Pentecost

The Gift of Proclamation
Acts 2:1-21

Today is Pentecost. One of the great holy days of the church. Pentecost is often informally referred to as the birthday of the church. On Pentecost we celebrate the church’s birth. Which begs the question: How is a church born? What event constituted the birth of the church?

Many organizations trace their birth or beginning to an organizational meeting of convention. A group of people want to establish an organization so they get together, elect officers, create a constitution and draft by-laws. And an organization is born.

Or, thinking of current events, a corporation might describe its birth as an initial public offering of stock, enabling people to purchase a share, to be a part of the corporation’s life and mission.

Or maybe a building is built. A church’s birth might be identified with the completion or dedication of a church building.

None of these, of course, describe the birth of the church that we remember on Pentecost. We heard the story from Acts. What event happened on that Pentecost? God acted. God acted. The disciples were huddled together waiting. Hoping and trusting in God, but uncertain and fearful. And God acted, sending the Spirit.

The Book of Acts tells us that the Spirit came with a sound like a rushing wind and tongues, as of fire, rested upon all who were assembled there. And the effect of the Spirit was instantaneous. It’s not so much that the Spirit came that’s important. It’s what the Spirit did that matters. The effect of the Spirit on the disciples is what we should focus on. And the effect of the Spirit was to bestow the gift of proclamation. Immediately, the disciples began to proclaim the Good News to all nations… Peter, inspired and empowered, stood up to preach… The Spirit bestowed the gift of proclamation, and the church was born.

William Willimon [in the Interpretation commentary] writes about the Pentecost story in Acts:

“To those in the church today who regard the Spirit as an exotic phenomenon of mainly interior and purely personal significance, the story of the Spirit’s descent at Pentecost offers a rebuke. Luke goes to great pains to insist that this outpouring of the Spirit is anything but interior. Everything is by wind and fire, loud talk, buzzing confusion, and public debate. The Spirit is the power which enables the church to “go public” with its good news, to attract a crowd and, as we shall see in the next section, to have something to say worth hearing…. Pentecost is a phenomenon of mainly evangelistic significance.” 

Pentecost lets loose the power of proclamation. The church was born through the gift of proclamation. Certainly a phenomenon of evangelistic significance.

In the verses following today’s reading Peter rises up to preach. Remember this is Peter who not so long ago turned his back, skulked away and said of Jesus, “I do not know the man.” But the Spirit gives Peter the gift of proclamation and Peter says to all of the people gathered there:

This Jesus, a man attested to you by God with deeds of power, wonders and signs…

This Jesus, God raised up, and of that all of us are witnesses…

Therefore, let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified…

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter said to then, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him. 

Acts says that 3000 were baptized that day. The power of proclamation.

If we look at the Bible overall, descriptions of the Spirit are complex and manifold. The Spirit is described in different ways and does different things. We some of that in the epistle and Gospel for today. This sermon is not an academic treatise on the Spirit. My focus is on Pentecost, and Pentecost is about the Spirit’s gift of proclamation.

The gift of the Spirit, given at baptism, empowers, motivates, enables individuals with the power of proclamation. To be baptized means to become a proclaimer.

In a roundabout way, this leads me to think of a spiritual, I think it’s a Christmas spiritual; at least, I have it on a CD of Christmas spirituals by Odetta. I think I’ve quoted it before.

If anybody asks who you are, who you are, who you are… You tell them you’re a child of God.

And then the pronouns get muddled, which is part of the song’s grace.

Anybody ask who I am, who I am, who I am… tell them I’m a child of God. 

It’s not clear whether I’m supposed to tell them or you’re supposed to tell them. Both are good. Then there’s a verse:

Anybody ask who he is… and he is Jesus… anybody ask who he is, tell them he’s the child of God. Anybody ask who he is, who you are, who I am… Anybody ask you tell them you’re the child of God.

That’s a pretty good place to start proclamation. To proclaim yourself a child of God. To proclaim others children of God. To proclaim Jesus the child, the Son, of God. To let people know that you are a child God; to let others know that they are children of God; to let the world know that Jesus is the only Son of God.

Each of us can do that proclamation in our own voice, in our own way. Proclamation doesn’t have to be loud or eloquent or come from a pulpit. But it does have to be heard. Proclamation has to be shared with others. And each of us has some body to whom we are meant to be the proclaimer. Each of us has some opportunity into which we are meant to speak the Good News of God’s presence and love. Each of us, in some way is meant and empowered to be a proclaimer.

Just a little bit later in this service, we will baptize Ted. Among many other wondrous gifts, the Holy Spirit is bringing to Ted today his own power of proclamation. Ted’s powers of proclamation are as yet inarticulate, but the gift is given.

And we who are witnessing this baptism have at least two jobs going forward: One is to help Ted experience the truth of who he is, of who we are, and of who Jesus is. We all have a role in helping come to truly know himself a child of God, to see others as children of God and to know Jesus as God’s Son.

And we also have job to help him develop and find his own voice, his own particular calling of proclamation, a gift given him today by the Holy Spirit.

The Sixth Sunday of Easter

Beyond Our Understanding
Acts 10:44-48
Acts 8:26-40 (5 Easter)

Two questions from the Acts of the Apostles:

From last week the Ethiopian said: What is to prevent me from being baptized?

In the reading appointed for today Peter says: Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people?

Reviewing the stories just a bit. Last week we heard about the Ethiopian traveling from Jerusalem back home. On his way, he was reading the Scriptures, from the Book of Isaiah. With the help of Philip, he was converted. He came to know Jesus in his heart. Passing some water, he said to Philip, “what is to prevent me from being baptized?”

In this morning’s reading Peter is preaching to the assembled multitudes. The Holy Spirit falls upon many who heard Peter’s words, both Jews and Gentiles. They are filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter asks: “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people?”

These stories beg the question: What would prevent baptism? Who would withhold the water of baptism? Is there really something, anything, that can restrict the gift of baptism? Who would prevent or withhold baptism?

The answer is the church. The people who were the Christian church at the time the people who are the church today have the power to prevent or withhold baptism. Surely baptism is not appropriate for someone like the Ethiopian, so different from us, come from beyond the ends of the earth. And clearly, baptism should be withheld from Gentiles; God’s plan of salvation is for the Jews.

I hear these two passages from Acts in conjunction with the collect appointed for this Sunday, the Sixth Sunday of Easter:

O God, you have prepared for those who love you such good things as surpass our understanding: Pour into our hearts such love towards you, that we, loving you in all things and above all things, may obtain your promises, which exceed all that we can desire. 

God gives surpassing our understanding; God’s giving exceeds even our desires; God gives beyond our imagination. God pours gifts into the world beyond our understanding.

In these stories from Acts, God acts in the world, giving the gift of the Spirit. The Spirit blows where it will and falls on all sorts of people. The question is How will the church react? Will the people of the church—then or now—react thankfully and joyfully for the Spirits gifts? Or will the church’s reaction be restricted by the limits of our understanding or imagination?

As God pours God’s gifts into the world, the Spirit acts in others beyond our understanding. The Spirit acts in us beyond our desires. Or maybe it’s even more powerful to switch those around. The Spirit acts in others beyond our desires. The spirit acts in us beyond our understanding.

The gifts of the spirit to us and to others surpass our understanding, our desire, even our imagination. These stories are about baptism, about the exuberant inclusiveness of God’s gift of baptism. They also speak to the ongoing work of the Spirit in the life of all of the baptized community.

There’s a wonderful prayer in the Prayer Book; it’s one of my favorites. It’s often called the prayer for the seven-fold gifts of the Spirit. We say it after every baptism.

In this prayer we give thanks for the on going process of forgiveness and renewal which is God’s gift in baptism. We also pray that the newly baptized will know the seven-fold gifts of the Spirit. (Don’t try to count; it doesn’t really work.) But the gifts the Spirit gives are: an inquiring and discerning heart, the courage to will and to persevere, a spirit to know and to love God, and gift of joy and wonder in all of God’s works.

The “circumcised believers” who were listening to Peter found it very difficult to understand how God could possibly wish to bestow those gifts on Gentiles.

But the Spirit fell upon all who heard Peter’s words.

As we consider these stories we should note that they are not just about how the Spirit acts in others beyond our understanding. This is about us, too. How often have you said or heard someone say, “I don’t believe that I have the gifts for that ministry.” Or, “I cannot understand that God could be calling me to do that.” Or how often do you say, in your heart, if not out loud: “I cannot imagine that I am truly a beloved child of God, forgiven loved and free,” as the hymn says.

Pray that we may not limit or restrict the spirit. Pray that, as the collect says, we may so love God in and above all things, that we will not let our limited understanding or our individual desires or our lack of imagination hinder the spirit’s gifts others. Pray that we will never let our limited understanding, our individual desires, or our lack of imagination prevent the Spirit’s action in our own lives.

The Fifth Sunday of Easter

The Journey to Conversion
Acts 8:26-40
John 15:1-8

Several journeys are described in today’s first reading from Acts. Philip is whisked hither and yon by the Spirit of the Lord. The Ethiopian is on a journey home from Jerusalem. But the most important journey is the Ethiopian’s journey of conversion. It is a journey that begins, metaphorically at least, beyond the ends of the earth. It ends in joy. We are told after his baptism, the Ethiopian goes on his way “rejoicing.” The journey of conversion is a long journey. To get to the joy of conversion takes a long journey.

There’s a phrase commonly used in the State of Maine to describe people who are born elsewhere. Those people are “from away.” The sentiment is not unique to Maine, but as far as I know the phrase is. From away. The phrase is powerfully descriptive. There is here, and then there is every place else. And a vast distance separates Maine from “away.” Even if “away” is only a mile away in New Hampshire, it is still a vast distance from “away” to Maine.

The Ethiopian was “from away.” In New Testament times to describe someone as an Ethiopian was to describe them as exotic and mysterious. The Ethiopian had come seemingly from beyond the ends of the known world. He had traveled an unimaginably long journey to come to the place where this story begins.

We are told quite a bit about him. He was probably a man of means and power, given his position at court. Maybe he was a God-fearer (non-Jews who believed in the Hebrew God.) Scholars debate the meaning and significance of the fact that he is described as a eunuch. It may simply refer to his position as a servant of the court of Candace. And, of course, we are told he is an Ethiopian, “from away.” He has come a great distance, almost from another world.

There are several reasons other-worldliness of his origins may be important to the telling of the story in Acts. First, it speaks to the expansiveness of the Gospel’s saving power. No longer is the debate whether Jesus came just for the Jews. No longer is the efficacy and saving power of the Gospel just for the Jews and the Gentiles of Palestine. The Good News of the Gospel is for all people.

Second, this story reminds all of us of the length and significance of the journey from wherever we begin our own journey of conversion to the place where we come to know the saving joy of Christ. For all of us the journey to conversion begins in a remote and distant world.

Writing about this portion of Acts, William Willimon (Interpretation Commentary on Acts) suggests that part of what the author of Acts is trying to convey is the power (and strangeness) of the Gospel. The Gospel is not a casual or natural part of life. It is strange. The difference between the secular world and the world of the Gospel is profound. The distance from a life lived without Christ to a life lived in union with Christ is a great distance. The journey of conversion is a long and significant journey.

The contemporary writer C. S. Lewis writes about his own journey of conversion—it takes him a whole book to tell the story. It’s a long journey. The book is called Surprised by Joy. Like the Ethiopian, Lewis’ journey of conversion ends in joy.

The length and significant of the journey of conversion is important for us to ponder. Many of us were offered membership in the Body of Christ through baptism as infants. We define our life of faith as relatively comfortable, relatively regular church attendance. It does take some purpose and commitment to come to church regularly. But it is possible to be baptized, even to come to church regularly, and never make that profound journey of conversion. It doesn’t just happen. It is a long and significant journey.

For the Ethiopian conversion led to baptism. But baptism and conversion are different things, not always linked, regardless of whether you were baptized as an infant or an adult. Basically, baptism is God’s promise to us that we are God’s beloved children, and God will never abandon or forsake us.

But we must still make the journey of conversion. Conversion is what Jesus is talking about in today’s Gospel. When our hearts and souls abide in him and he in us. When we know the joy of union with God. When God’s own life suffuses ours and we share in God’s peace and purpose.

It’s a long way from the ends of the earth to joy, to this sort of union with God. It’s a long journey from a world without the grace of the Gospel to the place where we actually participate in eternal life. To make that journey takes work, perseverance and help. Our journey of conversion takes the help of others.

Philip was sent by the Spirit of the Lord to help the Ethiopian complete his journey of conversion. That’s the other important part of this story. The Spirit of the Lord sent Philip to help the Ethiopian. The Ethiopian’s journey of conversion in this story begins with reading the Scriptures. That’s one great place to begin the journey of conversion. There are other starting points… acting with compassion in outreach to others… participating in a small group dedicated to exploring spirituality. There are different roads to conversion and different starting places, but we all need help to complete the journey.

And the Spirit of the Lord will send us help. So look for it. Look for those whom the Spirit is sending to help you. You need their help on your own conversion journey.

At the risk of descending to the really trite, I want to share a joke that some of you may have heard. I’m sure there are different variations, but you’ll get the point.

There is a great flood taking place. A man is driven to the roof of his house to escape the rising water. As the waters are beginning to rise a fire fighter comes by with a ladder and offers to save the man. But the man says, “No. My trust is in the Lord. I am praying to the Lord to save me, and I know he will. I do not need your help.” So the firefighter leaves.

The waters continue to rise. A neighbor floats by in a little dinghy and urges the man on the roof to get into the boat so they can get to safety. But the man says, “No, my trust is in the Lord.  He will save me.   I do not need your help.” So his neighbor leaves him there on the roof as the waters continue to rise.

Finally, the Coast Guard arrives with a helicopter and they offer to drop a rescue basket and lift the man off the roof. The waters are lapping at his feet, but he says, “No, my trust is in the Lord.” He refuses the Coast Guard’s help.

The floodwaters continue to rise and pretty soon the man is swept away and drowns. He finds himself in heaven and he is pretty put out with the Almighty. So he says to the Lord, “Lord I trusted in you. Why didn’t you save me?” And the Lord replies: “I send you a ladder. I sent you a boat. I sent you a helicopter…” 

 Our lives are at stake. Our participation in the joy and peace of eternal life shared with God is at stake. Even for folks brought up in a Christian family and who may be regular in church attendance, the journey of conversion is still a long and often difficult journey. We can complete that journey of conversion only with the help of others. The Spirit of the Lord will send us that help. But we do have to accept it.

The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Getting to Know You
 John 10:11-18

This Fourth Sunday of Easter is informally known as Good Shepherd Sunday. Every year on this Sunday the collect and readings bring to mind the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. As we heard, Jesus himself gives us this image in the Gospel passage appointed for this day. “I am the Good Shepherd.” And, as the Good Shepherd, Jesus continues, “I know my own and my own know me.” Those are the words that catch my attention today. I know my own and my own know me.

Think about the process of getting to know someone. And it is a process. Think perhaps of a new neighbor, a randomly assigned college roommate, a new classmate or coworker, a first date. Getting to know someone doesn’t just happen all by itself and it isn’t instant. It is a process that takes some time and work and dedication. It takes intentionality, motivation, purpose to get to know someone else.

There are a number of reasons why we might make that effort, why we might be motivated to do the work of getting to know someone else. Many of the barriers of distrust and difference that separate us from one another disappear when we get to know one another. Or we might offer friendship to someone out of a compassionate sense that they could really use a friend.

Or we can do the work of getting to know someone else just simply because there is always blessing in knowing one another. Getting to know someone else always brings blessings to us. No matter who it is. Even if it is someone who would not normally come within our sphere of friendship; even if it is someone we don’t expect to like. I am always blessed for knowing you. Always.

There are all sorts of literary and cultural associations with this process of getting to know one another. The allusion that I have been absolutely unable to suppress is, of course, from The King and I. Just in case a few of you do not know the story:  Anna, a very proper young lady from England has come to Siam to teach the King’s children. And she sings a song: “Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.” A stanza or two later she sings, “Haven’t you noticed / Suddenly I’m bright and breezy? / Because of all the beautiful and new / Things I’m learning about you. / Day by day.”

Anna is bright and breezy just because she is getting to know the children. Her heart is light; her soul is filled with joy; her life is blessed. Just because she is learning new things about new people in new relationships.

That should be motivation enough, always, to do the work of getting to know other people. But there is added incentive, too, for us as Christians. In the baptismal covenant, we vow to seek the image of Christ in others. Which is to say, as we get to know others, we will discover the image of Christ. Getting to know one another is one way to get to know Christ. Not the only way, but always a reliable way to deepen our relationship with Christ.

I’ve been thinking about this in one very specific context. As I mentioned a while back, I am part of an ongoing exploration between the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy and the Diocese of Chicago about possible reunification. The group that is serving as a joint steering committee had its second meeting yesterday. And one outcome of that meeting was a commitment to work at getting to know one another—to expand the work of the committee from a small group sitting around a conference table talking about canons and procedures and risk management to include a broader effort to spend time together. To get to know one another. I’m looking forward to it.

But this morning’s Gospel and the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd are about even more than the blessings and grace we receive as we do the work of getting to know other human beings. I think there are at least two reasons we really cherish the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd. One is the comfort we receive from the assurance that Jesus cares… cares for us, guides us, protects us like a good shepherd. The other is Jesus’ statement that he knows his own. We are known. By God. God has done the work, made the effort, to get to know us.  God has done, and will always do, the work it takes to know each of us.

So there are at least two things to remember: 1) It is always worth the effort to get to know one another. We will be blessed profoundly and simply through knowing one another. And we will grow in our own knowledge of Christ. 2) We are known by God. God is fully invested in knowing us. Knowing us as his own. God always does the work to get to know us.  And God desires to be known and invites us into the process of knowing him better and better.