Acts 2:1-21
When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one
place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled
the entire house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be individual
flames of fire alighting on each one of them. They were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to
speak.
There were pious Jews from every nation under heaven living
in Jerusalem. When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered. They were mystified
because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages. They were
surprised and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all the people who are speaking
Galileans, every one of them? How then can each of us hear them speaking in our
native language? Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; as well as residents of
Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia,
Egypt and the regions of Libya bordering Cyrene; and visitors from Rome (both
Jews and converts to Judaism), Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the
mighty works of God in our own languages!” They were all surprised and
bewildered. Some asked each other, “What does this mean?” Others jeered at
them, saying, “They’re full of new wine!”
Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his
voice and declared, “Judeans and everyone living in Jerusalem! Know this!
Listen carefully to my words! These people aren’t drunk, as you suspect; after
all, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! Rather, this is what was spoken
through the prophet Joel:
In the last
days, God says,
I will pour out
my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young will see visions.
Your elders will dream dreams.
Even upon my servants, men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those
days,
and they will prophesy.
I will cause
wonders to occur in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.
The sun will be
changed into darkness,
and the moon will be changed into blood,
before the great and spectacular day of
the Lord comes.
And everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Two of our greatest church holidays have become as much secular holidays as
church holidays. Christmas and Easter. If you asked many children what
Christmas is, it would be the day Santa comes. If you asked many children what
Easter is, it would be the day that the Easter Bunny comes. So I wondered, if
somehow Pentecost became a secular holiday, and you asked children what
Pentecost was, who are what would they say comes? Obviously the religious
answer is the Holy Spirit, just like the religious answer for Christmas is
Jesus’ birth, and the religious answer for Easter is Jesus’ resurrection.
But if society were to claim this holiday, what sort of slant would it
take? My deepest fear is that it would become like St. Patrick’s day an excuse
for getting drunk. So our mascot for the day would be drunk uncle Peter with a
flaming red alcoholic drink in his hand. I actually have an uncle Peter, and I
must apologize deeply to him, because he certainly doesn’t fit this awful slur
in his name, but my thought was that people would misapply the appearance of
the Peter the disciple in this passage, and the idea that he was drunk on new
wine as he speaks. Even though he isn’t drunk at all, but rather filled with
the Holy Spirit.
I’m not entirely sure why I took that stupid jaunt down “how could we ruin
Pentecost lane.” Except that it can be helpful to force ourselves to look at
what a holiday is really about and not take it for granted. Every year, I
preach on this passage, just like every year I preach pretty much the same
passages for Christmas and Easter, and so we could get lost in the monotony. We
could lose track of what is important.
Today reminds us that the disciples are transformed from lost, scared, and
relatively clueless followers of Jesus – into preachers, teachers and leaders
of the church.
When we listen to his sermon it can be easy to forget that not that long
ago Peter was a fisherman. Not that long ago, Peter struggled to understand
Jesus’ teachings. Not that long ago, Peter was rebuked by Jesus for trying to
talk him out of dying on the cross. Not that long ago, Peter denied knowing
Jesus – three times. Yet, on this day, Peter is confident, he is well-spoken,
he is willing to talk about his faith in Christ, and he explains a confusing
and strange miracle, and even is able to quote scripture to help that
explanation. Peter is clearly transformed.
Pentecost reminds us, that we too can be transformed. Even if we start out being
a people who struggle to understand Jesus’ teachings, who are utterly dependent
upon Jesus, and still sometimes get it wrong; the Holy Spirit can transform us
common folk.
I remember the first time I went to a bible study in college. The other
people there all understood so much. They knew the stories of Jesus, they could
quote chapters and verses, and could talk about their faith in ways that made
sense. I couldn’t. I felt so unworthy in their presence. I felt like an idiot,
or an infant in their midst. And yet, God did not leave me there. God was able
to take that young man and put me in a pulpit, where every Sunday, I strive to
bring the messages of God to you. That was transformation. At least I hope –
maybe you still think I’m an idiot – but hopefully I am at least a more
faithful idiot than I used to be.
Today reminds us that, like Peter, we are transformed from inept people who
really don’t get faith, into a people who continue Jesus’ work. We are
entrusted with carrying the good news to the world. If God could use Peter, inept uncle Peter, to
preach the good news, to heal a crippled beggar, and in fact to raise a girl
from the dead. God can use us. I like the way one person said it: “God did all
of this through a recently converted fisherman who struggled with his faith.
The God who used Peter can do the same with every other believer. Like Peter,
God saved you and he is transforming you. God can accomplish great things
through you regardless of your background or personal struggles.”
Yes, that’s Pentecost!
In a sense today is about growing up, and become mature people of God, who
join in the work. It is acknowledging that such a transformation is miraculous,
as we watch inept uncle Peter become the rock upon which Christ builds the
church. And that happens not just to the disciples but to the whole church. It
happens to pastors as we mature from green youngsters who don’t know better,
into elders who hopefully are wiser. It happens to church members as we grow
from being well-meaning but somewhat clumsy leaders to true saints who are
examples of faith to us all.
Think of it like this: One afternoon, a man, lying in a canoe close to
shore, saw many beetles in the muddy bottom of the lake.
“He felt sorry for these lowly creatures which would never know any other
world except gloom and mud and water. Then a big, black beetle came out of the
water.” It “crawled up on the gunwale and sat there blinking at him. Under the
heat of the sun the beetle died. Then a strange thing happened. His black shell
cracked down the back. Out of it came a shapeless mass whose hideousness was
transformed into a beautiful, brilliantly colored life. Out of that mass
gradually unfolded four iridescent wings from which the sunlight flashed a
thousand colors. The wings spread wide as if to worship the sun. The man
realized that he had witnessed the transformation of a hideous” dragonfly larva
that look so much like beetles “crawling in the mud” as it changed “to a
gorgeous dragonfly soaring above the waters. The body that was left behind still
clung to the gunwale of the canoe. While the dragonfly explored the wonders of
his wings and his new world, the other” larva “were still crawling in the mud.
He knew that he had seen a miracle of nature. Out of the mud had come a
beautiful new life. The thought occurred to him, if the Creator worked such
wonders with the lowliest of creatures, what must be in store for” humanity who
are created in God’s likeness!
The good news is that God is always working on miraculous transformations
within us, but we must be open to receiving the tongues of fire, the breath of
the Spirit, the cracking of our shells.
It may not be quite as quick as that which happened on Pentecost, but God
can work within us, we can find new gifts for ministry, new roles in the church
that bring life to the world around us! So take hope from this day. If inept
Peter can become the rock, you and I just might have a future in faith too!
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