Acts 2:1-21
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.’
The first Pentecost was when the people of Israel received the ten commandments. Folks since then have used those commandments to put up a fence separating "us" from "them" but that was not the intention. The intention was for them to be a guide in creating a new, liberated, and unified community. The old ways in Egypt, living as the property of Pharaoh, had ended. A new way of liberated living had begun, a way of living as children of God. Fast forward a bit and Jesus gives a NEW commandment “that we should love one another.” And again, people used Jesus' words to put up a fence separating "us" from "them" but again, that was NOT the intention. Then intention for that commandment was for it to be a light shining on the pathway folks could walk toward a new, liberated way of living for ALL people in this world.
In his life, Jesus taught us with words and actions, the WAY of liberated living… what that new, unified, and liberated community would look like, and who it was meant to include. He talked about it and he SHOWED it to us, often using his favorite teaching props… The Table and A Meal. He ate with tax collectors and sinners, foreigners and Pharisees, men and women, those the world labeled “clean” and those it labeled “unclean” all the while teaching us with his daily lived-out life that “all means ALL” without exception. His life embodied the saying “When you have more than enough, build a longer table rather than a higher fence” and Jesus showed us that with God's abundance there is always MORE than enough… even when there were more than 5000 to feed… there was more than enough!
The second Pentecost we read about today in Acts, is the next chapter in that same story. It is the story of the Holy Spirit coming to take a turn… wielding divine wind and flame… continuing the work of teaching the world a liberated WAY of living, by blowing apart the things that divide people and and burning away whatever gets in the way of humanity’s liberated living. Cultures, borders, languages, walls, prejudice, race, class. Every wall that insecure and fearful humans continue to put in place to keep “the other” out… every fence that hard-headed humans insist upon building in order to perpetuate the hatred of the other, the Holy Spirit comes to blow apart and burn down.
Now, you may have noticed, that humans (in spite of God’s rules to the contrary) continue to build walls faster than Usain Bolt runs 100 meters. You may have noticed that people (in spite of God’s rules to the contrary) continue to close their tables to others (both in the world and even more painfully and ironically in churches). You may have noticed that God’s work in Jesus of building longer tables and God’s work in the Holy Spirit of blowing apart walls and burning down fences is not yet finished.
And because it is not yet finished, IT IS INTO THAT ONGOING WORK that you and I have been called as Baptized Children of God. I know… believe me I know… the enormity of that work… the enormity of that calling… feels overwhelming. The powers at work in this world that continue to divide, build walls, and reject the dignity God gives every human being seem to be Legion!
Which is why I need YOU to continually remind ME and I will do my best to continually remind YOU that we are NOT called into this work alone! We are called into this work alongside the Holy Spirit… The Advocate… who is still with us AND we are also buoyed up for this work by the Saints who came before us… some of whom began doing this exact same work of building longer tables and tearing down walls, in this exact same place, way back in 1866. Listen to what they wrote way back then: “We have a building capable of seating one-hundred persons and would be glad to see the space filled whenever services are held. The seats are FREE and we assure the inhabitants of this and adjoining towns that the church was not built to accommodate “ourselves”, neither are the services or Sunday School conducted with any such intention. Our idea was that its use and purpose should be to further the cause of Christianity, believing that one soul in the site (sic.) of God and the angels is the peer of any other, whether it be possessed by a person of mean estate, or a high degree, whether he be black or white, artisan, farmer, merchant, priest or king…each and every (person), of whatever faith or no faith, will find a generous welcome.”
I also need to remind YOU and YOU need to remind ME that we actually do an excellent job here building longer tables. We’re not generally a “literalist” sort of church but when it comes to bigger tables and more than enough food… we do that quite often and very literally! We also faithfully continue the work of the Holy Spirit blowing down walls and burning down fences. Six years ago we added this to that original welcome statement written by the founders of this church: “Today in 2019 - and beyond - we continue to recognize and cherish the diversity of all, which includes, but is not limited to: age, race, immigration status, gender identity, sexual orientation, and marital status. We welcome the gifts of everyone in our diverse community, whatever your socio-economic status, your ethnic and cultural background, however you may be physically- or mentally-abled, wherever you may be on your own faith journey, or whether you are a full-time resident, seasonal visitor, or just passing through (for now!). We invite you to participate in our faith journey as we strive to understand the Gospel, participate in the Sacraments, share in the love that comes through the grace of reconciliation in Christ, and to make meaningful connections through the joy of fellowship with each other. In short, YOU are welcome here. Come. Be at peace. You’re home.”
May we, on this year’s celebration of Pentecost, recommit ourselves to doing the work that Jesus showed us how to do and continue building longer tables. May we, on this year’s celebration of Pentecost, recommit ourselves to doing the work that the Holy Spirit continues to show us how to do and continue to blow down the walls that divide, and burn up the fences that keep out “the other” so that we and the world will one day live into God’s own Truth, that we are indeed… all ONE. Amen.
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