Earth, Wind, and Fire
Acts 2:1-24
May 31, 2009
Barbara Libby, Interim Pastor
and
Donna Manocchio, Associate Pastor

Part 1, Rev. Barbara Libby

PERHAPS YOU ARE SITTING THERE THIS MORNING & WONDERING – WHAT ARE THESE TWO PASTORS GOING TO TALK ABOUT THIS MORNING? OR MAYBE YOU ARE THINKING - HOW ARE THEY GOING TO TALK ABOUT SUCH A CRAZY STORY ABOUT SOME ANCIENT FOLKS IN JERUSALEM… OR PERHAPS YOU ARE WONDERING WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH ME, ANYWAY?

AND JUST MAYBE IT’S IMPORTANT TO REALIZE THAT EVEN THOSE WHO WERE PRESENT ON THAT 1ST PENTECOST ASKED: “WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?”

WE CELEBRATE PENTECOST SUNDAY EACH YEAR AT 50 DAYS AFTER EASTER… WE CALL THIS DAY THE BIRTHDAY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH! AND CLEARLY IT WAS AN AMAZING & POWERFUL EVENT – A TIPPING POINT MOMENT OR A WATERSHED EVENT - WHICH PUSHED & ENERGIZED THE NEW CHURCH TO EMERGE! THE ENTIRE BOOK OF ACTS IS REALLY A BOOK ABOUT THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK…SOME EVEN CALL ACTS - A GOSPEL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT!

ACTS TELLS US ABOUT A DAY THAT APPARENTLY STARTED OUT AS A NORMAL DAY & TURNED INTO A TOTALLY UNIQUE & UNUSUAL DAY! NOT ONLY DOES THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (WHICH BLEW INTO SO MANY LIVES THAT DAY) HAVE TO BE THE BEST BIRTHDAY PRESENT EVER FOR THOSE DISCIPLES AND FOLLOWERS OF JESUS CHRIST… THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - WHICH DANCED ABOVE THEIR HEADS LIKE TONGUES OF FIRE & THEN BLEW THROUGH THE AIR WITH THE FORCE OF A GALE WIND – THAT HOLY SPIRIT WAS TOTALLY EXTRA-ORDINARY! WE ARE DEALING IN METAPHOR HERE! WE WILL TALK ABOUT THE MYSTERIOUS TODAY!

THAT IS WHY IT TAKES TWO OF US TO DO IT!

THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT FILLED FOLKS WITH SUCH AN AMAZING POWER THAT BEFORE THE DAY WAS OVER THE BRAND NEW CHURCH GREW FROM 120 FOLKS TO MORE THAN 3,000 PEOPLE!! NOW THAT’S A NEW MEMBER SUNDAY!!

ONE PREACHER SUGGESTS THAT AT PENTECOST: SHY PEOPLE BECAME BOLD… SCARED PEOPLE BECAME GUTSY… & LOST PEOPLE FOUND A NEW SENSE OF DIRECTION… DISCIPLES WHO HAD NOT BELIEVED THEMSELVES CAPABLE OF EVEN TYING THEIR OWN SANDALS WITHOUT JESUS DISCOVERED ABILITIES WITHIN THEMSELVES THEY NEVER KNEW THEY HAD… “THEY HAD SUCKED IN GOD’S OWN BREATH AND THEY HAD BEEN TRANSFORMED BY IT. THE HOLY SPIRIT HAD ENTERED INTO THEM THE SAME WAY IT HAD ENTERED INTO MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS, AND FOR THE SAME REASON. IT WAS TIME FOR GOD TO BE BORN AGAIN – NOT IN ONE BODY THIS TIME BUT IN A BODY OF BELIEVERS WHO WOULD RECEIVE THE BREATH OF LIFE FROM THEIR LORD AND PASS IT ON, USING THEIR OWN BODIES TO DISTRIBUTE THE GIFT.” (P. 144, BARBARA BROWN TAYLOR, “THE GOSPEL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT” IN HOME BY ANOTHER WAY.)

TODAY WE DON’T JUST REMEMBER THE ARRIVAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE ONGOING WAYS & THE CURRENT EVIDENCE THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALIVE & WELL & MOVING AMONGST ALL OF US!

ON THE 1ST PENTECOST GOD UNLEASHED THE GOOD NEWS OUT INTO THE KNOWN WORLD (THAT’S WHY THE TEXT CITES ALL THOSE SPECIFIC PLACES). GOD GAVE POWER & AUTHORITY SO THAT THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY COULD GROW & GROW & GROW & BECOME MULTIPLE COMMUNITIES OF BELIEVERS! AND THAT SAME HOLY SPIRIT MOVES AMONG GATHERED BELIEVERS HERE & AROUND THE WORLD IN THE 21ST CENTURY JUST AS IT CAME TO THOSE IN THE 1ST CENTURY…

THE SAME HOLY SPIRIT FILLS EACH ONE OF US! THIS SAME HOLY SPIRIT GIFTS EACH OF US WITH NEW & RENEWED ENERGY WHEN WE NEED IT MOST! THIS SAME HOLY SPIRIT SUSTAINS & SUPPORTS US AS INDIVIDUALS & AS A COMMUNITY OF FAITH! THIS DAY REMINDS US THAT IT IS THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT LITERALLY IN-SPIRES US… BREATHES INTO US – WITH THE VERY BREATH OF LIFE – GOD’S BREATH!

IF WE BELIEVE IN THE STILL SPEAKING GOD THEN WE ALSO BELIEVE IN THE POWER & PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT - MOVING ACTIVELY IN OUR MIDST & BRINGING ALL OF US NEW LIFE, ENERGY, & THE ABILITY TO HEAR ONE ANOTHER IN NEW WAYS!! THE HOLY SPIRIT IS SOMETIMES CALLED THE NEW ADVOCATE OR THE COMFORTER. THE HOLY SPIRIT ACTIVELY EMPOWERS & ENERGIZES US & HELPS MOVE US INTO THE FUTURE...THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT OFFERED AS A PERSONAL “PRIZE” OR SOMETHING FOR FOLKS TO CLAIM AS A PERSONAL POSSESSION...

RATHER THE HOLY SPIRIT ENABLES EACH OF US TO BE GOD’S PERSONS FOR OTHERS… WE ARE AGENTS OF GOD’S GRACE IN THIS HURTING & BROKEN WORLD. FROM THE VERY 1ST PENTECOST THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS GIVEN AS SOMETHING TO BE SHARED GENEROUSLY AND LAVISHLY WITH OTHERS...

AS A CHURCH IN A TIME OF TRANSITION WE ARE IN A GREAT PLACE TO BE REMINDED OF THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK IN OUR MIDST… AS WE MOVE THROUGH A TIME OF CHANGE & TRANSITION WE REDISCOVER WHAT IT MEANS TO BE GOD’S PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD - OPEN TO THE INSPIRATION AND THE TRANSFORMING POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT…

THIS IS A CHURCH WHICH DREAM DREAMS AND HAS VISIONS OF THE FUTURE…

TODAY REMINDS US TO STAY OPEN TO RECEIVE THE NEW THINGS THAT MAY HAPPEN DURING THIS TIME…

PENTECOST REMINDS US TO STAY OPEN TO SEE WHERE THE SPIRIT WILL GUIDE & DIRECT THIS COMMUNITY OF FAITH, TO SEE WHAT NEW DIRECTIONS THE SPIRIT MAY INVITE US TO GO!

“WHAT HAPPENS BETWEEN US WHEN WE COME TOGETHER TO WORSHIP GOD IS THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT SWOOPS IN AND OUT AMONG US, KNITTING US TOGETHER THROUGH THE SONGS WE SING, THE PRAYERS WE PRAY, THE BREATHS WE BREATHE. IT CAN HAPPEN WITH TWO PEOPLE AND IT CAN HAPPEN WITH TWO THOUSAND PEOPLE. IT CAN SCARE US OR COMFORT US, CONFUSE US OR CLARIFY THINGS FOR US… (P. 142, BB TAYLOR)

THE CHALLENGE FOR US IS THAT ASKING FOR & WAITING FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ONLY HALF THE EQUATION… THE OTHER HALF OF THE EQUATION IS RECOGNIZING THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN IT COMES!

PART I OF TODAY’S SCRIPTURE TELLS US HOW THE CHURCH WAS BORN!

IT REVEALS THAT IT WAS BOTH AN EXCITING & A SOMEWHAT FRIGHTENING DAY!!

PEOPLE WERE A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE & A LITTLE ANXIOUS – THAT’S WHY THEY MADE THE WISE CRACK ABOUT HOW SOMEBODY MUST HAVE BEEN DRINKING!! WE HAVE WELCOMED NEW MEMBERS INTO THE MIDST OF THIS BODY OF CHRIST TODAY; WE ARE ALL REMINDED THAT OUR MISSION IS A SHARED ONE… EVERYONE IS WELCOME TO BECOME AN ACTIVE PARTICIPANT IN GOD’S MISSION TO THE WORLD… SO…WHEN WE SAY, “COME HOLY SPIRIT, COME” WE NEED TO MEAN IT!! THAT SPIRIT IS ALREADY HERE… WE MUST RE READY TO BOTH RECEIVE & RECOGNIZE THE HOLY SPIRIT! AMEN

Part 2, Rev. Donna Manocchio


Atónitos y maravillados, comentaban:
¿Cómo es posible que a estos, que son galileos,
les oigamos hablar en el idioma de cada uno de nuestros países de origen?

Can you understand these words,
in a language different from your own?
I don’t doubt the power of God on this Pentecost Sunday,
So maybe you have been given the gift of understanding in a different language.
But if not, here is our English translation once again:
“And they were amazed and wondered, saying,
‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
And how is it that we hear, each of us in our own language?’ ”

So many people.
So many languages!
It was true 2000 years ago on that first Pentecost,
and it is just as true us gathered in one place today.
But the languages we speak are not Spanish or Italian or French,
Or Swedish or German or Polish.
We speak different languages of faith,
different ways of telling the story of who we are as disciples and as the church of Jesus Christ.

You see, some of us speak the language of the Pilgrim Hymnal;
Others of us speak the language of the New Century.
For some of us,
The language of the King James version of Scripture is our heart’s speech – especially for the 23rd psalm.
And for others,
a more contemporary version such as The Message flows off the tongue more easily.
Some of us appreciate the “words” of drumming as part of our worship;
And some prefer the syllables of a chamber quartet to invite us into the presence of the sacred.
Some of us sing the Doxology as “Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,
and others “Creator, Christ, and Holy Ghost.”
Some gathered here have spoken the language of church membership in this community for 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 years.
Others of are just beginning to learn to speak that language of belonging -
Five years and under and we’re still learning those words –
including our new members who have joined today.
There are some among us whose faith talk sees the importance of taking care of those in our own local community,
and others who speak the language of reaching out to other states and countries.
And all these languages – and many others -
can be heard here at church –
It is true that we are a multi-lingual community!
It is also true that one language is not better than another -
they all add up to make us the vital, growing community of RHCC.

Part of the mystery –
as Barbara said –
on that first Pentecost –
was that everyone understood each other.
Some days, it remains a mystery to me how we as a community -
continue to understand each other amid all our different languages!
For it seems at times
it’s as hard to understand each other as
it is for us to understand the Spanish translation of our text!
And then I remember:
It is the power of the Spirit that does the work of translation
and makes us one –
Amid all our differing languages of faith,
All our interpretations of the gospel message,
All our hopes for what it means to be the church.
To be –
And to continue to become –
a Pentecost people and a Pentecost people,
is to listen to one another with our ears and our hearts
and to seek for those places and moments of connection and communion where the Spirit’s wind and fire touches us once again:
those moments in the silence or song of worship,
or during a board meeting when clarity comes after a long discussion,
Or when the children’s energy overflows into our midst –
Or when we gather our efforts in response to someone in need in our community –
Or around the world as JoDee Luppacino invited us to do this morning.

The apostle Peter was touched by the Spirit’s wind and fire as he stood up to proclaim to the assembled crowd on in Jerusalem:
Listen, he says,
Listen and get the record straight.
The prophet has foretold it and the day has come,
When the Spirit’s power shall be on all people –
And again all were able to understand.

The Spirit, Peter says,
is selective,
but not in the way we imagine it or the world defines it.
The Holy Spirit selects EVERYONE –
all flesh!
Everyone receives the power to dream and become a visionary:
Old and young,
Male and female,
Slave and free;
Black and white,
Rich and poor,
Gay and straight,
Seekers and believers,
those bound by fear and doubt,
and those set free by love and grace.
Whoever you are,
Wherever you are on your life’s journey –
The Spirit is yours:
You have a vision,
You have been given a dream –
Of what this church can be,
What this church can become in the future God is creating with us.
And just as there are different languages spoken,
there are different visions present among us.
Let us remember, though,
It is the Spirit that makes us dreamers and visionaries:
the vision doesn’t belong to us,
the dream is not one of our own making.
If our dreams and visions are from the Spirit,
Then the Spirit’s fruits will be present in our dreams and visions and the way we share them with one another.
All will be marked with love, joy, peace and generosity;
patience, faithfulness, and gentleness.

We enter now the Pentecost season:
in our liturgical year and in our lives.
We live in anticipation and expectation:
waiting for Spirit’s power and transforming grace in our midst.
Even as we wait,
we join with others in working with others to make the Spirit’s dream and visions come alive in our church and in our world.
May it be so and may it be soon for all of us!
Amen and amen.

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