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”

Pentecost, Year C

An Eyewitness Account

Readings: Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25-35; Romans 8:14-17; John 14:8-17, 25-27

"I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever." That is what Jesus told us just before he ascended. “The Spirit of truth will be in you. It was clear to all of us. We knew even as Jesus was speaking to us that we would not be left alone. God’s Spirit would be with us, working in us, helping us in our daily lives. The same spirit that guided Jesus in everything he did would dwell in us. Jesus even thought that we, those he taught, those of us who walked with him during those wonderful days of his ministry in Galilee, he actually thought that we would be able to accomplish even more than he himself had been able to do. He healed the sick. He made the lame walk. I even saw him raise Lazarus from the dead. And he said that we would do even greater things than he himself had done!

We couldn’t even imagine it! We had been so afraid of what would happen to us in those days following his death and Resurrection. And then he would be there, filling the room with that wonderful sense of peace that we had always sensed around him. What a joy it was to see him again, to be with him. We had all hoped that he would never leave again. So when he told us that he was leaving, when we realized we were losing him all over again, it was heartbreaking. But Jesus said that we would be God filled. Even as he was saying it, my heart stirred with anticipation. I know how badly the world is in need of Jesus’ transforming grace. He did so much in the short time he was with us. To be able to continue that work would be wonderful.

Jesus told us to wait for the fulfillment of his words. While we were still grieving his departure from us, still it filled us with such excitement. Small groups of us were gathering whenever we could for prayer and to support one another. We would share the good things that were happening in our lives. We would break bread together as Jesus had taught us. It was not very long afterward, just a few days, actually on the day of Pentecost that the whole community of Christians got together. There must have been fifty of us in one small room. You will never believe what happened next. It started with a roaring sound. Like a rushing wind. It was so loud that it filled the whole house. The house shook with the power of the wind. Then I saw it. It was hovering over Thomas. A flame of fire! Then I noticed that it was not just over Thomas. It was over each one of us. And we were transformed. It was amazing to see. We knew immediately that it was exactly what Jesus had promised. The Holy Spirit had been given to us.

And that is only the beginning. The rest of the story is equally amazing. We felt empowered to leave the safety of our meeting place. We headed out into the streets of Jerusalem. You know we have been afraid to proclaim our beliefs. We have been afraid to say too much about Jesus’ Resurrection. But here we were, speaking to anyone who would listen. The look on peoples' faces as we all poured out of that little house. Then I found myself talking to a man from Mesopotamia. You know how shy I am. And yet there I was talking to a complete stranger about Jesus. And you know what? He could understand what I was saying. He kept saying to me, “You're not Mesopotamian. Where did you learn to speak my language?” I looked around me. All around the square were clusters of people listening to us talking about Jesus. There were people from all over the world. Asia, Pamphylia, Egypt, Lybia. They all understood what we were saying. They all heard the story about Jesus’ death and Resurrection. Some people actually thought we were drunk. I can certainly understand why.

Then Peter got up and preached. You should have heard him. What a powerful sermon it was! He explained that we were not drunk, but that God’s Holy Spirit had filled us, not with new wine, but with the wine of Christ. So many people turned to Christ that day.

But you know, it was not just about that day. It has made such a difference in my life. I simply cannot explain it to you. It is as if all the gifts that I have had my whole life have suddenly come to fruition. I am no longer tongue tied when it comes to sharing my faith. I see the same change in my friends and family. Our little Christian community is growing by leaps and bounds. It is a constant reminder to us that Jesus is alive and victorious. It is an affirmation that God's promises are true.

That is a fictional account of what might have taken place on Pentecost. Pentecost is an important event in the life of every Christian. We all need to find a way to express what happened at Pentecost in our lives. Jesus makes it clear that, just as the Spirit was made available to the disciples, so the Spirit would be with us working in us. We too are called to be enthused with the Spirit, to be God filled.

The experience of Pentecost is about how we begin to express that in our lives. Sometimes there are no words to express what we want to say about God. We grope for the right words. We sit in silence and soak in the beauty of a sunset. We dance. We sing. We pray. We express the Spirit in whatever way is right for us.

Do we really know that the Spirit is in us? The Spirit waits to be released and used as the greatest resource for living that we possess. Pentecost is about the energy and strength that come from being enlivened by God’s Spirit. It is about freedom from fear. It is about releasing us from being tongue tied about the faith. It is about the power to transform lives. It is about celebrating the diverse ways in which God’s Spirit works.

But most of all, it is about doing greater things than Jesus did. “The one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these.” Can we even comprehend that? It is not enough to simply go on thinking that what we do is enough. Jesus healed the sick. He ate and drank with outcasts and sinners. He freed people from bondage.

We all have Spiritual gifts. If we used our gifts as God would have us, they could transform the world. The mark of a gift of God is its ability to transform those it touches. Which gifts can you identify in yourself? Which gifts can you see in others in our community? Reflect for a moment about the gift that is yours. Is it your gift to bring joy or hope to others? Do you have a gift of compassion? Are you one who easily encourages others and brings out the best in them? Do you bear the prophetic word? Do you have a dream for this place? Are you a visionary?

Whatever your gift, I encourage you to name it. Write it down on the piece of paper in your bulletin and place it on the offering plate. No one will read it. It will simply be offered in thanksgiving. Our gifts are the means of transformation for God’s creation. God continues through the Spirit to teach us, to be with us, to bring peace. Amen.