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WIND AND
FIRE THE REV. JOHN E. KITAGAWA ____ THE DAY OF PENTECOST:
WHITSUNDAY ___ ACTS 2: 1-21 ROMANS 8: 14-17 JOHN 14: 8-17, 25-27
P.O. VOICE: 520-299-6421 FAX: 520-299-0712 E-MAIL: WEB SITE: WWW.STPHILIPSTUCSON.ORG |
The Holy Spirit came to Jesus at his Baptism and remained with him
throughout his earthly ministry. On the
day of Pentecost, the same Spirit was conferred upon the community of
disciples – to remain with them forever[1].
Last evening, at the Pentecost Vigil service, the Holy Spirit was
conferred through Holy Baptism, and four babies were made Christ’s own forever. Sometime in our past, the Holy Spirit came
to us through Holy Baptism with the promise to remain with us forever. Note the Pentecost narrative
specifically reports that tongues of fire settled on each of the gathered
disciples, not just one or a few, but all.
Thus, all the disciples shared in the gifts of the Spirit (Acts 2:
3-4). No one was left out. Unlike the narratives of the Hebrew
Scriptures, the conferring of these gifts of the divine Spirit was not
temporary, not just for the performing of a specific task, and not just to be
a leader through a specific crisis. On
the day of Pentecost, the disciples received gifts of the Spirit that would
remain with them for the rest of their lives[2]. According to scholars, the
prophet Joel had prophesied about the pouring of the God’s Divine Spirit upon
all flesh. The events of Pentecost are
seen as fulfillment of that prophecy.
However, whereas in Joel’s circumstance the outpouring of the Spirit
was a prelude to disaster, the Pentecost outpouring of the Spirit is an
indication of God’s purpose of redemption for all humanity[3]. Former Presiding Bishop
Frank Griswold characterizes Pentecost as “the celebration of God’s fullness,
imagination and love”[4]. He comments on the disciples immediately
bursting forth in words of praise in languages that they did not know[5]. Griswold is struck that through the power
of the Holy Spirit, the disciples were able to be understood by “Parthians, Medes, Elamites,
residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia” (Acts 2: 9ff).
Writes our former Primate: This says to me that God profoundly respects and honors difference
and the experience of “otherness” is part of the mystery of creation. Griswold then reflects on the hope and challenge of Pentecost, that
is, despite the variety of the social, cultural and political realities that
separate us, by virtue of receiving the same Holy Spirit, [we] were made one. Grounded in this belief, Griswold senses a particular calling to the
Church. I see how the ways of the Spirit are finely tuned to the particular
complexities of each of our lives, and to the burdens we bear, such that each
one of us has been given particular grace to live in their own circumstances.
This for me is a message of Pentecost.
By entering into one another’s realities and trying to see from the
perspective of the other, our encounter with Christ is vastly enlarged and
our sense of God’s all-embracing presence is confirmed. Griswold then suggests what we might take with us from our Pentecost
celebration. For me, it is a deeper awareness of otherness and difference, not as
threat but as potential revelation—revelation of the ever-expansive mystery
of the divine imagination, in which the Risen Christ continually confronts me
and calls me forth into new spaces of discovery and being[6]. Unlike the original disciples, I have not had dramatic Pentecost experiences that lead to immediate outbursts and outpourings of the Spirit. I have not experienced the kinds of winds described in the Book of Acts. No fires have rested upon my head without burning me. Perhaps I have too many defense mechanisms, or perhaps I am overly enamored with my sense of self. Perhaps, like most introverts, I have to mull things over before going into action. For me, liberation and freedom are at at the heart of the Pentecost experience. |
“Liberation is from something
or someone. Freedom is for someone or something”[7]. For me, these are slow internal processes
rather than instant conversions. The
gift of the Holy Spirit makes it possible for me to be liberated from the past,
to be relieved of the burden of past mistakes, to be forgiven through
repentance. The gift of the Holy Spirit
makes it possible for me to be liberated from an egocentric life, to listen
more deeply to others, and to become freer to act in solidarity with the poor
and oppressed. The gift of the Holy
Spirit makes it possible for me to be liberated from making decisions out of
fear, and freer to make decisions in accordance with what I discern in
community to be the priorities and values of the Gospel.
I began by pointing out the
communal nature of the Pentecost experience.
The disciples were gathered together for the Jewish Feast of the Weeks. Originally, an agricultural celebration of
the first fruits of the grain harvest, it had become a commemoration of the
giving of the Law to Moses at Sinai. The
Gospel text is intentionally specific about the flames resting above the heads
of all present. In some lectionary
cycles, the Pentecost story in the Acts of the Apostles is paired with I
Corinthians 12. That passage expands on
the theme of spiritual gifts. It speaks
of the variety of spiritual gifts, and of their common source in the same
Spirit. Key to this discussion of
spiritual gifts are two essential concepts. The first is God’s intention that
these gifts be exercised for the common good.
The second is that no member of the Body of Christ, no matter how
gifted, is more important to the functioning of that Body, than anyone else;
and, none less important than anyone else.
Translation: every one of you has
been gifted by the Holy Spirit, and every gift is important to the healthy
functioning of this Body of Christ known as St. Philip’s Parish. From time to time some of you have told me
you do not know what your gifts of the Spirit are. Start your discernment with this question:
“What skills or capacities do I have to contribute to the common good?” Or, “What skills or capacities do I have to
contribute to the healthy functioning of St. Philip’s Parish?” Or, “What skills or capacities do I have to
further the mission and ministries of St. Philip’s Parish?” Or, “What skills or capacities do I have for
doing God’s work in the world?”
As I draw to end of this
sermon on the celebration of God’s fullness, imagination and love, I want to
emphasize the importance of the community aspect of Pentecost by sharing a
story:
It was a Saturday evening in the summer. The family of four was on vacation. The sky was dark … The night air was
cool. The family gathered around a
blazing, crackling campfire. The burning
embers were alive with heat and light.
It was a perfect vacation evening.
The daughter interrupted the evening’s mellow mood. “Do we really have to go to church tomorrow?”
she complained. “This is supposed to be
a vacation. Church is not vacation!”
Her younger brother was happy to join this complaint and added
emphatically, “That’s right! Going to
church is not fair!”
The mother and father exchanged glances. It was the mother who answered her
children. “Each of you take your
marshmallow stick [,] pull one of the embers out and leave it at the edge of the
fire. Then just sit still, and watch
awhile.”
My brother and I followed our mother’s instructions. While we sat, watching our burning embers, we
noticed that they began to change … they changed from brilliant, glowing
yellow-white to deep dark orange … to dull red … and with each change, I
realized my ember was dying.
I could see that the glowing, burning embers in the midst of the fire
were still dancing with heat and light and life. But I could also see that my lonely ember,
sitting on the edge of the fire, was slowly losing all its color and all its
light and all its life.
Mother spoke again. “This fire
is like the church. … The burning embers
are like each one of us. When we gather
together in community, we glow with fire and life, just like the embers in the
middle of the fire. But when we are
pulled apart, we are like the embers you pulled to the edge of the fire. We lose our light and life … we begin,
individually, to die”[8].
AMEN.