Acts 2

Pentecost had been celebrated by the people of God for generations when today’s story took place

At Pentecost there was the celebration of the harvest

God had given the people the fertile earth, the sun and the rain to nourish the plants

And when the people gathered the harvest they gave thanks to God

Just as much as the instruction to show thanksgiving was the instruction to leave gleanings in the field for the widowed, the orphaned and the wanderer to collect

The gleanings were a reminder that under God all people are united

The gleanings were a reminder that God cared for all the earth

There were not some people who God loved, and others who were beneath notice

One of the ways God’s people would show compassion was to leave gleanings Pentecost had always had this particular reminder that God cared for all

Now, on this special Pentecost, the day of the giving of the Spirit

The giving of many languages was another way that God showed that the gospel was for all without distinction

This is a great story

The telling of how the spirit came down upon the earth

There was a strong wind

There were tongues of fire

And the apostles spoke in many languages

How do we get the excitement of that original Pentecost into the lives of modern Christians?

Rev. Dr. Thomas Long, a minister of PCUS tells the following story

Many years ago, when I was the brand new pastor of a small church, I announced to my congregation one Sunday,

"Next Sunday morning at ten o'clock, I'm going to start a pastor's church school class on the basics of the Christian faith.

If you are new to the faith, or if you would like a refresher course in the faith, I invite you to join me next Sunday at ten."

The next week, I went to my classroom expecting to greet a throng, and I was immediately disappointed.

There were only three elementary school children, three little girls, waiting on me for the class.

I tried to hide my disappointment and over the next few weeks to do the best I could to teach them about the Christian faith.

The week before Pentecost Sunday, I said to them, "Do you girls know what Pentecost is?"

They didn't.

So, I said, "Well, Pentecost was when the church was seated in a circle and tongues of fire came down from heaven and landed on their heads and they spoke the gospel in all the languages of the world."

Two of the little girls took that rather calmly, but one of them got her eyes as big as saucers.

And when she could finally speak, she said, "Reverend Long, we must have been absent that Sunday!"

The beautiful thing about that is not that she misunderstood.

The beautiful thing is that she thought it could have happened in our church,

That God's Spirit could have come even to our little congregation and given us a word to speak that the world desperately needs to hear.

The arrival of the Spirit in power can happen in our church and has been happening for ever so long

There is even a prayer to the Holy Spirit asking for the Spirit’s presence

I first learned it when I became involved with Cursillio

Cursillio is a movement that is designed to help people serve God more fully

The prayer to the Holy Spirit is used in the Cursillio gatherings

“Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth.
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, Through Christ Our Lord, Amen.”

I thought this was a prayer written for and by Cursillio

I had never directed a prayer to the Holy Spirit before

I had prayed to God through Jesus

I understood that the spirit had been sent to be with believers in Jesus’s absence

I knew that the Trinity was Father, Son and Spirit

The three being the same in substance and equal in power and glory

But I had never directed a prayer to the Spirit

After having come away with what I thought was something completely new

I found out that the prayer to the Holy Spirit is a very old prayer that has been part of the Roman Catholic practice for years and years

People have been praying for the fire of the spirit’s love for generations

Pentecost and the giving of the spirit are not new

The giving of the Spirit is something that God has been talking about for eons

Peter in his Pentecost day sermon quotes the prophet Joel, who tells about those who will have the spirit poured upon them so that they could prophecy.

Those who prophecy are those who take God’s message to the people

If you were God and you were picking the best person to pass on an important message, who would you ask to do that?

Someone with education perhaps, who demonstrated the ability to listen well and to accurately repeat what had been told or written

Someone who would be healthy and would not be distracted by the aches of age

Someone who was respected in the community and who would be heeded

In the prophet Joel, here is the list of the people upon whom God would pour down spirit

Sons and daughters

Young men

Old men

Slaves, both men and women

It is through the vulnerable that God chooses to work

We read this passage in Acts each year at about this time

We remember that the Holy Spirit came down in Pentecostal power

We try to understand how the spirit is present today when we are without such attention-getting manifestations

Or we try to understand if the charismatic gifts of the spirit, that some continue to exhibit, are genuine

If God is powerful and exciting how is it that the way we experience God is so polite?

Is there anything from the story in Acts that is similar to the way we worship today?

The greatest truth for us to take from this story is not how the spirit is manifest

But that the spirit is manifest

The narrative in Acts can seem to be like one of the stories we read about in our Sunday school papers as children

Something that happened a long time ago, but that does not take place that way now

We may ask “How is God’s spirit present in light of continued mistrust between races?”

Or “How can the world produce such evil if we are made in God’s image?”

In the face of such questions, we know that we are given the Spirit to help us to grow

To help us to do the things God has asked of us

To help bring about the Kingdom of God here and now

This will not happen quickly

And it may happen in a way other than the way we think it should

That is to say

God does things as he sees fit

We are given the sprit to be with us day by day

We are given the direction to love as Jesus has loved us

To help us to be the people of God we are given the spirit of God

And the spirit has various manifestations

Which are: wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, awe of God, joy in the presence of God

Wisdom

We sing breath on me breath of God, fill me with life anew

That I may love what you love and do what you would do

Our reading in Acts has the spirit descending on the disciples like a strong wind

Wind does indeed have great power

A strong enough wind can take the roof off a building

It can knock over trees with deep roots

Such a force may be needed to wipe out old ideas and make room for the fresh ones that God has for us

The spirit of God gives wisdom, which can help us in this regard

Wisdom is not the same as knowledge

We can increase our knowledge on our own steam

Through the use of various media it is quite easy to learn more and more facts

What we do with that information indicates how wise we are

We read in Proverbs

Fools despise wisdom and instruction Prov. 1: 7

Acquire wisdom! Acquire understanding! Prov. 4:5

Here is an example of one who was learning to be wise

Two teachers were once applying for the same Vice-Principal position at a local high school.

One had been teaching a total of 8 years and the other a total of 20.

Everyone expected the teacher with the greater experience to get the job,

But when a decision was made it was the person with 8 years teaching who was chosen.

The teacher overlooked for the job complained bitterly – “I’ve got 20 years teaching to her 8″ he cried. “I’m vastly more qualified.”

The School Board’s reply went like this:

“Yes sir, you do have 20 years teaching to her 8,

but where she has 8 years’ experience you have 1 year’s experience repeated 20 times.”

Simply experiencing the passage of time doesn’t mean we have grown or learned from those things we experience during that time.

God’s gift of wisdom helps us to use knowledge in changing times

Understanding

Understanding may be thought of as similar to wisdom

It may be thought of as being able to assimilate knowledge

To be able to judge what is good and useful

But we do know that as people we don’t always make good choices with the knowledge we have

For example these are some statements that famous people have made:

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” – Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.” – Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us.” – Western Union internal memo, 1876.

“The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?” – David Sarnoff’s associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.

“The concept is interesting and well-formed, but in order to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.” – A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith’s paper proposing reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)

“Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible.” – Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.

“Everything that can be invented has been invented.” – Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899.

“X-rays will prove to be a hoax” Lord Kelvin, President of the Royal Society, 1893.

In the face of human understanding Proverbs says:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding

In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight 3:5-6

It seems the fall back for people is to keep spinning our wheels

Even when there is something good looking at us, we can miss what is right in front of our faces

From time to time there are a few who realize their God-given potential on their own

Think of the possibilities if we truly followed the spirit that God has given us

Counsel

The spirit helps us to find the direction God has for us

Roy Campanella was one of the first African Americans to play in the US Baseball major leagues.

In a distinguished career he won the Brooklyn Dodgers Most Valued Player award many times, and in 1955 was in the team that won the World Series.

But in January 1958 his career was cut short after a car crash left him a quadriplegic.

After he was injured he spent a lot of time in the Institute of Physical medicine and Rehabilitation in New York City.

One day he stopped to read a gold plaque upon one of the walls, and for someone who had been blessed with such athletic gifts it resonated deeply within him:

“I asked God for strength, that I might achieve.

I was made weak, that I might learn to humbly obey…

I asked for health that I might do great things.

I was given infirmity that might do better things…

I asked for riches that I might be happy,

I was given poverty that I might be wise…

I asked for power, that I might have the praise of others.

I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God…

I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life.

I was given life that I might enjoy all things…

I got nothing I asked for, but everything I had hoped for.

Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.

I am, among men, most richly blessed!

Source: Scott Higgins, using information from Baseball Library.com and Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Might

We’re accustomed to thinking of the strength as opposite to gentleness, softness and tenderness.

Yet this is not always true.

During World War 1 British fighter pilots made an amazing discovery, that thick layers of silk stopped low velocity shrapnel better than steel.

So they wound the silk around their heads and then wore leather horse riding helmets on top of the silk.

Scientists still aren’t sure just what it is that gives silk its strength, but it’s true, that in certain situations soft, gentle, tender silk can prove far stronger than cold, hard steel.

Jesus showed us the same holds true for human character.

Some people try to make themselves impenetrable to the people around them. Jesus showed us that gentleness, a heart that’s soft toward others, and tenderness are in fact qualities of great strength!

Source: Scientific info from Dr Karl Kruszelnicki’s New Moments in Science #1

Awe of God

Awe of God is given to those who stop to look for God and who learn to delight in the presence of God

A small boy once approached his slightly older sister with a question about God. "Susie, can anybody ever really see God?" he asked.

Busy with other things, Susie curtly replied: "No, of course
not silly. God is so far up in heaven that nobody can see him."

Time passed, but his question still lingered so he approached his mom:

"Mom, can anybody ever really see God?"

"No, not really," she gently said. "God is a spirit and he dwells in our hearts, but we can never really see Him."

Somewhat satisfied but still wondering, the youngster went on his way. Not long afterwards, his saintly old grandfather took the little boy on a fishing trip.
They were having a great time together.

The sun was beginning to set with unusual splendor and the grandfather stared silently at the exquisite beauty unfolding before them.
On seeing the face of his grandfather reflecting such deep peace and contentment,

the little boy thought for a moment and finally spoke hesitatingly:
"Granddad, I--I-- wasn't going to ask anybody else, but I wonder if you can tell me the answer to something I've been wondering about a long time.

Can anybody - can anybody ever really see God?".
The old man did not even turn his head. A long moment slipped by before he finally answered. "Son," he quietly said. "It's getting so I can't see anything else."

The Holy Spirit has been given to us

The new commandment has been given to us

How are we living as a result of this?

The challenge that is upper most in minds of many these days is coping with and overcoming the pandemic

We need the wisdom of God to make good choices and to follow the guidelines that have been laid down

We need the compassion of God to be kind to one another

And we need understanding so that we will remember the lessons we have learned so that we may make our world a better place.

Come Holy Spirt fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth.

Invitation to the OfferingAt Pentecost, God poured out gifts of the Spirit upon the church, to equip Christ’s followers to bear witness to him throughout the world. We offer our gifts and our lives to God, so that the witness of the Church will continue with the blessing of the Holy Spirit in this generation and beyond.

Prayer of DedicationSpirit of grace and power, bless the gifts we offer so that they accomplish surprising things in Jesus’ name. Bless our lives, too, so that our words and actions may bear witness to Jesus’ love and mercy each and every day. Amen.

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and your whole church

on this day of Pentecost:

Blow through us and renew our faith.

Re-awaken our love for God.

Let your flames warm our hearts with trust in Jesus Christ

and dare us to do great things in his name.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and renew our faith.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us

and give us energy to serve you as the body of Christ working in the world.

Open our eyes to recognize needs for ministry and mission around us.

Open our hearts to welcome newcomers and meet those we do not yet know.

Open our hands to share in tasks that need doing,

and open our lips in prayer and praise.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and renew our energy to serve.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and give us understanding

for all those whose lives seem so different from ours

(Hold a brief silence)

For those facing situations we’ve never encountered

(Hold a brief silence)

For those with whom we’ve disagreed

(Hold a brief silence)

For problems and challenges we face at home, at work,

and in the world still struggling with the effects of the pandemic

(Hold a longer silence)

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and give us new understanding.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and bring healing

for all who face pain or illness, discouragement or disappointment

(Hold a brief silence)

For all who know sorrow, sadness or grief

(Hold a brief silence)

For those who face stress and pressure,

especially as they recover from the impact of the pandemic

(Hold a longer silence)

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us and bring healing and peace.

Wind of the Spirit, blow through us

and bring us the compassion we see in Christ Jesus.

Blow through us and equip us to serve the world you love in his name.

Blow through us and refresh us as your faithful followers.

Unite us across our differences

as together, we pray the words he taught us:

The Lord’s Prayer