Our message comes to us today from the 2nd chapter of Acts, beginning with the 1st verse.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ (Acts 2:1-21, NRSV)
All mighty God, we thank you for your word and the way that you in it revealed to us who you are and what you've done for us in Christ. Now as we open that word we pray that your spirit may be present, that all thoughts of worry or distraction may be removed and that the Spirit will allow us to hear your voice. And so, oh God, fill us with your spirit through the reading and proclamation of your word this day. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.
“Empowerment of the Holy Spirit”
Grace be unto you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
There has, for centuries, been a debate among Biblical scholars as to just when the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples historically occurred. According to John’s Gospel, it occurred on the evening of his resurrection, when Jesus first appeared to his disciples huddled behind locked doors, fearing for their lives.
John tells us in John 20:21 that Jesus, whom the disciples had seen die on a Roman cross and buried in a rock-hewn tomb, suddenly appeared among them, saying “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
But according to Luke in Acts 2, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit occurred forty-nine days later, on the Jewish festival of Pentecost. Again, the disciples ere huddled together in one place, perhaps still fearing for their lives, certainly still trying to come to terms with their experience of Christ’s death and resurrection, when the Spirit of God came upon them.
And what a difference there is between these two accounts, in the way that they describe this great event event. John tells us that the risen Jesus simply breathed on his disciples, giving them the Spirit. Luke, true to his penchant for storytelling, uses a little more dramatic description, telling us that the Spirit came upon the disciples like the rush of mighty wind, and visibly appeared like tongues of fire.
But regardless of the historical date that God poured out his Spirit upon the disciples, or regardless of how that even unfolded, we can not deny that God’s Spirit came upon the disciples. Something profound took place to enable those frightened disciples to begin to comprehend God’s gift of redemption in Christ’s death and resurrection, which empowered them to unbolt the doors behind which they had been hiding, and go out into the street to proclaim the Gospel.
Just think of the irony, the reversal of expectation that the Holy Spirit brought into the life of Peter. Here was a man, who, on the night our Lord was betrayed, arrested, and taken off on a course of events what would result in his crucifixion, was so afraid for his own life that he denied three times that he even knew Jesus. But through the power of the Holy Spirit, this same man who cowered in fear for his own life, became the first person to publicly proclaim that through Christ’s death and resurrection, God had acted to redeem the world from sin and death. And as a result of the inspiration he had received from God’s Spirit, the Christian church was born.
Perhaps it is a good thing that we do not have a precise date for the gift of God’s Spirit, or an eyewitness description of just how it was given. For the gift of God’s Spirit is not something that can be relegated to the past, as an historic event, but an ongoing process that continues to inspire and bring people to faith to this day. So let’s look at some of the gifts that God’s Spirit inspires in the life of Christ’s disciples.
First, if we consider the passage from John’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit gave to the disciples the ability to forgive or retain sins. To give or receive forgiveness is pure grace. If we do something that truly hurts another person, that may be something that we control.
But we cannot do anything to cause the person we may have hurt by our actions to forgive us. And if they do forgive us, it is a gift of love. God’s Spirit, through enabling us to comprehend the forgiving love of God in Christ’s death and resurrection, leads us to the desire to forgive and to know the forgiveness of others. And even if we do not obtain the forgiveness of others, we can, if we truly repent, know the forgiveness of God.
Luke tells us that God’s Spirit enables us to proclaim the Gospel, to share with others that we have come to know that in our Lord’s death and resurrection, God has acted to redeem us from sin and death. It is a message that is meant to be shared, not only with our closest friends and family, but also with the whole world.
In today’s cultural climate, where it is not “cool” to be a Christian or religious, it would be easy to keep your faith to yourself. In many circles today, it takes courage just to admit that you believe in God, that you are a Christians, and that you go to church. We are not left to our own powers to summon that courage. We have received the power of God's Spirit at our baptism, and if we open our hearts to the presence of God within us, we would find the courage to speak the Gospel in truth.
Paul tells us in Romans 8:26 that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” To approach God in prayer is not an issue of having the proper grammar, or being able to articulate what God wants to hear. I have often been driving down the road and simply carried on a mental conversation with God. God’s Spirit knows what is in your heart, and his Spirit takes your prayer to the Father.
Finally John tells us that God’s Spirit is the Spirit of truth. What John is really saying here by his use of the word “truth” is that God’s Spirit is the Spirit of faithfulness. He is saying that God’s Spirit will “testify” on behalf of Jesus – will lead us to believe and come to faith in him. And John tells us the God’s Spirit will guide us into faithfulness. This tells me that the Spirit of God, whom we have received at our baptism, will never give up on us, even though we might turn our hearts away from his guidance.
Truly, the role of God’s Spirit is complex. It has many functions, but all of these functions are to move us to deeper faith, and empower us to become the corporate body of Christ on earth. Together, the Spirit moves us to help each other grow in faith, to empower our witness, and to continue the proclamation of the saving grace of God, revealed to us through our Lord’s death and resurrection.
Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father, on this day we humbly give you thanks for the gift of your Holy Spirit, poured out upon the church to empower us to proclaim the Gospel of Christ’s victory over sin and death. Through the same Spirit, enable us to come to deeper faith in your gift of redemption, kindle in us the fire of your love, and strengthen our lives for service in your kingdom. This we ask in Christ’s holy name. Amen.
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Scripture taken from the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)® Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Sermon contributed by Rev. Ronald Harbaugh.
Something profound took place on the Day of Pentecost to enable the frightened disciples to begin to comprehend God’s gift of redemption in Christ’s death and resurrection, which empowered them to go out into the street to proclaim the Gospel.
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