May 19, 2013 Day of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.
    5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12 Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
13 Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine.[b]"
14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
    17" 'In the last days, God says,
      I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
   Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
      your young men will see visions,
      your old men will dream dreams.
    18 Even on my servants, both men and women,
      I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
      and they will prophesy.
    19I will show wonders in the heaven above
      and signs on the earth below,
      blood and fire and billows of smoke.
    20 The sun will be turned to darkness
      and the moon to blood
      before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
    21 And everyone who calls
      on the name of the Lord will be saved.


Something was set loose in our world on that first Pentecost - just as surely as a Babe was born on Christmas and a resurrection happened on Easter.  That something we call the Holy Spirit - the energy of God set loose in our lives and in our world.

The first, last and greatest gift of the Holy Spirit is our faith.

A primary evidence of the Holy Spirit is that we hear one another - really hear one another.  As Walter Brueggeman says, the Holy Spirit give us “a fresh capacity to listen.”

To risk hearing is to risk being changed and challenged to do things differently.

A second strong evidence of the Holy Spirit is that we understand difference and embrace it, even celebrate it.

God loves us with an unending love, and God expects us to be caught up not in making a name for ourselves, but in making His name known and celebrating the beautiful diversity which makes up the colors and design of the human race.

To this end the Holy Spirit is at work in our lives and in our world.

 “In Remembrance Of ...”  John 14:23-31a

We humans have the great capacity to remember, which both enriches and empowers our lives.

God’s spirit works in and through our capacity to remember.  God calls to our remembrance that which we have known and loved in the past so we can be better equipped to live in the present.

This is what Pentecost is all about.  Remembering what has been so we can be more alive in what is yet to be.  We are not to live in the past; we are to remember it and be empowered to live in the present, doing what we are called to do in the context of our day, living creatively today with the promised help of the Holy Spirit, daring to try new things, even change old things.