Acts 2:1-21 CEB

2 When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

5 There were pious Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered. They were mystified because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages. 7 They were surprised and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all the people who are speaking Galileans, every one of them? 8 How then can each of us hear them speaking in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; as well as residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya bordering Cyrene; and visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the mighty works of God in our own languages!” 12 They were all surprised and bewildered. Some asked each other, “What does this mean?” 13 Others jeered at them, saying, “They’re full of new wine!”

14 Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his voice and declared, “Judeans and everyone living in Jerusalem! Know this! Listen carefully to my words! 15 These people aren’t drunk, as you suspect; after all, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! 16 Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 In the last days, God says,

I will pour out my Spirit on all people.

    Your sons and daughters will prophesy.

    Your young will see visions.

    Your elders will dream dreams.

18     Even upon my servants, men and women,

        I will pour out my Spirit in those days,

        and they will prophesy.

19 I will cause wonders to occur in the heavens above

    and signs on the earth below,

        blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.

20 The sun will be changed into darkness,

    and the moon will be changed into blood,

        before the great and spectacular day of the Lord comes.

21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Today we celebrate the birthday of the church on the Jewish holiday of Pentecost.  Pentecost is the Greek name for Shavuot, the Jewish celebration of the giving of the Torah.  Pente – means 5, for the 5 books of the Torah, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Pentecost is a joyful celebration in Jewish tradition.  The Biblical story that Pentecost is connected to is the story of the giving of the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai.   It’s also a harvest festival, for the summer grain harvest, when the Jewish farmers would go to Jerusalem to bring the first fruits of their harvest as an offering to God.  https://www.jewishagency.org/what-is-shavuot-traditions-dairy-food-learning/ 

Although because Pentecost is a really fun holiday, with men dancing with Torah scrolls, families staying up all night to study Torah to make up for the people having been asleep when Moses came down the mountain with the 10 commandments, and the consumption of dairy treats,  more than just farmers would show up in Jerusalem for the party!

Jewish people from EVERYWHERE, farmers or not, would flood into the city to enjoy the party!

But the disciples didn’t feel like partying.

The disciples had followed Jesus around for 3 years,

They had done supervised mission experiences,

heard Jesus’ every teaching,

witnessed every miracle Jesus performed,

And had even performed some miracles themselves

So now that Jesus had ascended to heaven they were ready to lead the church, right?

Ummm, no.  

When the day of Pentecost – came they were hiding in the upper room together in Jerusalem.

They were afraid, confused, uncertain, clueless, argumentative, and didn’t know where to start.

They had lost their sense of direction when Jesus ascended into heaven.

They felt leaderless without Jesus,

 and I’m sure Peter felt like he was wholly inadequate to lead the church.

After all that time of having Jesus right there, 

telling them what to do, 

answering their questions,

drawing the crowds, 

healing people in mind, body and spirit, 

always doing the right thing at the right time. 

None of them felt ready to lead the church.

All they knew how to do was follow Jesus.

All they knew how to do was follow Jesus.

All I know how to do is follow Jesus!

Life feels strange right now, doesn’t it?

I mean, first of all, why does it feel like it’s the 1600s outside?  I mean, the kinds of daily questions we’re dealing with are so 1600s!  Like:

• Am I going to get the plague?
• Can I afford eggs at the market?

Or the 1930’s?

• Are masked men going to show up in my neighborhood and carry my neighbors away?
• Are we really going to have a military parade next weekend with tanks rolling through the streets?
• And we’re already 3 lines into Martin Neimoller’s poem, except for this time they’re coming for the immigrants and the government workers instead of the Jews and the trade unionists.

And what’s up with Costco changing the packaging on their rotisserie chicken!??!!!

The old clamshell design was so good!

You could pop the top and carve it right on the bottom part, no muss no fuss!

Those plastic bags are so easy to puncture with a knife and then I’ve got chicken goo all over my fridge!

Come on, Costco!  Life is hard enough right now! Give us back the clamshell!

But there are good things too.

I just spent the weekend at Camp Magruder with our Haven Dinner folks.  Spirit is always at work at Camp!

The sun is shining.  It’s funny how much the sunshine makes my day better.

We’re here, together, loving one another, as Jesus told us to.

Oak Street Pod Village, down the road is already helping people move into housing.

And y’all decided to move forward with Hacienda CDC to see if we can build some affordable housing!

And I feel just as scared and unprepared to lead y’all through this process as Peter felt on the day of Pentecost!

Because I’m not Jesus, I just work for Him, and I sure wish He was here to tell us all what to do right now!

Because all I know how to do is follow Jesus.

Jesus told us again and again to not be afraid, and He told us that in times that were just as politically volatile and violent as they are now.

— So I just do my best to choose to believe that God’s got this!

Jesus told us that whatever we do to the least of these, whom he considers members of his family — whatever we do to the hungry, the thirsty, those in need of the basics of life;  how we treat immigrants and prisoners and sick people, is how we are treating Jesus godself.

–so we try to care for the most vulnerable people as if Jesus, Mary and Joseph showed up at our door.  We try, and with our partners at Rahab’s Sisters, Family Promise, Leaven Land and Housing Coalition, and the Red Cross.  I think we’re following Jesus by showing hospitality to those whom God loves.

Jesus told us to love one another as God loves us.

Even when we’re annoying.

Even when we disagree.

Especially when love is a labor of love.

Jesus taught us to pray.

To pray for God’s will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven.

To pray that God would provide for our daily needs.

To pray for forgiveness for ourselves and to find within ourselves forgiveness for others.

To pray that we won’t be deceived by the temptations of this world.

To pray that God will save us from all kinds of evil.

All I know how to do is follow Jesus.

To remember the things Jesus taught and did and when I can’t think of something that applies to a particular situation to spend some time in the Bible looking for something that applies until Spirit speaks.

So the Disciples were sitting in that same upper room they’d been staying in since they shared their last Passover dinner with Jesus and it was the day of Pentecost.

So they did what they always did with Jesus.  They went to the temple to celebrate Moses coming down the mountain with the law.

And God showed up.

The wind of the Spirit blew the fear and indecision from their minds.

The fire of the Spirit melted their frozen hearts and frozen limbs.

The tongues of flames loosened their tongues to speak the story of what it was like to follow Jesus in every language to every person…not just to those who were gathered in Jerusalem on that day of Pentecost, but to all the people on all the days that came after.

This same Spirit is still pouring out upon us!

Giving us a way to respond when we have no words!

Causing our elders to dream dreams of things that they may not live to see.

Inspiring our youth to catch a vision of what the future could be if we try to live as if God’s reign is happening here on earth.

Calling sons, daughters, and siblings to prophecy: 

• Thus sayeth the Lord who hears the cries of the needy!
• And, let everyone who is weary and heavy laden come and find rest.

The real miracle of Pentecost is not that the sound like a rushing wind blew the Disciples out of hiding, nor that the brightness came over them like tongues of flame, or even that the gospel was proclaimed in many languages.  The real miracle of Pentecost is that the Spirit of God is still at work.

Still whispering through all the noise of life.

Still blowing us out of hiding and into ministry!

Still bringing us light in our darkest nights. 

Spirit is still moving us to love our neighbors — Jews and Gentiles – immigrants and native sons, rich and poor, men, women, and genderfluid, gay and straight. 

Spirit is still moving us to love our enemies, to turn the other cheek and accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice and oppression.

Spirit is still speaking.

Just follow Jesus.

Ephesians 1:15-23 NRSVUE
15 I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, 18 so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may perceive what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. 20 God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. 22 And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Paul didn’t write what we just read.  Bible scholars know this because Paul was kinda dead at the time it was written.  Also, the earliest known copies of this letter are not addressed to the Ephesians.  They aren’t addressed to any particular community of faith.  The oldest copies of this letter are addressed, “to the saints who are faithful.”

So in a way this letter was a creative writing project by some unknown second generation Christian.  As if the author of this letter sat down, around the year 90 (we think), to write a sermon based on the question: if Paul was alive today, what would he write to the “saints who are faithful?”

If Paul was alive today, what would he write to us?

What would Paul say to us, the faithful saints of Montavilla UMC who have continued to show up and be the church in a time when being a part of a church isn’t a popular choice?

And let’s be honest.  This lack of popularity is intimidating.

Many of us can remember a time when this sanctuary was full on Sunday mornings.  When the basement classrooms were crowded with children.  When the church was the center of family life and a good influence on the community at large.

There are some who remember those times with joy and gratitude.

And there are others who remember those times with hurt because they were excluded from the in-group.

Our Bishop, in his Episcopal Address — there’s a link to the whole thing in the All church email and it’s on the Greater Northwest Website if you want more–

Our Bishop, in his Episcopal Address, wrote to us:

This season demands courage—not just from leaders, but from every United Methodist. We need courage to release what no longer serves, to embrace new models of ministry, and to stand firmly for justice and compassion in every aspect of our common life.

The reason this season demands courage is because we’re all a little afraid of the future right now.

We’re afraid about the future of the church.

The future of this country.

The future of the economy.

Our own personal futures.

All sides of All the arguments are afraid of the future.

• The people who want to turn back time to some idealized version of past greatness are afraid of the future.
• The people who want to preserve hard fought gains in civil rights are afraid of the future.
• The people who benefit from the way the economy works now are afraid of the future.
• The people who are being crushed by the current economic system are afraid that the future will only be worse!

We have experienced so much change, so quickly, over the past few decades and even the past few years that even people who like change are tired of all the change!

It takes real courage to look at the future with hope instead of fear.

It takes courage to give thanks for what used to work really well.  To honor the courage of those who came before us and did their best to adapt to the challenges of their times.  And it takes courage for us to admit that some of our ancestors’ choices no longer serve us.

It takes courage to honor the hurts of those who were excluded and harmed by what worked for many, but not for all, and to choose to stand firmly for justice and compassion in the ways we move forward together.

It takes courage to make intentional choices about how we feel called to approach the future.  It takes courage to recognize that the choices we make now define the future we give to the next generation.  

And it takes courage to recognize that not making a choice is a choice.

We can, we absolutely can, choose to do nothing, to change nothing, to wait until it is once again 1956 outside.  But I’m pretty sure that it will never be 1956 again….

But I think this letter to the Saints who are faithful, written as if Paul was here to talk to you today, instead of just me, is for us.

You can open up your bulletin and follow along, because I’m just going to join in on this exercise on what Paul might write to us if he was here today.

Having heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love towards all the saints, wouldn’t Paul give thanks for you?

I believe that Paul absolutely would give thanks for you, the faithful saints who are still here practicing the teachings of Jesus more than 2000 years later!

I think that it would bring Paul to tears to know that we are still here and we are still faithful to Christ Jesus.

Paul would not cease to give thanks for you and remember you in his prayers, that God would give us a spirit of wisdom and revelation, because we definitely need God’s wisdom and revelation now!

So that…with the eyes of our hearts enlightened we may see past the fear, see past the past, see past our own comforts and preferences…

And perceive what is the hope to which God has called us.

What is the hope to which God has called us?

Because, Beloveds, we are called to hope.

We are called to hope.

We are called to hope.

What are the riches of Christ’s glorious inheritance that we are called to leave to the next generation of saints?

And what is the immeasurable greatness of God’s power for us who believe?

Don’t we share in Paul’s courageous hope that the God who got us this far, can carry us into the future according to the working of God’s great power???!!!

Isn’t the power that raised Christ from the dead enough to give us hope?

Isn’t the power of Christ seated in the heavenly places, far above all rules and rulers, all authority figures and all earthly powers and nations, and above *every* name, not only today, but yesterday, today and tomorrow…

Isn’t God’s well demonstrated power enough for us to listen to Jesus telling us again and again, “do not be afraid?”

God has put all things under his feet, so can’t we trust in God’s power?

God is the head over all the things for the church!

So can’t we place our hope, our trust, our faith in the fact that we are still the Body of Christ?

That God has made us the embodiment of the fullness of Christ who fills all in all?

And because we are in God and God is in us, we don’t have to be afraid of the future.

I believe beyond believing that God has already given us a spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we may perceive what is the hope to which we have been called.

I believe that Paul trusts us to make choices about the future of the church.

That Paul trusts us to listen to Spirit.

That Paul trusts God to still be God, 2000 years later.

And I trust you.  The good people of Montavilla UMC, to listen to Spirit as we consider the future of the church today.

Because it’s not about me.  

Pastor’s come and go.

It’s about hope.