Pentecost
Acts 2:1-21, Romans 8:22-27, John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15
It’s not the first time this has happened. I’m sitting
in my office about two weeks ago, Nila come in saying there was a woman who
wants to meet me. Okay, so I think, “ now what’s this about?”
The woman is pleasant, comfortably but nicely dressed, between 35-40 by my estimation,
smiling. “I just wanted to meet you, to meet the pastor of this church,”
she says. Well okay. We sit in my office to chat. She is from a small town in
Indiana. She went to college, (Concordia River Forest) to be a middle school
or grade school teacher but is currently employed as adjunct faculty at the
Jr. College and works part time at a health food store. Now that she is getting
older she thinks she wants a job with benefits. I ponder, “that’s
all very interesting but what’s she doing here?”
She’s checked out possible job opportunities
on the internet and now she’s making the rounds to see if these are in
communities that she’d like to be a part of.
“This is a very nice community,” she observes. I agree. “This
is a nice church,” I agree. “I was raised Lutheran,” she says
“But now I’m a member of a “spirit driven Episcopal church.”
“Ah, ha” I think, “Now I know where this is going.” “I
saw the name of your church, “Holy spirit” and I just thought maybe
you are a spirit driven church.”
Now I’m in a quandary. I know the code. She’s
talking charismatic; speaking in tongues, falling into states of rapture, but
you know what, I’m not willing to concede that because we do not do those
kind of things here at Holy Spirit that we do not believe the spirit works in
and through our congregation, that we are spirit driven.
Politely, “We are a sprit led congregation
but no we are not charismatic.”
As I said, that’s not the first time people have taken the name of our
church “Holy Spirit” as an indication of our fervor. Visitors, guests
at weddings, telemarketers to name just a few have queried. I’m sorry to
disappoint them but I’m not willing to give up our name to meet their expectations.
I’m not willing to give up the third person of the trinity to their theology,
to their view of how God should work.
Which leads me directly into a discussion of this
illusive Holy Spirit. What do we know of this Spirit and what is this day of
Pentecost all about?
Our lessons today are a gold mine for some important understandings.
But since you don’t want to be here until mid afternoon I will touch on
just three of those understandings.
First: The spirit gives us voice. I love the story
of the events of that first Pentecost day told in Acts. The dramatic account
is full of contrast, of sound and fury.
The disciples are afraid. They gather timidly in an upper room. They are not
full of anything, they have no energy, no ambition, no direction—just a
bunch of fizzled friends—And then the whole world breaks free—the
sound of a mighty wind, like a locomotive barreling through their mundane existence.
And licks of fire, hot dangerous, unbridled, unsought flames.
They begin to preach—to speak and miracle
of miracles people listen. Astoundingly they hear them in their own language.
The spirit gives voice. Perhaps not so enthusiastically, perhaps not so dramatically
but the spirit gives voice. The spirit empowers us to speak the good news, to
proclaim release to the captive, healing to the sick, sight to the blind, repair
to the broken, rest to the restless, direction to the lost.
Dare we trust the spirit to give us voice? There’s that dinner party on
Saturday night when our table mate wonders if we can’t play golf, (or tennis,
or go antiquing tomorrow) and on finding out that we’ll be at church, wonders
why?
Yes we’re timid—there’s no question
we’re reticent, shy, tongue-tied. What if they pursue our simple answers
with queries we’re not theologically astute enough to answer? Changing
the subject would be easier. Do we hear in the background the rush of a mighty
wind? Is that just a reflection of the table lighting or is that a tongue of
flame above your head? The spirit empowers us. The spirit gives us voice.
Secondly we read in our lessons today, “Likewise, the Spirit helps us in
our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very spirit
intercedes with sighs too deep for words.”
Sometimes it’s easier to talk when you don’t
have to look directly at someone. So we were walking together in Ryerson woods
on a warm spring day. She had been on the roller coaster of emotions caused
by the illness of her child. Diagnosis had been a struggle but treatment was
more of a challenge. Things would be good for a day or so and then there would
be a week of horror. Hopes and expectations were raised every time a new option
was tried only to be disappointed yet again. I hope you never have to be there
but I know that most of us find ourselves there at some time or another. “I’ve
cried all that I can cry,” she said, “And I’ve prayed all that
I can pray.” “There’s just nothing left inside me, it’s
all gone, all washed out.” No tears, just a statement of fact. “Likewise,
the spirit helps us in our weakness.” When there’s seems to be nothing
left, when the flicker of hope seems to have gone out that’s when the spirit
intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. .” Sometimes the Spirit
isn’t a rushing wind but rather a gentle breeze. And sometimes the flame
is just the glint of a little sunshine.
Thirdly our lessons tell us, “The Spirit guides us in truth.” Truth?
How do we know it, where do we find it? Who has it?
Paul thought he had the truth. He was certain
that God wanted him to share the good news of the gospel with the Gentiles.
The idea was innovative. Missionizing the gentiles around the Mediterranean
was a new frontier. Paul set out preaching with no small success but no sooner
had he arrived in Antioch than “certain individuals” question his
inclusive mission. Paul knows he has the truth but he does an interesting thing.
He goes to Jerusalem to meet with the disciples. “The apostles and the
elders met together to consider this matter.” We are told there was much
debate. Finally Peter, who carries some weight in the organization, has his
say in the matter. And Paul and Barnabass relate their experiences. Finally
we are told “Then the apostles and elders, with the consent of the whole
church decided to choose men from among their members to go to Antioch with
Saul and Barnabass.” They commended Paul’s mission with but a few
caveats.
Mutual deliberation.
Committees have gotten a bad name in the church
lately. We’ve even been encouraged to rename them task forces. We think
of committee work as slow, ponderous, undynamic, ordinary, dull, yadda yadda
yadda. But perhaps the spirit guides us into truth by challenging our views
to stand up to scrutiny. Perhaps, perhaps the Holy Spirit works through committees.
Doug and I, Wendy L and Fred B have spent the last two days at our Metropolitan
Chicago Synod Assembly. I admit that sometimes the mention of assembly fills
me with yawns.
But if I’m honest I have to say that I am
proud of the work of our church at assembly. Yes, once again we worked on resolutions
about same gendered unions and the ordination of gay and homosexual individuals.
We’re working our way through this issue, laboriously, tediously but with
the Spirit’s help we will be guided into truth. Sometimes the high profile
issues detract from more important matters. The Synod council had prepared a
budget, that because of decreased revenues and decreased pledges included 30%
cuts in the program budget to agencies like Lutheran social Services, to church
colleges and institutions, to . A forum on the budget was held from which came
pledges of greater support from 11 congregations, That pledge of additional
support allowed the convention to pass a resolution restoring 100% funding to
the program budget.
I firmly believe the Spirit works; the spirit
guides us in truth through the mutual reflection and the honest interaction
of the brothers and sisters in the faith. This is not to say that wrong decisions
are never made. The church is after all a human institution. But I hear the
rush of a mighty wind as the vote is called for; I see tongues of flame above
the heads of those who come to microphone one and two.
Hear the wind; see the flame; that’s the spirit working. Giving us voice,
helping us in our weakness, and guiding us in truth. That’s the Spirit
working, right here and right now at this spirit driven, Holy Spirit Church.
Amen.