What an
interesting thing, this Pentecost. A fascinating celebration of ministry in
action, of God’s undeniable presence in the world! Can you feel it? Hmm. That can
be hard, can’t it – especially in a world where we hear of terror attacks and
violence and hatred and environmental devastation and crippling negativity…
And that’s
the same feeling we surmise from the folks in today’s scriptures, too.
They’re in what can best be
described as a BLAH state of being. A malaise, if you will. They are
spiritually confused and afraid and extremely uncertain about the future.
Odd, and unfortunate, as this is for the
Jewish people, the Festival of Shavuot – where Jews celebrate the re-giving of
God’s gifts to the world, most specifically the great gift of the Torah – the Holy
Scriptures – WOOHOO!
And yet –
they’re just not feeling it. They are there, 120 people all gathered together; fearful,
waiting, flummoxed.
And these 120
are all sorts of people. Aside from the diverse backgrounds and countries of
origin that we stumble over in the reading from Acts – they are all just kinda…
there. Male/female; rich/poor; old/young. Grieving the loss of Jesus - their friend, the world's messiah. Baffled
over the message of some advocate that’s coming. Struggling to discern what
they’re meant to do now. All present and trying to overcome their earthly
judgements and preconceived notions that society is throwing out at them.
AND THEN! A noise like a rushing wind. A violent wind. This is not a deliciously
cooling breeze on a hot day at the beach. This is not a gentle warm air transfer
bringing with it the aroma of fragrant flowers in spring. This is not like a gentle
dove, slowly descending to alight upon the disciples. No, this is not that
subtle; the Spirit can at times be subtle; her first entrance is NOT one of those times. This is a RUSHING wind! I’d imagine it was measurable in hurricane
forces. This is what the disciples hear. There’s no disputing it; this wind is
strong! Strong enough to knock you over – or, strong enough to blow new life
into the disciples’ ministries.
THIS is
Pentecost. This is what happens when God’s Spirit is acknowledged as blowing in
and through the world. This is what happens when the very presence of God moves
among the people. This is the empowerment of the people who wish to believe and
behave as followers of Christ – to be the church, the ekklesia. This is not
about creating an institution; it is about creating an assembly of faithful
people excited to DO and BE church in the world.
This is it. The Holy Spirit - the promised advocate – has arrived.
And, as often
happens when God will break forth beautifully into our earthly existence, it is
NOT what people were expecting!
Because the
Spirit is a new entity to them. The Spirit is speaking to each and every one of
them – and us – individually. As uniquely as our own language, idiosyncrasies, preferences. Because the Spirit KNOWS that we will all hear in different ways, respond in
different ways, be passionate to love and serve God in different ways. So she
comes to us – in different ways. And invites us to listen! And to find the
commonality in her message to us all. And it is there – the truth of the Spirit
is that, when we are faithful people, we WILL all be moved into action!
And so – the Spirit
moves. WOW the Spirit moves!
That movement
highlights that the Spirit has 2 main purposes. Firstly, she will comfort the afflicted. All those who
are carrying heavy hearts can find solace and support in the Spirit – directly from
that ethereal presence, but also indirectly (though no less importantly) through the ministering of one another through difficult times. Comfort comes
to us when we call upon the Spirit to make herself known to us.
The second
purpose of the Spirit is to afflict the
comfortable. Those who have decided that ministry is something for someone
else to do, or something that is static, or something that will only be how we
remember it has always been. Those who never leave the comfortable pew, will
never be joyfully surprised by the delights that the Spirit has prepared – which maybe right outside our door, or down the street, or on the other side of the
city.
The Holy
Spirit likes to STIRS things UP! She likes to stir US up. She likes movement.
Yet - in the
midst of this, we get the unbelievers, the nay-sayers, the ‘Debbie Downers” –
who would search for any reason to (knowingly or not) deny the Spirit – to deny the breath of God –
to deny the building of the Kingdom of God.
The apostles
got the very dismissive: OH YOU'RE DRUNK. And in the modern church, in any
modern group of people, the excuses can pile up.
·
Oh, we’ve
never done it that way before – so we’re not willing to try it.
·
Oh, that didn’t
work when we tried it 25 years ago – so we refuse to support it now.
·
Oh, I don’t
like that type of thing, so no one should attempt to do it.
·
Oh, I don’t
approve of *those* kinds of people – so we shouldn’t welcome them into our
community.
I’m going to stop RIGHT
THERE – because that is way too long a list already. That is way too many times
when people have, for their own sake and for their own comfort, denied the
potential movement of the Spirit.
And as
faithful people of God, as the assembled Body of Christ, as the believers who
gather in worship and in praise and in the JOY OF THE LORD! – we instead put
our focus in the fearless “what if”s.
·
What IF we
tried a new way of worshiping – and it inspired new passions within us
·
What IF we
tried a new outreach programme – and found new ways to engage with the vulnerable
in our society
·
What IF we
welcomed new members – and discovered great new friends to pray and praise with
·
What IF we
explored our shared gifts and skills – and benefitted intergenerational faith
nurture
·
What IF we
refused to deny the deniers – and tried new things – and found some of them to
be a successful witness of the power of God.
That power is here,
friends. That Spirit is here! Can you hear her whispering? Can you perceive her
nudging? Can you see how she is blowing you into the active reality of being
the ekklesia of Christ?
So as we pray
to the Spirit this day – and ideally everyday! – let us ask the Spirit to
reveal to us her presence in our lives. May our eyes be opened to the wonders
that are there! We pray for the coming of the Spirit, we invoke her presence…
may we truly be ready for it!
So I leave
you with some prayerful questions to ponder.
For the comfort the Spirit
offers us in our affliction:
·
How do you
receive the comfort of the Spirit - and thereby overcome your afflictions?
·
How often can
you recognize the affliction in others – even when it challenges your own
views?
·
How might you
offer comfort to a hurting world?
For the stirring up that
the Spirit does to us:
·
How has the
Spirit blown you over?
·
What charisms
or spiritual languages do you hear, understand, and convey?
·
How do you
respond when the Spirit makes things uncomfortable enough that you feel the
need to discern a different path forward?
·
How do you – like Peter, with kindness – overcome the worldly voices against the
Spirit?
·
What happens
when you realise you ARE the voice of opposition?
Much to think and pray on this week. Yet I pray – fervently
– that we all embrace this gift of the Spirit:
THIS is the
will of the Spirit - that we rise up, faithfully, prayerfully, intentionally -
to live out our mission and ministry. That we share the good news of the Risen
Christ with the WORLD. That we go beyond our comfort zones, to lead by positive
example, to carry the power of the Triune God in our hearts as we sort out how
we are being led at this time and this place.
·
This is the
Spirit who was present - hovering, pulsating, energising - at the beginning of
the creation.
·
This is the
Spirit whom Jesus promised would be guiding us forever.
·
This is the
Spirit that will blow open the potential of what it means to be the Body of
Christ - the church.
·
This is the
Spirit we pray to come to us – to inspire us - to use us - to change us.
Are you ready for her?
Come, Holy
Spirit, Come: Set our hearts on fire: for the love of God.
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