Come Holy Spirit Come
May 28, 2023
Scripture Reading:
First Reading: Acts 2:1-21
When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples 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.' “
The Gospel John 20:19-23
When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “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.”
In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen.
The Homily by Deb Lockhart, Deacon-Intern
WOW! At last the waiting is over! Dave brought us to this moment, waiting for the weather balloons to begin their ascent, then waiting for the new weather data to begin to churn out….He helped us understand that waiting is tough. It can make you just a little crazy when it isn’t clear why. Last week the twelve were told in the scripture to wait, so they did as they’d been told, waiting in an upper room somewhere, not knowing exactly why or what they were waiting for. The scripture said they spent time praying, but I can’t imagine they didn’t have conversations to the effect of , “Ok, I’m giving it another few days then I’m outta here, this waiting is making me nuts.” Of course Jesus had been totally straight with them all along, but the disciples were human, and up until now, hadn’t fully understood all that Jesus was trying to get across. They were told to wait, that was excruciating enough, but in addition, they remained still fearful of what their fate might be now that Jesus had gone.
Today’s readings from Acts, in dramatic form, tells us of the arrival of the long awaited Holy Spirit, using words like amazed and astonished, perplexed, bewildered..….We are given the images of tongues of fire, the rushing of mighty winds (our transaction says violent winds), and then …..all were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability……gave them ability, I’m guessing that means they were pretty fluent in whatever they were saying.
In prepping for today, I thought of the disciples, the ability to speak in the language for others to hear in their own tongue, and I thought back on a trip we took with our sons, years ago. We’d flown for some 21 hours, descending into that foreign place as the sun was setting. After navigating the final leg of the arrival, hearing only words in many languages and signs we could not read, we followed the crowd toward the exit. At that moment we saw a transport bus with a man holding up a small sign with Lockhart on it. He pointed to us and asked Lockhart? Though we did not understand a word he spoke after that, hearing our name offered much comfort to our tired and confused minds. This was no Holy Spirit moment but it was a moment of resting our anxious hearts, somehow trusting that what was coming would be ok—-can we say that for all who heard the disciples speak on that day of Pentecost? And for those who then heard those words said in familiar tongues, did it calm their anxieties and offer a place of trust?
What happened on that Pentecost day, was all those gathered were baptized not by water but by the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus promised would happen and were able to speak in languages they hadn’t known before, now able to spread the word of God, expanding the realm of God, making the tent bigger with all who now could hear of God’s love in their own tongue. On that day the Church (big C) was born, thanks to the disturbance made by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost.
Those 3000 plus people who joined the church that very day, returned to their homes taking the news of Jesus’ life, his death, his resurrection and the promise of an everlasting life waiting for them. They now knew there is a God who loves them and wishes to be in relationship with each of them—-The Holy Spirit and her mighty power helped send that news much farther than the apostles ever could.
It is here that we need to realize that this Pentecostal moment isn’t for those first Christians, but is instead for the outsiders listening, those there because it was Pentecost, the many tribes and nations we’ve just heard named, the Medes, the Elamites, those from Mesopotamia, Asia, the Gentile or the devout Jew. God, as the HS, was empowering them to connect to others. AND that the Holy Spirit transcends difference—levels the playing field, makes us all able to know of God’s love in the language of our hearts. Imagine those differences between people in our own community—those with resources or those without, those with a home or those unsheltered, those with food or those suffering from food insecurity, those living in safety or those exposed to abuse and neglect; ….those differences in our communities and in ourselves…….
Come Holy Spirit Come
Was Pentecost a one and done event? NO! In fact, if we look at our churches, Trinity and SMWC, we can see that the Holy Spirit is alive and very active among these congregations, and indeed full of Pentecostal moments.
We have Upper Lancaster Community Food Pantry, the 2nd Thursday of every month, located in the pavilion. We are helping to feed families of every color, old and young, children and grandchildren, transgendered, gay or straight.
Both Trinity and SMWC as well as our partner churches, provide volunteers for this massive effort of filling bags and packing carts. The pantry is growing and so are the numbers of volunteers coming from the community——it is the Holy Spirit working through each of you that is bringing in more help—-you are speaking in a language that is being understood in the heart of someone else! This is a Pentecostal moment!
Come Holy Spirit Come!
The Labyrinth of SMWC- The Labyrinth has begun to be used by more groups not just within but frequently from outside our church. In addition to our Easter services and Celtic spirituality contemplative worship, it has drawn people in for Lenten practice, vestry retreats, and remembrance services for those not in a church. The word is out— people passing through our area stop by to walk it, on weekdays, in the early morning hours, to experience God’s creation.
The clearing of the paths surrounding the labyrinth continues so that there can be a meditative walk ending at the labyrinth. Benches have been added to encourage sitting for a spell or staying for a while. If you haven’t been there for some time, I’d encourage you to go, look up through the tops of the towering trees and take in the sacredness found there. It is a holy space and we are stewards of it, to worship, to share with others. Go—- take a book, take a lunch, take a friend, close your eyes...take a nap.
The Nudge Committee—the Holy Spirit may be just that, a nudge, but we actually have a committee listening for that nudge; the latest nudge was to consider how to continue offering food in our community…..it came as the Little Free Food Pantry that is now located outside the pavilion —-in the drive-thru. A sign on it says, Take What you need and leave what you don’t. It contains nonperishable items for those times of need….it is offered in love and is open 24-7 for both taking and for refilling.
Line Dancing at both locations & Chair Yoga at SMWC ……we’ve talked about these and the folks who come building relationships with each other and this community, often supporting a community effort, such as the ongoing food drives.
ALL of these are examples of the Holy Spirit thriving. By the openness of the hearts of those here at these churches, you are experiencing Pentecostal moments, the inviting in of others….sharing, making those human connections…..transcending difference.
None of these requires walking into the church, rather the church is out there with all that is going on!
No, the Pentecost isn’t a one time event. The Holy Spirit is alive and well at Trinity and SMWC.
At Trinity, there is new energy that only be described as the Holy Spirit at work—new ushers, even a Head Usher! Each Sunday, someone different comes forward and rings the bell—that’s the Holy Spirit helping us out as if to say, “Hey we are worshiping here, come see what it is all about!”
The Holy Spirit doesn’t need to come as a wind storm, it can come as music—in fact, how many of you attended Too Hot to Handel? If you were there, you know what I talking about—there was a palpable energy that brought us out of our seats when the Hallelujah chorus, gospel style, began. It wasn’t just standing out of respect, it was more like being pulled up out of your seat— there was connection, joy, movement that wasn’t scripted. It was an electric moment of being One. If you were there, didn’t you find yourself joyously speaking with total strangers as you left? Yes?? You can thank the Holy Spirit. That was a Pentecostal moment.
The same Holy Spirit who endowed the first disciples with the gift of tongues, is alive, believe this! For we could not be here as Christians today had the Holy Sprit not been hard at work with the message of Jesus that could be heard, understood and passed on. The Holy Spirit surrounds us with possibility. Whether She is a gale force wind as on that day of Pentecost, or comes in a quiet gentler manner, she does come and is anything but discreet. She is there to push, shove, nudge, or blow us off of our places of comfort, helping us see that our work as Christians is not just about making someone else’s day better, it is about bringing them along, companioning them in relationship, doing God’s work here on earth, making this a better place for everyone.
So, let us be open to our future Pentecostal moments, open and available for the Holy Spirit to act within us. We will wait as we’ve done before, this time though...we know now that the wait will be worth it.
Come Holy Spirit Come