Sermon for May 23, 2021 Pentecost Sunday House of Prayer Lutheran Church
Acts 2:1-21; John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15 Rev. Karl-John N. Stone
If I asked “what are your favorite Christmas traditions? What are your favorite Easter traditions?”, very likely you would happily tell me story after story. Well, today is Pentecost--one of the “big three” festivals of the church year. If I ask “what are your favorite Pentecost traditions?” how many would have a hard time answering? Probably most of us. I would, too.
But maybe that is as it should be--because look at the story of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. What are the first signs of the Holy Spirit to appear? A sound like the rush of a violent wind, and the appearance of something that looked like divided tongues made of flames of fire, hovering over the apostles’ heads. It is holy chaos. Maybe a bit like when House of Prayer shares “the peace of the Lord” (at least in non-pandemic times). Holy chaos. The Holy Spirit of Pentecost is uncontained, uncontrollable, unpredictable.
After all, wind is unseen yet can power windmills, produce electricity, sail ships, fly kites--and wind can knock down trees, rip apart roofs, blow umbrellas inside out, and re-arrange patio furniture. Fire can grill hamburgers, toast marshmallows, power a furnace, light up a campsite, or even possess us to sing songs and tell stories--and fire can destroy homes, towns, forests; fire can burn and maime. Wind and fire can be your best friends or your worst enemies.
No wonder we want to tame them, so we can control them, make them contained and predictable. But God’s Holy Spirit doesn’t want to be tamed and controlled. The Holy Spirit wants to inspire open hearts and open minds in all flesh--until sons and daughters prophecy, the young see visions, the old dream dreams. The Holy Spirit wants to fill people with such faith in the coming kingdom of God that we are left amazed and astonished at the things God is up to in the world--and we are left with more questions than answers, so that we rely more and more on Christ to guide us into all truth.
No wonder we don’t know what to do with Pentecost! If we want to be true to the Holy Spirit, who blows where it wills, we have to let go of our human desire to be in control. We have to allow the Spirit to move through us in a way that allows those who are different from us to be able to understand what we’re about--and in a way that allows us to understand what they’re about.
This leads us on to the next part of the Pentecost story. What is the next sign of the Holy Spirit that came on Pentecost? The apostles were given the ability to speak in other languages. They were still in Jerusalem at this point, fifty days after Jesus' resurrection; ten days after his ascension into heaven; and Jerusalem was the center of the Jewish world. This meant that it was a very diverse place. Jerusalem attracted people from many different countries and cultures and races, spanning thousands of square miles--from Africa to Asia, the Middle East to Europe. Some had been born and raised in the Jewish faith, others living in Jerusalem were converts. They could all probably speak a bit of Greek (which was the most common language back then), as well as some Hebrew or Aramaic (the languages of Jewish religion and culture). And each group also spoke their own native languages. And now, thanks to a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit, the apostles (who were born and raised in backwater Galilee) were now speaking to this great throng of people gathered in Jerusalem in the native language of each person they met--speaking about God’s deeds of power.
This is a powerful lesson for us today, because it teaches us, as followers of Jesus, how to adopt a missionary mindset--and how to put that into practice right where we are. When I say “missionary”, chances are it brings to mind pictures of foreign countries along with people hearing the story of Jesus for the first time. That is one way to think of being a missionary--yet it’s one that for most people is not realistic to personally undertake.
What this story of the apostles on Pentecost shows us is that being a missionary--or at least having a missionary mindset--actually begins much closer to home. It begins right now, today, right where you are, because this is where God has sent you and planted you. Just look at the 12 apostles: They started life in Galilee. They followed Jesus, eventually making their way to Jerusalem. So on the day of Pentecost, since they were living in Jerusalem, they took an interest in the people around them. They took such an interest that the Holy Spirit gave them the ability to speak in a way that all of these diverse people could understand. What a difference it makes for people when they know you’re willing to talk in the way they understand best.
Taking this kind of interest, like the apostles did on Pentecost, gives you the opportunity to talk about God’s deeds of power. And that’s what they did. Notice: They did not talk about themselves. They did not talk about their knowledge or accomplishments. They didn’t even talk about the church that was being born that day.
What they talked about was God: the way God’s love made a difference in their lives. The way God lifted them up when they were down. The way God gives hope and dreams to lead people through the difficulties of life into a new future. The way God’s grace accepted them for who they are, and guided them towards becoming the people God needed them to be. The way their love for God motivated them to serve others and make a positive impact in people’s lives. These are God’s deeds of power that the world was hungry for back then, and is still hungry for today. And it’s the same power of the Holy Spirit at work that raised the crucified Jesus from the dead.
The holy chaos of the Holy Spirit doesn’t come just for the sake of chaos; it comes to get our attention; to turn our hearts towards God, so that through faith God can rearrange our priorities, reorder our mindset, make us missionaries of God’s love and grace.
God’s deeds of power are always happening, right around here, in this community, and in every community. On the street where you live; in the place where you work or go to school or do your shopping; in the activities you do where you connect with your neighbors and friends.
As Martin Luther put it in the Small Catechism, God’s kingdom comes on its own without our prayers. But we pray “thy kingdom come”, so that God’s kingdom may come to us and through us. Or as the prophet Joel put it, and the apostle Peter echoed on the day of Pentecost: God has promised to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh. God’s Spirit is available to anyone who seeks and asks--whether that is here in church, or out there in the world. God’s deeds of power are being done by the Holy Spirit all the time, all around us. So go, look, and speak. Amen.