Acts 1:1-21
Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savoir Jesus Christ.
This is one of those rare occasions when Mother’s Day and Pentecost fall on the same Sunday. I’m confused as to whether to say Happy Mother’s Day or Happy Birthday because Pentecost is the birthday of Christianity.
So that everyone gets their share of time I’m going to talk a little about mothers and then about Pentecost.
I think it’s important to give mothers their moment of recognition. As I think back about how my wife cared for our children I have to say that motherhood is the closest thing on Earth to the selfless unconditional love Jesus showed for all of us. I have no doubt that it is that unconditional love that keeps mothers carrying on even under the most trying of circumstances.
I can also say that the intense focus of caring for her family is a heavy burden for a mother. Mom needs support from a loving husband and loving children. The years of a growing family can be very challenging on a marriage. I would encourage all husbands to pray for their wives daily. Gentlemen, if you do I think you will discover two things, first you will find it to be a more joyful experience to share in the chores of the household and second a flame will be rekindled that may have dwindled to an ember. Wives don’t be afraid to do likewise and pray daily for your husband. Nothing will do more to strengthen a relationship than prayer.
Let’s turn our attention now to the flame of Pentecost.
The second most important festival for the Jews was the Feast of Weeks the first being Passover. The festival was also known as the Feast of the Harvest and the Day of the First Fruits and it was a time of thanksgiving for the harvest. The Feast of Weeks occurred 50 days after the Sabbath of Passover. The resurrection occurred on the first day after the Sabbath of Passover, on the 40th day Jesus ascended into heaven, and 10 days later we have the first Pentecost falling on the Feast of Weeks.
The Feast of Weeks was a time when many Jews traveled to Jerusalem to give thanks at the temple. Luke recorded the Pentecost event in language that could be symbolic, even though we know him to be careful in recording factual details.
If we were to take a map and mark the places where the people listed in the reading came from we would find that these places were in a circle surrounding Jerusalem. People from all directions would be witness to the coming of the Holy Spirit and carry that good news back to their lands. The Holy Spirit came to the disciples in Jerusalem and the flowed outward in all directions. The out flowing of the Spirit was the next step of the love story God had started in Genesis with Abraham and fulfillment of the wish Moses had that the Spirit would come to everyone.
Another interesting use of words is in describing “tongues of fire” separating and coming to rest on each disciple. The word tongues could very well symbolize communication of the good news in all languages. That the good news is for all to hear, without regard to a person’s origin, or for that matter any characteristic or behavior a person may exhibit. We are all God’s creation and all need to hear of His mercy and grace.
What about the word fire. It could be that fire is a reminder to us of our Baptism. If we look back to Luke 3:16, the crowd gathered around John the Baptist, wondered if he were the Christ. John answered them, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. The disciples on the road to Emmaus described a burning within them as Jesus spoke to them. And in the Old Testament, fire is mention many times as a means of purification.
We also have a flame of purification in us and a means of communication. At our Baptism we were cleansed not just with some water but with the Holy Spirit in and with the water. The Spirit came to us to claim us as God’s children. We too feel the flame in our sense of confident in the power of Jesus.
One of the great mysteries of Christianity for me is in this account.
God who is all powerful, who sent His only Son to die to atone for our sins, and sent the Holy Spirit to dwell in each of us, is apparently resistible.
Among those hearing the good news preached to them in their own language are scoffers. Despite the miracles of Jesus, the violent wind that drew their attention to the disciples, and a group of simple Galilean fisherman suddenly preaching in many languages there are those who dismissed the disciples as drunk.
Surely God could instantly make everyone a believer but he doesn’t. Instead He works through everyday people and everyday language to spread the good news. God has worked through people through the entire Biblical record. He wants us to understand on our terms, but we don’t have the power to understand or share that understanding on our own.
Not to worry, the Holy Spirit is here to provide us the power to understand and the words to share.
For me I see that my mission is not to sit and debate about the reality of Jesus and His precious gift of salvation with unbelievers. I know it’s real the Spirit dwells in me and gives me the power to understand what a poor corrupt human cannot understand by my own reasoning. Debate will not convince anyone. We cannot convert anyone by ourselves only the Spirit can spark that flame. My mission is to live what I believe, to emulate Jesus’ love, to share in words when moved by the Spirit.
On a grander scale the mission of every congregation must be one of emulating Jesus’ love in the community. Many congregations die because they forget about the community outside of the building. They forget that their real purpose is to use their resources in a way that invites the community to be introduced to the Spirit. To reach people we need to be out there. The mission field starts at the threshold of our doors.
We can all think of many evils in this world and may even have a scale to rate them. Whether its war, corruption, famine, or one of many other plagues of this world we probably have one that is at the top of our list of the most heinous.
I think a greater evil is having resources to spread the Word and not being good stewards of those resources. We all have resources in time, talents, and treasures.
Should we live what we believe? Absolutely! Jesus was a man of action, emulating Him means taking action as He did.
We all need to pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us in the use of our time, talents, and treasures so that the good news can be shared with the dying world we live in. The out flowing of the Spirit must continue through our actions and the actions of millions of others in the Kingdom.
In the name our Risen Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
