Sermon from 6/4/2017
It is the Festival of First Harvest-fifty days after Passover, to give thanks for the harvest. It was also ten days after Jesus ascension. In the book of Acts we are about to see the fruit of the first harvest is about to begin. There are many people there….many.
This idea of many caught my imagination. Actually I should say it caught my reality in the past two weeks as I experienced Iowa City, Chicago, mid-town and down-town, Dayton Ohio, even small Tipp City Ohio. There were many. Many people, they were everywhere! Coming out of the wood-work. You just stared and wondered what could they all being doing? What was their job? Their family? They interest? Their values? How could there be that many stories in the world? My daughter and her family live “out”-near the small town of Tipp City. Yet more cars go past her house then go past Belleville on 81—and fast too. And so many cars, bumper to bumper traffic. Car horns are like a sport in downtown Chicago!
Many-when you begin to see past the sheer numbers you realized there were many cultures, many languages, contexts, homeless, workers, vacationers, blue collared, white collared, all of that and more. All around me so many, just so many people, stories, cultures….so many. Such diversity, more than I can even comprehend.
As we were driving home I begin wandering-was vacation my Pentecost lesson? All that diversity, all those numbers of peoples…yet we were all in it together. The four guys next to us at the concert were out to hear some good music and enjoy each others company, as we were. The people having loud conversations on their phones, earbuds in, are just trying to communicate and get through their day. The blind beggar, shaking is cup for change was just looking for his next meal, like me. Even my own kids and family, just doing what they do to live and to love.
So many, so diverse, yet just making their way through life.
Not much different than our Acts scripture. But then a rush of Spirit, tongues of fire, and many languages, and many understanding. “Amazed and perplexed” Peter spoke, he told God’s story. Many asked what should we do-many repented, many were baptized. 3000! That’s many.
This is a story that we are to treasure and to store in our hearts. For despite the access to information, we find ourselves hearing so much, an array of competing voices. The voices are all claiming to speak truth, however many are misleading and trying to obscure things using false evidence, and outright lies.
Last year-The word of the year as selected by Oxford English Dictionary was “post-truth.
Our world relies on some common language. That is how we discuss import issues. But in the last years we have move toward a word of “post-truth”. Everything is based on personal feelings in regards to what is best and an ability to change things can be without any evidence.
Do you remember the story of Babel?
Pentecost gives God’s people to have the power that reverses the confusion of Babel. The Holy Spirit comes to give us unity, to make us into community, to birth the church, God’s family, Jesus body on earth. The Holy Spirit empowered on Pentecost to take MANY and make them one, one family, one body, one unity. As children of God we are a community of family that gathers for worship, praise, to share sacraments, to share the Word and to share our mission, mercy and love to all-to many.
Paul writes in Galatians-in the 4th chapter regarding our becoming children of God through the Spirit. He continues in chapter5 describing our life in the Spirit. Not a “life of flesh” or a life of selfish desires. Paul says the acts of selfish motives are obvious.
In contrast there is life in the Spirit-which produces the fruit of the spirit.
With the reversal of the Babel and the pulling apart of the people-God gave God’s Holy Spirit to the very people who were separated to unite them. The Holy Spirit came to many to give the gift of unity even in diversity. Many came together as family crying out Abba, Father—empowered by the Holy Spirit, blessed to be the bearers of fruit.
Folks this is not history-this is life in the Sprit. This is today that the Holy Spirit comes, that the Holy Spirit is in the house. But is not for kicks and thrills.
It is to empower us with speech, language, story….the Holy Spirit is in us so that we can tell the story. Peter on that Pentecost day preached, told the story and 3000 were brought into the community that day. What can happen if this day with the filling of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and in we as the church if we share the story—of God’s love, of God’s only Son, of Jesus life, of Jesus teachings and his love. What if we share the story of the resurrecting power and the power of the Holy Spirit to even one that we meet, to one that needs to hear of that love, of that power, of that saving action, the hope and the peace the HS promises.
If just even one-it would be many who would hear. The fruits of the Sprit are many-
Love Joy Peace Faithfulness Gentleness Self-control…..
The church that Paul spoke of was not perfect, they were trying to figure it out and certainly they did not all agree. Paul said-if we live by the Spirit, let us be guided by the Spirit.
The Pentecost Spirit of God will empower many….many….many, each day we speak the story, speak the love of God to all we meet.