Being Pentecost People

Pentecost, we've heard again the story of the first Pentecost as recorded by Luke in the book of Acts; the day of wind and fire, the day when people heard the gospel in their own language, the day when Peter preached to thousands of people, the day of the spirit. Pentecost is a celebration in the life of the church, a celebration of the life of the church. Pentecost is a celebration of gift and giftedness, of the remarkable and the everyday.

This reading from Acts is one we hear every year, the coming of the Spirit in wind and fire, not a gentle breeze, but a rushing wind. Enough noise for people to come and see what is happening, enough fire for people to worry and then to be amazed as they realised that the disciples were not harmed by the flame.

In thinking about Pentecost this year, I want us to think about think about how the spirit is active in our lives; what it means for us to be people of the spirit. Let’s go back to the story for a moment, the disciples had travelled with Jesus, they had been there when he died, they saw him after the resurrection, and saw him ascend to heaven. Now they were waiting, behind closed doors, waiting for the spirit to come. And then Luke records this remarkable scene. A story of wind, a strong wind, full of noise; a story of fire, fire that does not burn – where have we heard that before; a story of people being able to communicate the gospel across language and cultural boundaries.

The spirit gave the disciples courage, courage to be themselves. Peter, impetuous, Jesus-denying Peter, now filled with the Holy Spirit addresses the crowd. Some in the crowd made fun of the disciples, suggesting they are drunk. But Peter stands there and tells people, that no, the disciples are not drunk. This is what the prophet Joel had talked about: the coming of the Spirit of God that would enable people to see visions, to dream dreams and to speak God’s word, which is what prophesy means.

Peter stands there and tells the crowd about Jesus, and quotes many passages form the Old Testament to illustrate how Jesus is the fulfilment of the words of the prophets. The people in the crowd are in Jerusalem for the Festival of Pentecost, a major Jewish festival to celebrate the giving of the law. The people in the crowd would have been Jews, Jews from all over the Middle East. Later in chapter 2 of Acts you realise how large the crowd was, for three thousand people were baptised that day. 

The coming of the Holy Spirit into their lives at Pentecost was transforming for the disciples, this group of people who didn’t seem to get much of what Jesus spoke about, this group of people who didn’t know what to do after the crucifixion, this group of people who didn’t know what to make of the empty tomb, this group of ordinary, faithful, confused, bewildered disciples spoke and lived with such faith, such fervour, that they changed the world.

The Holy Spirit transforms us, changes us, and challenges us. It isn’t that God’s spirit makes us do things we can’t do, but gives us courage and strength, so we can be the people God made us to be. What prevents us from being the people God created us to be? It isn’t lack of education, or that we are too old or too young. I suggest that fear is what stops us from being the people that God calls us to be. It may be fear of standing out in the crowd, fear of public speaking, fear of not knowing enough, fear of being laughed at, fear of ….

Being a disciple of Jesus is risky; a few years ago there was material around for Uniting Church congregations called Risking the way of Jesus. Living the Jesus way is risky. Living as people of cross, empty tomb and Pentecost is risky, and at times challenging.

SOUL AND RISK

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for another person is to risk involvement.
To expose your feelings is to risk being your true self.
To place your dreams and ideas before the crowd is to risk their rejection.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To live is to risk dying.
To hope is to risk despair.
To try is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing, does nothing.
This person can avoid suffering and sorrow, but cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, or really live.
He is chained by his certitude. He is a slave. He has forfeited freedom.
A person who risks is free.

From A Canopy of Stars: Some Reflections for the Journey by Fr Christopher Gleeson SJ [David Lovell Publishing 2003]

One of the Ministers I talk with on the internet told a story last week of a church that decided to cancel Pentecost; there were lots of special services and it just didn’t fit in the calendar. I wondered, in what ways do we try and avoid the Holy Spirit from being active in our lives. Do we discount the Spirit’s promptings as a daydream, drunken or not, too ridiculous to bring to life? Do we crowd out the Holy Spirit by keeping busy, by filling our lives up with noise and activity, surely God can’t really expect us to fit in any more!

Maybe it is like this cartoon, where we make up excuses for why the Holy Spirit can’t come into this or that part of our lives. We are unwilling to risk living the way of Jesus, to risk the Holy Spirit setting us on fire, or blowing us in a different direction. We worry about what people will think about us, or say about us, and miss out on the opportunities the Spirit gives us to live more fully for God.

What would you do if you weren’t afraid?

What would we do if we weren’t afraid?

What would it mean to your life, to our life together, if we went with the Spirit, into new places, new relationships, new ministries, new lives?

What would it mean to your life, and our life, if we risked being Pentecost people?