Title: The Importance of Being Seen and Heard
Text: Acts 2:1-13
Thesis: Spirit-filled Christians are light-bearers and love-speakers.
Introduction
This week I read about a woman who, as a child, often heard her German immigrant great-grandmother repeat: “Kleine Kinder sollten wie Fische am Tische sein.”
She said that as a young woman, while taking German in college, she managed a loose translation: “Little children should be like fish at the table.” (Quiet)
We have all heard a similar adage: “Children should be seen but not heard.” It was a way of saying that when in the presence of adults, children should be silent. It was something said as a way of rebuking a child who had spoken when he or she should not have done so. Perhaps you have had a parent or another adult give you that look of disapproval followed by, “Children are to be seen but not heard.”
Some say the idea of being seen but not heard has sexist origins. The thought being, women are inferior to men and therefore should not be allowed to express their opinions. A woman’s role is to look pretty, stay in the background, and agree with whatever her husband says. And some say that the original application of the adage, “Children should be seen but not heard” was actually intended for young girls.
The implication of either origin suggests that children and women are okay to have around but they should be quiet. We don’t mind the presence of a polite, well-behaved child so long as we don’t have to listen to him. We don’t mind the presence of attractive and well-mannered women so long as they do not think or speak for themselves.
It seems some people seek the spot-light and the microphone while others prefer to be neither seen nor heard. They prefer anonymity. There are those of us who do not want or need to be the center of attention… It is safer that way.
Case in point, Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Solomayor should have kept her head down and her mouth shut in her 2001 speech on Issues Facing Latino Judiciary symposium in which she said, “I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion [as a judge] than a white male who hasn’t lived that life.”
(In her defense… I am quite certain that I said things in 2001 that I would not say today.)
University of Denver law professor, Nancy Wadsworth says the brouhaha is an example of classic white-male privilege in which, “White males think they make all decisions in the abstract, in some vacuum.” In other words, white male men are able to make more objective decisions than women of ethnic heritage because they are not affected intellectually by life experiences. Men are more objective than women. (Michael Booth, Supreme Court nominee’s quote sparks flap, The Denver Post, 5/28/09)
(One could say it is another instance of where a woman should be seen but not heard…)
However, there is some wisdom to being unseen and unheard. If you don’t do anything and don’t say anything no one can accuse you of wrong doing or misspeaking.
But being unseen and unheard directly contradicts God’s intent for those who follow Christ. In the story of Pentecost, the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit’s affect on the Christians gathered there, signaled that we are to be seen and heard in the world.
The first evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the lives of Christians is visible.
I. The presence of the Holy Spirit makes us light-bearers.
Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. Acts 2:3
I want to say just two things about the significance of the flame on the day of Pentecost.
A. The image of a flame is not lost on the Christian Church.
The tongues of fire indicate the presence of God not only in the place but resting on each person. In the Old Testament the presence of God was evident as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness in that they were led by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The cloud and the fire indicated the presence and leading of God.
This morning a Christ candle burns on our altar as a visible reminder of God’s presence among us.
B. The image of being light is also a favorite metaphor for Jesus.
The most quoted reference is from his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:14ff, “You are the light of the world – like a city on a mountain glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Jesus makes a point in stating that the Christian is a light placed on a stand so everyone can see it. He is not talking about being heard in this text… he is talking about being seen. Jesus wants the way we live in the world to be evidence that God is at work in and through us. Jesus wants our lives to be characterized by good deeds.
Evangelist Billy Sunday used to tell a story about a Christian who got a job in a lumber camp whose workers had a reputation for being ungodly. A friend, hearing that the man had been hired, said to him, "If those lumberjacks every find out you’re a Christian, you’re going to be in for a hard time!"
After a year, the man decided to return home for a visit. While in town, he met the friend who had predicted that he would receive ridicule and persecution from the workers in the lumber camp. "Well," asked the friend, "did they give you a hard time because you’re a Christian?"
"Oh, no, not at all," the man replied. "They didn’t give me a bit of trouble - they never even found out!"
Some refer to believers who do not let their light shine as “undercover Christians.” Undercover Christians live in such a way that others are unaware that they are Christians.
Christians can go undercover in two ways:
1. Undercover Christians may live in such a way that their lifestyle is indistinguishable from that of someone who makes no pretense of being a follower of Christ.
In this case their lives are blatantly worldly and the sin people see in their lives is not a reflection of the light and love of Christ. What people see then is darkness… Christians living in sin are hidden under the cover of darkness.
2. Undercover Christians may also live in such a way that they become invisible.
They live private, clandestine, unseen, non-descript, non-note worthy, invisible lives. In this case they do nothing… neither overtly good nor overtly bad. Neighbors and co-workers say of these folks, “No one knew them. They always kept to themselves.” The reason no one sees their light is because it is hidden under a basket.
These undercover Christians never do or say anything to give evidence of their identification with Christ which is to live contradictory to God’s will:
• We are God’s workmanship or masterpieces. He has created us anew in Christ so that we can do the good things he planned for us to do long ago. Ephesians 2:10
• Think of ways to ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. Hebrews 10:24
• If you are wise and understand God’s ways, live a life of steady goodness so that only good deeds pour forth. And if you don’t brag about the good you do, they you will be truly wise! James 3:13
The idea is, when we are under the influence of God’s Holy Spirit, we will radiate the light of God by what we do. Christians are first and foremost, to be seen!
The second evidence of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the lives of those Christians at Pentecost is audible. People heard them.
II. The presence of the Holy Spirit gives us a new language of love.
And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. Acts 2:4
I want to say two things about how the people spoke after they were filled with the Holy Spirit.
A. The presence of the Holy Spirit initially empowered the early Christians to speak in the languages of those who were in Jerusalem at the time.
In the Pentecost text it says that everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them the ability. The people who overheard them were amazed because they all heard these early Christians speaking “in their own languages about the wonderful things God had done!” Acts 2:12
There is some discussion about whether the miracle is in the speaking of known dialects or languages or if the miracle is in the peoples’ hearing in their own languages. To me is it pretty much a moot point. The thing to note is that the love of God is to be evidence not only in what people see us do but in what people hear us say. Those people heard about the wonders of God from the lips of Christians.
B. The presence of the Holy Spirit also empowered the early Christians to speak boldly of their faith.
A couple of weeks ago I spoke on a passage in Acts 4. If you recall, Peter and John had been used of God to heal a man who had been unable to walk since he was born. We see this act of kindness as a good deed done in the name of Jesus Christ. Shortly thereafter they were called to task by the religious leaders and Peter responded to them by asking, “Are we being questioned because we did a good deed for a crippled man?” Acts 4:9
Then, Peter seized the opportunity to speak of who Jesus is and what Jesus did and to state, “There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call upon to save them.” (Acts 4:12)
We hear this as audible witness to the love of God in Christ.
Just as a failure to do good deeds is inconsistent with the teaching of the bible, it is also inconsistent for a Christian to be silent about his faith.
The same Peter who spoke courageously of his faith when asked by his critics, later went on to teach us about when and how we may speak of our faith:
• “Worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if you are asked about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way. Then if people speak evil against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.” I Peter 3:15-16
Just as there are ways that Christians may go “undercover” with no evidence of good deeds in their lives, there are ways Christians may have no voice.
1. The first way Christians are not heard is when they speak too loudly.
When Christians are known for being vitriolic, hateful, accusatory, condemning, and angry in the way they speak, they lose their voice and any hope of anyone hearing of the love of God in Christ Jesus is lost.
2. The second way Christians are not heard is when they are literally “speechless.”
When Christians never speak of the goodness of God or the grace of God in Jesus Christ, they have no voice, no one hears them, and no one hears of the love of God in Christ.
The first Christians were seen and heard. They did good needs and they spoke of the Good News in Christ Jesus.
While working his way through seminary, pastor and author Ed Rowell took a job driving a school bus for kindergartners.
Several of the children came from single-parent homes and little Ryan was one of them. One day when he got off the bus Ryan asked him if he would like to meet his mother and added that she was real pretty. Ed said, “I’ll bet she is pretty, but I have a pretty wife at home.”
On another day when he had finished his route and was headed home he looked in the big mirror that lets a driver survey everything that is going on in the bus and saw little Ryan’s head poked up from behind a seat in the back of the bus. Ryan had fallen asleep and missed his stop. So Ed circled the bus back around by Ryan’s house and let him out.
On the Friday of Halloween week there was a big party that night at the YMCA and Ryan got on the bus all excited and wearing a vampire suit. Ryan was always up for something.
The next day, Ed said that as he settled in with his first cup of Saturday morning coffee, he glanced through the morning paper and noticed a story about a heavy piece of gymnastic equipment having fallen resulting in the death of a child. The child was Ryan.
On the day of the funeral Ed went the White Chapel Funeral Home. Ed said he was not only an emotional wreck and on the verge of tears, his stomach was in knots about what he could possibly say to Ryan’s parents.
When he arrived he found Ryan’s mother and his father and step-mother. They were standing together talking quietly. He walked over to the trio and introduced himself, “Hi, I was Ryan’s bus driver,” and went on to tell them some stories about Ryan on the bus, including the day he fell asleep and missed his stop.
They all laughed and then tears began to well up in all their eyes. Ryan’s mother tried to speak but instead began to sob as she reached out to hug Ed. Ed said he had nothing. What could he possibly say to comfort Ryan’s mother. And then as she began to quiet a bit he said, “Just remember, God knows the pain of losing a son too.” As soon as he said it felt like an idiot. When he left all he could think of was how he had probably poured salt on an open wound.
The months passed and in the spring when he was studying hard for his finals, Ed developed severe abdominal pain which prompted his wife to take him to the emergency room at the hospital. As he lay on the examining table waiting for someone to administer a pain-reliever, a nurse came into the room with a syringe. It was Ryan’s mother.
She immediately recognized him and said, “Well hello bus driver…” And then she gave him his shot and went on to tell him how much the fact that he had cared enough to cry with them had meant so much to her and that his words about God understanding what it means to lose a son had also comforted her over the months. (Ed Rowell, Today’s Christian, 1977 – PreachingToday.com)
When the Spirit of God lives in us and speaks through us, even simple things like tears and hugs and seemingly insignificant words can accomplish God’s purposes in the lives of others.
The first idea is this that when we are under the influence of God’s Holy Spirit, we will radiate the light of God by what we do. Christians are first and foremost, to be seen!
And the second thought is that on the Day of Pentecost the language of love reached across language and cultural barriers when Christians were moved by the Holy Spirit. Nothing has changed!
Conclusion:
There is a story about a little girl who, on the way home from church turned to her mother and said, “Mommy, the preacher’s sermon confused me.”
The mother replied, “Oh, why is that?”
The daughter said, “Well the preacher said that God is bigger than we are and lives within us. Is that true?”
“Yes, that’s true,” her mother said.
“Well,” said the little girl, “If God is bigger than us and lives in us, wouldn’t he show through?”
The answer is yes… God should show through. When Christians are under the influence of the Holy Spirit, they will be seen and heard!
