Ignited and Empowered- Part 2
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Acts 2:1-21
2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
2:2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
2:3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
2:5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.
2:6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
2:7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
2:8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
2:9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
2:10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
2:11 Cretans and Arabs–in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
2:12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”
2:13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Notes:
- Today we are picking up the theme presented last week on Women’s Day: Ignited and Empowered. Though the notes from last week’s Women’s Day guest speaker, Dr. Jacqueline Allen Trimble, are not included on the website, I am still acknowledging our continued examination of the theme: Ignited and Empowered.
- It is Pentecost Sunday, the day in the Christian calendar when we celebrate the birth of the church. Pentecost is also a day in the Jewish calendar occurring 50 days after Passover—when the entire people of Israel were called to pause their daily activities, come to Jerusalem to celebrate the goodness of God, offering thanksgiving for the harvest. Pentecost also marked the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai.
- This ancient festival was redefined by Jesus by what happened on this particular day of Pentecost. When Jesus appeared to the disciples after his resurrection, he told them to go to Jerusalem and wait:
Luke 24: 46 begins “The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. You are witness of these things. I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”
- We read a couple of weeks ago about how when Jesus showed up after his resurrection, he said peace be with you and then breathed on them and they received the Holy Spirit. In that gesture and in the previous three years, he had been preparing them to do his work in the world. They needed a spark to ignite and empower them to do the work.
- The church is born when the Holy Spirit, the empowering spirit that Jesus promised from on high, comes upon all those believing in Jesus, enabling them to share the good news about Jesus to the end of the earth, regardless of age, gender, social status, language or dialect.
- The whole world would be reached with acts of love, peace, and justice by the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through the unified body of Christ, that became unified on that special Day of Pentecost.
- The tongues like fire represented the proclamation that was to occur and that the disciples are now empowered to do. Even Peter became a bold preacher. Converted from one who denied Jesus three times.
- As with any birthday celebration, we look backwards and forwards at the same time. Just like we can never fully recapture the awe and joy of the actual day of birth of our children, we can never fully recapture the awe of the first Christian Pentecost. But we can we can be reminded today of who we are as a church, what we proclaim, and the source of the power in proclaiming. It is not about comparing the first Pentecost to any given Sunday, but rather celebrating that we now have the power to go forth in Jesus’ name as we are connected to the True Vine which is Jesus. Birthday parties are times of celebration of what happened and allow for looking forward to what’s going to happen in the year to come.
- As I leave South Shore, I know I will still be in ministry with you because we will all still be connected to the same vine and we are all tapping into the same power of the Holy Spirit that is igniting and empowering us to share the good news and to do the work of Jesus wherever God is sending us, whether it is down the block in South Shore or to Oak Park. We are ignited, empowered, prepared and equipped to do great things for God!
- This account describes how a group that had been homogenous is set up to accommodate and even invite diversity. “All together in one place, and wind fills the “whole “house. But then every person has a tongue to light on them – this act was unifying and splintering at the same time. Those who were following Jesus were equally ignited and empowered, but not to stay where they were, but rather to reach new people perhaps in new ways and perhaps in new places.
- Isn’t that our situation today the Holy Spirit has been working with us, SS and the church more broadly speaking, throughout the pandemic and even before, and here we are prepared to experience this day in a new way. Look how we are learning new languages to share the good news—technology we had not used before, mediums and methods that were unfamiliar. The desire to follow Jesus has opened us to the touch of God in profound ways.
- As most of you know, I am being called to another part of the vineyard; and so I am celebrating God’s empowerment today to be able to speak into a new context about the glory and goodness of God.
- Jesus is the central feature to the church’s identity and authority. While some traditions may be particular to a local context, our identity goes beyond individual congregations, cultural practices, languages or dialects, or even denominations. We are one in Christ, and one in ministry to all the world until Christ comes again.
- God has been preparing us for this day for the last 10 years, South Shore. Recognize the igniting and empowering Spirit upon us and get ready to go where we are being led, thankful for where we have been and hopeful for where we are going. Amen.