Brave New Church: Acts 2:1-21 - Day of Pentecost

¹When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. ²And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
  ⁵Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” ¹²All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
  ¹⁴But 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. ¹⁵Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
 ¹⁷‘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.
 ¹⁸Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
  in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
   and they shall prophesy.
 ¹⁹And I will show portents in the heaven above
  and signs on the earth below,
   blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
 ²⁰The sun shall be turned to darkness
  and the moon to blood,
   before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
 ²¹Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ” (NRSV)

JESUS MAFA. Pentecost, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. [retrieved May 13, 2016].

Watching Sesame Street as a kid, I loved the “Yip Yips.”  These were googly-eyed aliens from the planet Mars.  They’re called “Yip Yips” because their native tongue consisted only of the words “Yip-yip-yip-yip” and “Uh-huh. Uh-huh.”

They never interacted with people—but they were very curious about life on earth.  Whenever they discovered everyday objects like the telephone, radio, or computer, they consulted a small book—and (humorously) attempted to speak about it in English.  But as soon as they sense that human beings are near, they disappear into thin air.  I guess earth is just too scary for these creatures. 

That being said, it’s a very scary place for human beings. 

You look at how much our world has changed, and how many terrible things keep happening all across the world, you can’t help but be scared. 

Watching the news reports about the wildfires in Canada, you’d swear hell had come to earth.

There’s always that dreaded question—what next? 

But we can’t forget that the Church was born in a time every bit as scary…

Fifty days have passed since Jesus was raised from the dead.  Ten days have passed since Jesus ascended into heaven.  Certainly these were events to celebrate—but what was to be next?

We know from Acts 1 that there were 120 believers at that time, which is equal to the number of active members we have here at First.  They know that if they continue to follow Jesus, they will be hated and persecuted just as much as he. 

So they raise up Mathias to replace Judas Iscariot, so that there are twelve apostles once again.

And they pray, and watch, and wait…

Then it comes to pass, on that fiftieth day, as the twelve apostles are gathered together inside a house: The Holy Spirit comes upon them so powerfully as if to blow the walls off…

They begin speaking God’s Word in other languages, so that the Jews living in Jerusalem hear God’s Word, in their native tongue, with the power of fire.  Thousands come to faith in Christ.  The Church as we know it is born.

Some onlookers dismiss these things as mere drunken revelry.  The reason why is because God is doing something so utterly new.

Think about it—Jews spoke Hebrew and Aramaic, and nothing else.  Most of these people worshipping God had no Jewish lineage to speak of.  They were unclean, uncircumcised, unwelcome in God’s Holy City. 

God is doing something altogether new—what no one expected, no one asked for, and what no one can explain—except that it is God’s doing.  This is the Holy Spirit at work.  Jesus is going global.  No one is going to be left out because of race, ethnicity, language, gender, social status, or anything else.   

While this is something to celebrate, it is at the same time terrifying.  The globalization of God’s reign brings with it drastic change and opposition by the powers of death and evil. 

This is exactly what Peter’s quote from the prophet Joel describes: “portents in heaven, signs on earth below; blood, fire, and smoky mist; the sun turning to darkness and the moon to blood…”

I don’t know about you, but as I hear this I can’t help but think about the Alaska wildfires; Hurricane Katrina; climate change; 9/11; ISIS; school shootings; recession; poverty.  I think about the decline of Christianity in this country and that people care about no one but themselves.  I could not have imagined the world becoming what it is today.

But with all this happening, God is not absent, nor is he silent.  God sends the Holy Spirit upon us so that we know God’s love and live within his power over death and evil.  God sends the Holy Spirit so that we may speak the truth with our mouths and our whole lives.

As Christians, you and I will not be held captive by fear and foreboding over what the world has become.  Renounce the power, privileges, and possessions the world says you need to “live the good life.”  Refuse to get caught up in the factions and finger-pointing that are dividing our nation and even the community of Christ.  Don’t resist change; embrace it!  As our world invariably changes, trust that the Holy Spirit will be constantly transforming and renewing the you with the Church so that we can live on the forefront of God’s saving love.

I love that the Holy Spirit appears as fire in the Pentecost story.  God is anything but tame.  At Pentecost the Holy Spirit literally blew apart religion as it had been known and understood, creating something altogether new for Christ’s love to reach the nations

Today, we need that same fiery Spirit.  The world is changing rapidly—but Jesus goes both with the change and ahead of it.  So must you and I.

Do you dare to receive the Holy Spirit today?  Are you ready to be roused from sleep and made restless to share Jesus’ love?  Are you ready to be sent on a missionary journey, fueled by the grace of God, to become Christ’s victory over sin and death?  Are you ready to go and serve “those people” whom you thought had no place in God’s family?   Are you willing to let holy fire consume anything and everything in your life that’s blinding you to the light of God’s love?

If today’s Church and today’s Christian faith must be blown apart to be relevant to the times, let it be, Holy Spirit.

We live in a brave new world—but we’re a brave new church.  We are alive with the Spirit, burning with love, walking in truth, filled with peace, saved by grace.