helps us become what God has called us to become. Amen.

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1. (New York: HarperBusiness, 1999), pp. xvii-xx.

2. Rev. Dr. David Sapp, http://day1.org/2754-salvation_by_faith.

3. Harriette Cross, http://aplaceforshalom.blogspot.com/.

4. http://www.lectionary.org/Sermons/NT/05-Acts/Acts-02.01-11-FindVoices-Hoff.htm.

5. Awareness (New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1992), pp. 174-175.