Dear Rehoboth,
This week we are celebrating Pentecost. Pentecost is one of the three major Christian holidays that we as the church observe. Pentecost is like the middle child of holidays. You know Christmas is the younger child. It gets everything that it wants. It gets all the presents, the decorations, the tv specials, and the songs. No one says no to Christmas. Even those who are not very religious still want to be a part of Christmas. I’m the youngest of three boys, and I would assume my brothers would agree that I got everything I ever wanted and I think they would agree that if Christmas were a sibling, it would be the youngest. Then there is Easter. Easter is the oldest sibling holiday. Easter has been celebrated for a much longer time. It has some of the good songs, and the pomp and circumstance but not as much as Christmas. It is very important and holds a special place in the hearts of many. It knows its more important than Christmas. (Maybe I’m stretching this analogy a little far but oh well) But, that leaves us with Pentecost. The middle child. The forgotten child. There are no good songs. No one throws a Pentecost party. It doesn’t have any fun mystical animals associated with it. I bet none of you even marked your calendars. We don’t talk about Pentecost very much because we don’t talk about the holy spirit very much.
Pentecost is the day we celebrate the Holy Spirit descending upon the people in tongues of fire. It’s the event when everyone could hear each other. Imagine one day not being able to communicate with the person speaking French, and the next day being able to hear them as if they were speaking perfect English. That’s the story of Pentecost we remember. But this week I am struck by the response of Peter. Amid this craziness, he decides that he should preach a sermon. Some people are calling these people drunk. Others must have been terrified. But good old Peter wants to preach. He has this amazing opportunity. He has the opportunity to speak in his native language and reach multitudes of people, and he acts on it. I wonder what we would do when all the eyes are on us? Do we take those opportunities to spread the gospel? The amazing thing about the holy spirit is it opens up opportunities to witness to Christ. Peter recognized at this moment that he could tell people about Jesus. I wonder when we let those opportunities pass. And you know me I am not big at screaming the gospel at people but what about our actions. When have we had the opportunity to let our actions preach about the resurrection and God’s kingdom, and we failed to preach? When have we had the holy spirit descend on us and enliven us, and we have ignored the spirit? I am struck by Peters response. He has a captive audience, and he takes advantage of that.
As I wrestle with Peters reaction, I think we also need to look at what the spirit is doing in and through this text. As Wesleyans, we need to recapture the dynamic view of the Holy Spirit that Wesley had. He loved it. It was foundational to his beliefs of grace and salvation. In this text, we see all that the spirit does. It draws people together. It scares some people. It enlivens others to preach. When you pray for the holy spirit to come down, what are you hoping for? Do you want a dove or tongues of fire? There is the room I think for both, but not either-or.
The last thing on my mind with the Holy Spirit is that it can be translated paraclete or advocate. But, this is a limited translation because in the John text for this Sunday, we see that the Holy Spirit acts as a reminder. It reminds us of all that Jesus has done. What do you need the Holy Spirit to remind of about Jesus? I think we forget a lot, especially when we are faced with a decision. The saying, “What would Jesus do?” Well, the Holy Spirit is there to help us remember. This week as we celebrate Pentecost, I want us to think about what we need the Holy Spirit to remind us of about Jesus so that we can proclaim the Gospel as Peter does. The Holy Spirit is the middle child of the Trinity, but maybe that’s because we don’t understand it. Maybe because it scares us, I have been told I don’t pray for the holy spirit to come into your life unless you want it. The Holy Spirit enlivens us, and that may be scary, but maybe it’s just what the church needs in this day and age. I don’t know, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the Holy Spirit. Thank you for letting me do a lot of rambling this morning.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Lee