Past Sermons |
15th May 2005 |
Keepers of the Flame
Acts 2:1-21
According to the liturgical calendar, Pentecost, what we are celebrating today, is supposed to be the third biggest day of the Christian year---right behind Christmas and Easter.
But if this is so, then why aren't there huge Pentecost festivals? After all we have Christmas celebrations and Easter dinners … but I don't know anyone who invites his or her relatives over to share a Pentecost meal.
I mean, there's a Santa Claus and an Easter Bunny, but what about Pentecost? Nothin'! Maybe it's time to change all that - maybe we could co-opt the "Whirling Dervish" as the secular symbol of Pentecost. What do you think? Naw… But it does make you wonder what is going on here?
For this is the day, according to Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, when a mighty wind blew through a house on a back street in Jerusalem and gave Jesus' disciples everything they needed to turn the world upside down: namely, God's own breath, the Holy Spirit.
Could it be that we, who are members of mainline denominations, are hesitant to make this day a big celebration because we are kind of spooked by all this talk about what we used to refer to as the Holy Ghost?
Maybe we have heard about what happens in some of the so called 'spirit-filled' churches (emotional outbursts, speaking in tongues, hands in the air,) and that makes us uneasy and uncomfortable (they say that we fear what we do not understand).
So we end up wanting to leave Pentecost to the Pentecostals and to others who proudly call themselves charismatic congregations.
Whatever the case may be, the fact of the matter is that today is the day that points to the occasion when Jesus' disciples received the good news that their bodies were about to take the place of his body in the world.
That's why we call the Church the body of Christ. Pentecost was the event in which the same Holy Spirit that had filled Jesus was coming upon them too, so that they had all the power they needed to carry on in his name.
And because this embodying of the spirit resulted in an explosion of growth in the size of the early church, the Day of Pentecost is often celebrated as the birthday of the church. Mind you, not any one particular church, but the whole body of believers who are united by God's breath and empowered by God's Spirit.
The story of Pentecost has much to teach us.
First, Luke records, "When the day of Pentecost had come, (the disciples) were all together in one place. When from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting."
Now I know that someone will say, "That must have been when the preacher started preaching."
We preachers always have to struggle not to sound like a big bag of wind -- and sometimes, I'll admit, we don't struggle hard enough.
But on the day of Pentecost, the windy sound was not the preacher. The wind was the Holy Spirit -- the Spirit of God.
And then it says, "Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among (the disciples), and a tongue rested on each of them." Now I think, that is significant.
First, fire was a sign of God's presence. In the Old Testament, God often revealed himself as fire. When God wanted to get Moses' attention, he spoke to Moses from a burning bush (Exodus 3).
Luke wanted his readers to understand that something special was happening -- and that it had something to do with God.
And secondly, this fire rested on EACH of the disciples. The fire didn't descend only on the preacher. The fire rested on EACH of the 120 disciples scripture records were gathered together.
The fire, of course, was the Holy Spirit -- the Spirit of God. And that morning each and everyone of them was filled, not just the twelve apostles, but each one was filled with the Holy Spirit and empowered by God.
That's the way it is today, too. In the church today, it isn't only preachers who must be inspired by God -- or elders -- or deacons -- or Sunday school teachers. It's all of us.
And as we are inspired we will be called on to do our part. God intends EVERY disciple to do his or her part. God calls EACH of us to a special calling -- calls EACH of us to fill a niche that maybe no one else can fill -- calls EACH of us to do special work that maybe no one else can do.
If we sit back and do nothing, our work for Christ will not get done. That means we need to get involved in the work of the kingdom.
There's lots of ways to do that. Just in this church we need people to make friendship bread, to greet, usher, be liturgists, serve on committees.
We need people to teach Sunday school, help with Vacation Bible School, to sing in the choir. We need people to lead small groups, to be involved with our youth
And if EACH of us responds to the call that God extends to us, the church will be able to do everything that it needs to do. We will continue to have a dynamic, vital church that will change people's lives. We will continue to be a growing church -- an exciting church -- a wonderful place to worship and a wonderful place to serve.
But it is tempting for us not to do that. It is tempting to come to church only when we feel like it. It is tempting to sit back, sing the hymns, listen to the sermon, and then to walk out the door and let that be the end of it.
It is tempting not to get involved -- not to do any work for Christ -- not to give any service. But, if we do that, the work to which God has called us will remain undone.
That happens in churches all too often, and it's tragic. There are so many things that churches could do that remain undone, because there is nobody willing to do them.
But that is not just a problem for the church. It is a problem for us, too. If Christ calls EACH of us to a particular service -- and I guaranty that he does-- it isn't only the church that is diminished if we fail to serve. We are diminished too. We grow as Christians, in part, by rendering service to Christ.
If we go through life ignoring Christ's call to service, we doom ourselves to living stunted lives. Our service to Christ is a kind of spiritual food that feeds us. It is a kind of spiritual exercise that makes us strong.
We need to do the work to which Christ has called us: for Christ's sake -- for the church's sake -- for the sake of those whom we serve -- and for our own sake as well.
On the Day of Pentecost, the disciples -- all one hundred twenty of them -- were all together in one place. EACH of them received -- the Holy Spirit. EACH of them began to proclaim Christ.
And then, at the appropriate time, they all stood back to let Peter preach. And at the conclusion of Peter's sermon, the scripture records that three thousand people were baptized. Now I don't know if there was really three thousand - but there were a lot, a mean a lot!
Now I don't expect that we will bring three thousand people into the church this year, or even three hundred, if we all answer the call that Christ gives us - we don't have the room! But I can promise that this church and each one of us will move forward in ways we can only dream about!
I have heard people say that most of us use only about ten percent of our brainpower. They say that if we could only harness our full potential, the sky would be the limit. I have always wondered how they determined that.
But I know that I'd certainly benefit from being able to access another 5 or 6%! And I also know that there are many people who never come close to their potential:
I am thinking of kids growing up in ghettos -- hanging out on street corners -- scoring drugs -- drifting through life.
I am thinking of people in Third World countries who have never had a chance to go to school.
But I am also thinking of kids in affluent neighborhoods -- and adults too -- who spend too many hours a day watching television -- or playing video games -- or surfing the web.
While I am not sure that the ten percent figure is right, I am sure that many people don't come close to their potential. I wonder what the world would look like if we could get the kids off the street corners and into schools -- if we could get people to watch less television and to read more books.
I think that the world would be a better place if people who are wasting their lives would come a little closer to their potential.
And so it is, too, with the church. What would the church look like if EACH of us lived up to our spiritual potential -- if EACH ONE of us would perform the service to which Christ has called us.
If we would do that, we would transform this church. We would make a big difference in our neighborhood, in our city, and even in our world.
Bishop Bob Morgan in his book Who's Coming To Dinner? tells a powerful story about a Dutch pastor and his family who during the second World War got into big trouble with the Nazis. The Dutch pastor and his family had been hiding Jewish people in their home to keep them safe from Hitler's forces.
They were eventually found out. And one night in the darkness, they heard the sound of heavy boots and the loud impatient knocking on the door.
They were arrested and loaded into a cattle car to be taken to one of the notorious death camps. All night long the Dutch pastor and his family rode along in heart-breaking anguish, jostling against one another and against the other prisoners who were jammed into the cattle car.
They were stripped of any form of dignity and absolutely terrified. They knew they were being taken to one of Hitler's extermination centers.
Finally, the long night ended and the train stopped. The doors of the cattle car were opened and light streamed into that tragic scene. They were marched out and were lined up beside the railroad tracks, resigned to unspeakable pain, as they knew they would be separated from each other and ultimately killed.
But in the midst of their gloom, they discovered some amazing good news… good news beyond belief. They discovered in the bright morning sunlight that they were not in a death camp at all, not in Germany at all. Rather, they were in Switzerland!
During the night, someone through personal courage and daring had tripped a switch… and sent the train to Switzerland… and to freedom. And those now who came to them were not their captors at all, but rather their liberators. Instead of being marched to death, they were welcomed to new life.
In the midst of his joy and relief, the Dutch pastor said, "What do you do with such a gift?"
Something like that happened to the disciples at Pentecost. They were afraid, confused, unsure, overwhelmed… and then came this incredible gift…the gift of the Holy Spirit! It turned their lives around… and empowered by this amazing gift, they went out and turned the world upside down.
We are the keepers of the flame today. My invitation to you this morning is to pray for Christ to show how you can help. And when he does -- stand up -- get involved -- answer your call.
And then expect to see the power of God surging through your life.
Pastor Tom |
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