A CELEBRATION OF PENTECOST – 2006
Rekindled
A regular worshiper seemed to have disappeared,
so the rector decided to visit him. It was a cold evening, and the
priest found him
sitting alone at home before a roaring fire. Guessing the
reason for
his rector’s
visit, the man welcomed him and led him to a big overstuffed chair in front
of the fireplace. The priest made himself comfortable, but said nothing.
In grave silence, he watched the play of the flames around the burning
logs. After a while, he took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly
burning ember, and placed it to one side of the hearth, all by itself.
Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched in quiet
fascination. As the one lone ember’s flame diminished, there was
a momentary glow, and then the fire was no more. Soon it was
cold and gray.
Not a word had been spoken since the initial
greeting. Just before the priest was ready to leave, he picked up the
cold, dead ember
and
placed
it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to
glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals
around it. As the rector
reached the door to leave, his host said, “Thank you so much for
your visit and especially for your fiery sermon. I shall be
back in church next Sunday.” [adapted from The
Anglican Digest, II Quarter, 1977,
p. 33]
So many people are like that ember removed from the
fire! They cut themselves off from a primary source of fulfilled, enthusiastic
living;
rather quickly,
they become spiritually cold and colorless. They have withdrawn
from the essential nurture provided only by fellowship with
others. Perhaps they
are angry about church policies, unappealing liturgies, or
disappointing parish relationships. Admittedly, you, I, and
others as the Church are
quite imperfect, a “work in progress,” and we can be infuriating,
even cruel, at times. Moreover, appealing liturgies are like art – very
subjective – and not universally close at hand. As well, some of
those withdrawing may have decided to stay away – perhaps to find
a God in some solitary fashion, possibly within their own private
interiority.
Comfort and Power
Tonight you and I are celebrating Pentecost, the
empowering of Christ’s
first disciples by the Holy Spirit – often conceived in human terms
as the “feminine” activity of God: as the Comforter and the
Holy One who empowers. Whether literal history or a symbolic
account of the individual and communal consoling and strengthening
offered Jesus’ followers,
on this evening we affirm the birth of a new “people of God,” a
community on a mission “to restore all people to unity with God and
each other in Christ.” [Prayer Book Catechism, p. 855] And,
what an assortment of unique individuals they were! What enormous influence
they were to have in human history! This first Christian
Pentecost was
a moment of power, assurance, and lasting impact.
Of course, power
can be utilized in at least two ways: it can be unleashed,
or it can be harnessed. The energy in twenty gallons of gasoline,
for instance, can be released explosively by dropping a lighted match
into
a can. Alternatively, it can be channeled through the engine
of a car in
a controlled burn and
used to transport a person many miles. Explosions are spectacular,
but controlled burns have lasting, effective, staying power.
God’s Spirit
works both ways. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit exploded on the scene; the
Spirit’s presence was like "tongues of fire" [Acts 2:3].
Non-Coercive, Staying Power For Inner Sensibilities and Confrontation
Although never coercive, more like a nudging guide,
the Spirit also works through the continuing Church -- the community
for which God
provides vigorous
power for the long haul. The Holy Spirit doesn’t guarantee that the
decisions we make together are wise or good, but God’s Spirit does
guarantee that the Church and the Church’s mission will endure. Through
worship, fellowship, and service, Christians are provided with staying
power as well as comfort and the strength to cope and to act. Furthermore,
the sphere of the Spirit's work is not only the private recesses of the
human spirit, but also the public arenas of the world. The Spirit’s
function is not only to cultivate our inner spiritual sensibilities,
but also to confront a world that has lost its way.
Diversity Not Fully Grasped and Appreciated
Regrettably, we Christians still have not fully grasped
and appreciated the enormous diversity inherent in the intended Body
of Christ,
the Church.
A staff member from the Diocese of Oxford shared this insight
during this past week: “I have spent this spring watching successive
waves of wildlife invading a newly dug pond in our garden.
First, some lively pairs
of frogs appeared, followed predictably by hundreds of tadpoles,
then expanses of filamentary algae. Then we bought some goldfish,
and attracted a heron
which ate them all. So I bought some more goldfish and a net,
only to discover that most of the original fish had merely
been frightened, not eaten, by
the heron, so now we have far too many fish. Then the other
day I discovered that this aquatic menagerie had been joined
by a solemn pale-faced newt.
“The point is that nature naturally tends
to variety. Too small a pond, too big a preponderance of one species
and
everything
gets out
of balance, and becomes unstable. We are beginning to realise
this. A world of nothing but human beings and food plants is
inherently unstable. And
so politicians and scientists are trying to hammer out agreements
to protect biodiversity.
“It is a sound Christian principle, too:
St Paul likens the community of the church to a body, made of different
organs. Too many
eyes would
be nonsense. Instead, we have a variety of complementary organs,
each with its own special function. God delights in difference,
in variety, and that
is a principle which humankind must learn to appreciate. ”
Summing Up
There is so much about Pentecost on which we could
reflect further! However, to sum up, on each annual Day of Pentecost
we celebrate
God’s Spirit
energizing and comforting the earliest of Jesus’ disciples after
he had left them to be with the Father. In celebrating this liturgical
Feast, we affirm Jesus Christ’s inspirited “people of God” – the
ongoing Church – as our own evolving, flawed, spiritual community. Here at St. Andrew’s, with a variety of people among whom artificial
barriers are being obliterated effectively, we worship, we teach and learn,
we serve and are cared for pastorally; moreover, we participate in the
Church’s mission beyond our doors. Not living in isolated introspection,
you and I take part - as each of us is able - in the congregation’s
life and mission “to restore all people to unity with God and each
other in Christ.” Armed with trust rather than claims of God-like
certainty in matters of doctrine and morality, we make informed choices
and agree to differ – while expressing, as we do here tonight – our
solidarity in the faithful worship of the Creator - in Christ ’s
name.
Pentecost – a day of Comfort, an occasion of Empowerment – both
for the earliest disciples, and, if we so choose, for us as well. Saint
Andrew’s has gone on public record about our genuine inclusiveness.
While not a match for everyone seeking a spiritual home, I believe that
our basic Pentecostal qualities are solidly rooted. Now it is up to all
parishioners to welcome both God’s solace and strength, so that we
continue to mature in Christ’s love and service.
COLLECT OF THE DAY
O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending
to them the light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have
a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
COMBINED READING
A Reading from the Book of Acts
When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all
together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there
came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire
house
where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire,
appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of
them were
filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under
heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and
was bewildered,
because each one heard them speaking in the native language
of each.
Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are
speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us,
in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and
residents of
Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia
and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene,
and visitors from
Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs-- in our
own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power. "
and, A Reading from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians
Now there
are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there
are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties
of activities, but it is the same God who activates all
of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the
Spirit for the
common good. To one is given through the Spirit the utterance
of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according
to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit,
to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working
of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment
of spirits, to another
various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation
of tongues. All these are activated by one and the same Spirit,
who allots
to
each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members
of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For
in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body-- Jews or Greeks,
slaves or free-- and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN
Jesus said to his disciples, "When the Advocate comes, whom
I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who
comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify
because you have been with me from the beginning.
"I
did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was
with you. But, now I am going to him who sent me;
yet none
of you asks me, `Where are you going?' But because I have said
these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless
I tell
you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for
if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but
if I go, I will
send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world
wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin,
because they
do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going
to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment,
because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
"I
still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them
now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you
into
all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak
whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things
that are to come.
He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare
it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason
I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. "