Pentecost, Year A

God’s Gifted Ones

Readings: Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:24-34; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13; John 20:19-23

Pentecost, the birthday of the church, does not really celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit. That gift has always been given to God’s people. Rather it celebrates a fresh outpouring of the Spirit set loose in the world. The image in all of the passages of Scripture today is of Spirit-filled people, on fire with passion for the mission of the Church, strong people filled with gentle breath, people able to celebrate the presence of God’s Spirit in the world and in the Church. And so I wish you all a very happy, Spirit-filled birthday!

The Gospel takes us back to that first Sunday evening when the risen Saviour appeared to the disciples. He gave them a gift that day. He left them a commission and a promise. He commissioned them to witness to what they had seen and experienced and to proclaim the Gospel they had heard him preach. He promised that they would be fully equipped to accomplish the task. He promised that they would be everything they were meant to be. He offered them the peace of the justified sinner. Breathing on them he imparted to them the Holy Spirit, giving them the power to bring reconciliation and healing to a needy world.

The Acts of the Apostles recounts the fulfilling of the promise to pour out the Holy Spirit on the disciples. The Christian church was assembled for worship. A loud rushing noise was heard. The sound gave way to tongues of flame that settled on each person. They were inspired by the Holy Spirit to speak in other languages. No explanation was possible for the newfound ability. The onlookers, bewildered by the happenings, attributed it to drunkenness. It is for us to know and understand. They are people filled with God's gentle breath. They are people who know that God’s power is within them. They are people able to celebrate the presence of God's Spirit in the world and in the church.

Pentecost is about the gift of God’s grace poured in its rich abundance into our lives. Paul speaks to the people of Corinth about how God’s gifts are being manifested in their lives. He reminds them that their gifts are not for their own benefit, but for the common good. Paul knew that the community would thrive if everyone’s gifts were being affirmed and used. Only then, he knew, would there be the kind of energy in the Christian community that would carry them, that would help them to look beyond themselves to those who needed their help. It would be through their loving service to others that the Spirit would bring renewal and fresh insights. It would be through their openness to God’s grace that ministry would flourish. And so it was! We hear over and over again in the Acts of the Apostles that the Church grew with new converts. That is strongly the message that we need to take away with us today as we celebrate new beginnings, new beginnings for four people who will receive the sacrament of baptism, new beginnings for me as I move into a new phase in my life, new beginnings for you as you take on the process of finding a new priest, new beginnings too as you assume responsibility for the Lutheran space.

It is especially fitting that baptism should be part of our celebration today. The message of Pentecost is the message of baptism. Baptism is the fulfillment in our lives of God’s promise to be with us, to indwell us. That same Spirit given to the followers of Jesus is unloosed in our lives. God’s free gift of grace is given to each of us in baptism. The question is what will we do with it? What is our baptismal gift? What is it about those being baptized today that is essentially and truly their gift now to the church that will always be their gift to the church? There are three children who have been brought by their parents and sponsors for baptism. It is your job as sponsors and as a parish to help these children in the ongoing process of discerning what gifts God has given to them. John, being an adult, begins a discernment process of his own. As this parish embraces him in his new life in Christ, hopefully he will discern what gifts God has given him, and what God is calling him to do. As you renew your baptismal covenant hopefully it will remind you that it is your responsibility to use the gifts that God has given you for the common good.

I have been conscious this past month of the many things I am doing here for the last time. I look back on events that give me a great deal of satisfaction and joy.
• Confirmation classes filled with young people questioning, exploring.
• Baptismal preparation lead by the laity of our parish
• Youth Group meetings that have often worn me out but have at the same time miraculously kept me feeling young.
• Amazing Vacation Bible Schools and Children’s festivals.
• Easter Vigils
• St. Francis Day with its Blessing of the Animals
• Contemporary music leaving us all dancing
• Lenten Studies
• Holy Week services
• The fellowship as we come together at Christmas to wrap gifts and fill hampers to overflowing with food
• The beauty of this holy place as we gather Sunday by Sunday
• The diversity of our congregation
• Services in Seniors residences

I look back on some sad, even tragic events in our lives as well. I remember some special people who were part of our community who died and whose lives we have celebrated. And I know as I ponder all of these things that the people of the parish of St. Francis of Assisi will always have a special place in my heart.

And I look back on you your gifts and talents. Especially I look back at the gift that you have been to me. You have allowed me into your lives when you were at your most vulnerable. I have laughed with you. I have cried with you. I have struggled with you over your faith issues. I can never express what it has meant week after week to see your faces intent on the message I am attempting to convey through my preaching. I have seen Christ in you as you came forward to receive the sacraments. You have no idea what it has meant to me to receive a phone call asking for prayer. It reminds me of the strength of the prayer ministry we share.

I have watched this parish grow in faith. I have seen you take up the challenge of sharing ministry in a less than ideal situation. I have seen your ability to accept new ways of doing things. I have seen acts of generosity as you committed yourselves to the ongoing work, not only of the parish but of meeting the needs of the greater community. I am proud of what you have accomplished as a parish. You have fed me. You have nurtured me.

And so we come to this day, not my very last day in the parish, but the day we have chosen to say a formal farewell. It is rather like waiting for a plane to take off, isn’t it? You rather dread the moment that the person heads into the departure lounge. You stand at the gate until they are out of sight. You may even go up to the observation deck to watch as the plane taxis out to the runway and then finally lifts off the ground. But eventually the time comes for you to get on with your life here and look to tomorrow with hope, expectation and love.
That is what I expect this parish will do. You will embrace the future of this place so that it will be everything that God wants it to be. You will use your gifts and talents for the common good. You will continue to embody the Holy Spirit. You will live out your Baptismal Covenant. You will live out our mission statement.

“Together we are walking with and celebrating the spirit of St. Francis on a journey of worship, service, fellowship and peace”