Sermon:  "Blown Away By the Spirit"
Date:   June 12, 2011
Minister:  The Rev. Charles Ensley

Lesson:  Acts 2:1-21, 41-42

A week ago, I was picking up some window screens here at the church that needed to be rescreened.  When I opened the window in the handicap restroom in the southeast corner of the Christian Education wing, I couldn’t believe the strength of the cool wind that blew in from the ocean to the south.  ‘Wow!’ I thought to myself, it would be great to have this wind blowing in through the windows in other parts of our church.

You may not know, but when I came here in 1987, all the old wooden windows in the Concert Hall were sealed tight.  They were nailed, caulked and painted shut.  No wind blew through them.  Go in there today and see the open windows and the overhead fans and just imagine what it was like when there was no way for any ocean breeze to blow in.

The men’s choir robing room on the second floor also faces south, and on a good day when the window is open the wind from the ocean can blow sheet music all over that room.  Many a time I’ve wondered why this sanctuary was build with a solid south wall with no option to have some of those cooling ocean breezes blow through.

It doesn’t sound like ventilation was a problem on that memorable Pentecost around the year 33 A.D.  In the first four verses of today’s story from Acts, Luke gives us precious little descriptive detail of what must have been an awesome event.  Instead, he tells us four things:  there was the sound of a violent wind, tongues of fire appeared on the disciples, they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other tongues.

We’re not even sure why they were gathered in that room on Pentecost, while the rest of the crowd was downstairs in the streets celebrating the annual harvest festival.  In the previous chapter, Luke tells us that the disciples were “constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary, the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.” (1:14)  But what kind of prayers were these?  Prayers that they would not be found and arrested?  Prayers for their safety if they were found?  It is difficult for us to comprehend how dangerous it was to be a follower of Jesus or a new Christian in the first century.  Prayers that Jesus would keep his promise by returning soon?  No doubt mixed in with the prayers was reflection on the events of the past 50 days—Jesus’ crucifixion, resurrection, risen appearances to them, his ascension into heaven—and lots of questions about what was coming next.

But Luke is far more interested in the consequences of this strange and fantastic event than in a description of it.  Something powerful, something future-changing, something divine had happened.  It was a prayer meeting unlike anything they had ever experienced.  Suddenly things started breaking loose.  The power of God was being unleashed as that great wind blew through.  The Spirit was being poured out as only the Spirit can.  The wind was bringing something new to life.

The first miracle of that memorable Pentecost story that is being read in churches around the world today took place before any of the foreigners assembled in the streets hear a word about the Gospel.  The first miracle of Pentecost was that these timid, terrified, untrained, ordinary men—and I hope, women—were touched by the Spirit and changed. 

The second miracle of Pentecost was that these followers of Jesus were able to go out into the streets of Jerusalem and were empowered by the Spirit to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to pilgrims from around the world in the pilgrims’ various languages.  These were simple fishermen, not college graduates who had studied foreign languages.  How this miracle occurred is attributable only to the Holy Spirit.

A new wind blew through Jerusalem that Pentecost.  We could rightfully say both the disciples and the foreigners were blown away by the spirit.  This new creation was the beginning of the Christian church.  As a result, Luke ends the story by reporting that “those who welcomed [Peter’s] message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.” (2:41)  The greatest day in church growth in the history of the church.  No small wonder that Pentecost is referred to as “the birthday of the church.”

But I am firmly convinced the inspiration, the work of the Holy Spirit did not end that day.  It continues to blow through the church in so many ways.  I depend on it for inspiration in writing these sermons.  I could tell you experiences I’ve had in my ministry where it clearly was the Holy Spirit which moved me to telephone or visit someone I did not previously know was dealing with an illness, a crisis, or a family death.

God may be where God is; the life and ministry of Jesus Christ we share here weekly in scripture, song and story; but it is that invisible and elusive but ever-present Holy Spirit that continues to inspire and grow the church and influence the lives of believers each and every day.

The work of the Holy Spirit was not and is not restricted to Pentecost 33 A.D.  The Holy Spirit was working in those hardy souls who set sail on the Mayflower in 1620 and landed at Plymouth Rock, effectively beginning the Congregational presence in this country.  It was working in the 1940s and ‘50s as leaders of the Congregational Christian and Evangelical and Reformed churches caucused and planned and merged to become the United Church of Christ in 1957.  And the Holy Spirit continues to guide and propel the church into the future. 

Rev. Susie, the next generation of clergy, shared with me some of the programs she is involved in which will affect and mold the church for the future.  First, there is the loose consortium of what is known as ‘2030s clergy’—clergy here in Southern California who are in their 20s and 30s and who will still be serving the church in the year 2030, now just 19 years away.  We are fortunate to have a number of them serving UCC churches here in our conference, both as solo pastors and associate ministers.

Second, the United Church of Christ has a broader group known as the 2030 Clergy Network.  In even years, they meet in a location for several days, as Susie did last year in Chicago.  In odd years, they meet in conjunction with the UCC’s General Synod, as those who are available will be later this month in Tampa.  Facilitated by a national planning team, this enables the clergy who will be serving our churches for the next several decades to connect, network, support one another and hopefully develop some new and imaginative collaborations.

Third, the UCC Pension Boards has developed a “Target 2030” program for new clergy serving in the parish.  A dozen-and-a-half clergy are selected each year to be involved in a ten-year program.  It begins with four years of prescribed study, meeting annually, followed by six years to develop one’s own continuing education program, such as specialized courses or even a Doctor of Ministry program.  One bonus for the participant is $10,000 is placed in their pension fund after completing the ten-year commitment, but the benefits to the clergy and the churches they serve are incalculable.  Rev. Susie is waiting to see if she is selected for next year’s class after an arduous application process.

This is a sign that “God is still speaking,” the slogan adopted by the United Church of Christ for a national publicity campaign and found on the back of the bulletin.  It is the same Holy Spirit that was present with God at creation; which led Jesus into the wilderness after his baptism; the same Spirit Jesus promised his disciples would take his place when he was no longer with them in bodily form; the same Spirit which came upon those disciples on Pentecost and enabled them to begin and grow the church in ways they never thought possible; the same Spirit I felt come upon me when I was ordained on Pentecost 1973.

The church will be changing; there can be no doubt about it.  Don’t worry:  we’re not going to abandon our traditional style of worship.  But if the church in every corner does not keep itself open to the Spirit’s leading, the next generation and the one yet to be born will not be inside, but rather outside and apart from the church. 

Whatever may have happened to those first disciples has been handed off to us.  Let God’s Holy Spirit continue to blow us away in the 21st century just as it did on that Pentecost in the first century.