Pentecost Sunday
Genesis 11: 1-8
The whole earth was of one language and of one speech.
2 It happened, as they journeyed east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they lived there.
3 They said one to another, "Come, let’s make brick, and burn them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they used tar for mortar.
4 They said, "Come, let’s build us a city, and a tower, whose top reaches to the sky, and let’s make us a name; lest we be scattered abroad on the surface of the whole earth."
5 Yahweh came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men built.
6 Yahweh said, "Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language; and this is what they begin to do. Now nothing will be withheld from them, which they intend to do.
7 Come, let’s go down, and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech."
8 So Yahweh scattered them abroad from there on the surface of all the earth. They stopped building the city.
9 Therefore the name of it was called Babel, because Yahweh confused the language of all the earth, there. From there, Yahweh scattered them abroad on the surface of all the earth.
John 14: 16-17, 25-27
16 I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever,
17 -- the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him, neither knows him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you.
25 I have said these things to you, while still living with you.
26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your memory all that I said to you.
27 Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, give I to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful.
On July 4, 1776, the members of the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia signed the Declaration of Independence. With this action, the American Revolution was launched and a new nation was born. It is ironic that on that very day George III, King of England, made this entry in his diary: "Nothing of any importance happened today."
On the day of Pentecost, in the year A.D. 30, 120 followers of a man named Jesus were gathered together in Jerusalem. Suddenly the Spirit of God filled each one of them and marked them with tongues of fire. On that day the Church was born. But no historian of the time saw anything significant in that event.
Those 120 disciples were just a handful of rather ordinary men and women, a few fishermen, a couple of housewives, a former tax collector, a few farmers and some servant girls. Yet through these ordinary people God built a Church which has lasted now for over 2,0000 years. In less than 300 years, that small, insignificant Jewish sect became the official religion of the entire Roman Empire and today the Church of Jesus Christ circles the globe and numbers some one billion members.
How did they do it? What happened to those 120 follower in the year 30 A.D. on the day we call Pentecost? Those 120 followers came in contact with the Christian’s unknown God. Yes, that is right, those 120 followers came in contact with the Christian’s unknown God. They came in contact with God’s Spirit, or the Holy Spirit. For many Christians the events of Pentecost, the events of God’s spirit coming to this earth is like what King George said on the day the Declaration of Independence was signed, "nothing of any importance happened today."
Today is Pentecost, one of the 4 major festivals of the church year. Today we celebrate the coming of God’s spirit, the Holy Spirit into the lives of men and woman, today we celebrate the birthday of the church. But, if you didn’t come to church today, if you maybe hadn’t read your daily devotional booklet, or perhaps if you hadn’t looked at the church calendar, you would have not known this was a major festival of the church year. Today is just as important as Christmas, just as important as Easter, just as important as the festival of the Ascension, but for some unknown reason, this festival, this holiday in the church year goes by almost unnoticed. Why is that?
Maybe because we have a difficult time getting a handle on the Spirit of God. Maybe , we don’t understand what exactly happened on this day. And maybe, talk about the Spirit is not so sweet as talk about a baby born in a manager, angels singing in the heavens, gifts being passed about and shepherds tending their sheep on quiet hillsides.
Maybe Pentecost doesn’t get so much attention because we have not found a way to commercialize it, we don’t turn Pentecost into a a culture extravaganza , or into a national holiday, so it goes unnoticed.
But, this festival, this holiday is very important for the life of the church, for your life and mine life. The Spirit of God is not something we should fear, nor something we should ignore, but the Holy Spirit is God’s presence in this world. It is the same presence that was moving over the face of the earth when God created this world in which we live. It is that same presence that took the form of a baby born in a manager in Bethlehem, it is the same spirit of God that walked the earth for 33 years, teaching, healing, proclaiming the love of God for all people. And now, today, it is that same spirit that is with us, it is God’s spirit alive and well on this earth, working through his people, the church, to bring his love into the brokenness of this world.
The source of the Holy Spirit is God. We believe in the Trinity, God the father who creates, God the Son who redeems and God the Holy Spirit, who gathers, calls enlightens and sanctifies or makes his people holy. God is one, but at the same time he shows himself in 3 different ways. It is this third part of the Trinity, this third manifestation of God that we celebrate on this day of Pentecost.
Jesus in our text from John this morning, talks about the Counselor coming to lead the disciples in truth and to convict the world of sin and to bring God’s righteousness into the lives of people who have experienced the brokenness of this world. This spirit is in each of our lives. God’s spirit comes to us in our Baptism, and remains with us as we grow in the knowledge and truth of the God who loves us.
The power of God’s Spirit came to earth on Pentecost.
Power can be used in at least two ways: it can be unleashed, or it can be harnessed. The energy in ten gallons of gasoline, for instance, can be released explosively by dropping a lighted match into the can. Or it can be channeled through the engine of a Datsun in a controlled burn and used to transport a person 350 miles. Explosions are spectacular, but controlled burns have lasting effect, staying power. The Holy Spirit works both ways. At Pentecost, he exploded on the scene; His presence was like "tongues of fire" (Acts 2:3). Thousands were affected by one burst of God’s power. But He also works through the church--the institution God began to tap the Holy Spirit’s power for the long haul. Through worship, fellowship, and service, Christians are provided with staying power.
Through our Baptism, we have obtained the staying power of God to see us through all the ups and downs of life.
The Spirit of God comes to us in our Baptism, and remain with us, calling us to worship, bringing us to service, gathering us together as a body, enlightening us abut the truth of God and continually making us holy before God. All this happens day in and day out in our lives. This spirit is quietly at work each day you live. The Spirit is there with you as you plant your corn, beans and oats. It is there with you as you manage your business, as you raise your family, as you work for another person. This spirit of God is there in all that we do. The Holy Spirit brings his power into our lives in a quiet and unobtrusive way.
There is a story about a sunken ship that illustrates the quietness of the spirit, but at the same time his Power in our lives.
"Several years ago engineers building a new bridge over the East River in New York, discovered that the wrecked hull of a ship, sunk many years before, lay right where the center piers were to be built. Powerful machinery was brought in to remove the ship, but it would not budge.
Then one of the engineers had an unusual idea-why not have the tide raise the ship!! Some strong cables were attached to the hull when the tide was low. The other ends were fastened to the barge above. As the tide came in, the barge gradually lifted the sunken ship. It was then towed out into the ocean and sunk at a spot that would not cause future problems."
God’s Holy Spirit is like the tide, it comes quietly, it comes in slowly, but it comes to us with enough power so that we might do the job God has called, led each of us to do. There is a power, a force and for many an untapped force in each of our lives, that is the Holy Spirit. Many times it is not dramatic, it does not cause us to do dramatic things, but it is there to give us the power to live the kind of lives, to be the kind of people that God intended us to be.
The nature of this spirit empowers us to live first of all pointing to Christ. The kind of life God intends for us to live points not to us, not to our accomplishments, but to the Lord of Life, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit works with our spirit so that we might experience the righteousness of Christ in our lives. It is this spirit that convicts us of our sins, shows us that we really aren’t as good as we think we are and then in that realization, we fall on our knees at the foot of the cross begging for Christ’s mercy, and it is that same Spirit who comes with that mercy, with the righteousness of God and washes away’ our sins. Paul says in Romans, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the Spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the spirit of sonship. When we cry Abba Father it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with our Spirit that we are children of God."
It is this Spirit that comes into our lives, into the church to allow us to spread God’s message of love to all people. It is this Spirit which points not to itself, but to Christ. It is this Spirit which allows us to point not to oursleves, but to Christ. It is this Spirit which makes the church, the Body of Christ, the most unique organization on the face of the earth.
" Russ Blowers is a minister who is active in his local Indianapolis Rotary club. At club meetings each week a member gives a brief statement about his job.
When it was his turn, Russ said: "I’m with a global enterprise. We have branches in every country in the world. We have our representatives in nearly every parliament and board room on earth. We’re into motivation and behavior alteration.
We run hospitals, feeding stations, crisis pregnancy centers, universities, publishing houses, and nursing homes. We care for our clients from birth to death.
We are into life insurance and fire insurance. We perform spiritual heart transplants. Our original Organizer owns all the real estate on earth plus an assortment of galaxies and constellations. He knows everything and lives everywhere. Our product is free for the asking. (There’s not enough money to buy it.)
Our CEO was born in a hick town, worked as a carpenter, didn’t own a home, was misunderstood by his family, hated by enemies, walked on water, was condemned to death without a trial, and arose from the dead--I talk with him everyday." by Andy Mason
The church is the most amazing organization in the world! And my friends you and I are part of it, not because we did anything, "but the Holy Spirit call me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith, just as He calls, gathers together, enlightens and makes holy the whole Church on earth and keeps it with Jesus in the one, true faith. " You do recognize the last few words from the Third Article of the Creed as Luther’s explanation.
The power of the Holy Spirit was brought into the world this day over 2000 years ago, and that power is still present today through us and within the church.
Yes, we are welcomed again to the Pentecost event in the Year 2001!!
"It is a time to open up to the mind-blowing, heart-warming, life-changing power of God.
The power of God can invade the body, inflate the mind,
swell the soul, lift the Spirit and make us more than we ever imagined.
It’ll make you young when you’re old,
and it’ll make you live even when you die.
The power and presence of the Spirit will disturb, delight, deliver and lift.
When God sends forth the Spirit,
"the whole face of the earth is renewed."
When God sends forth the Spirit
chaos is changed into creation
the Red Sea opens up to a highway of freedom.
When God sends forth the Spirit:
A young woman says "Yes".
Jesus is born and
life is never the same.
When God sends forth the Spirit amazing things happen:
barriers are broken,
communities are formed,
opposites are reconciled,
unity is established,
disease is cured,
addiction is broken,
cities are renewed,
races are reconciled,
hope is established,
people are blessed,
and church happens.
Today the Spirit of God is present
and we’re gonna‚ have church.
So be ready, get ready...God is up to something...
discouraged folks cheer up,
dishonest folks ’fees up,
sour folks sweeten up,
closed folk, open up,
gossipers shut up,
conflicted folks make up,
sleeping folks wake up,
lukewarm folk, fire up,
dry bones shake up,
and pew potatoes stand up!
But most of all, Christ the Savior of all the world is lifted up...1
Yes, welcome to the Pentecost event, 2001, and now depart with God’s Holy Spirit.
Amen
1Rick Kirchoff, Germantown United Methodist Church, Opening remarks to the Memphis Annual Conference
