Feast of Pentecost
By The Rev. Martha Frances+
The Feast of Pentecost - 27 May 2007
Text: Acts 2: 1-11
Other Readings: John 14: 8-17; Romans 8: 14-17; Psalm 104: 25-35
Doubtless most of you know the story of Helen Keller, the young Southern girl made blind & deaf by illness early in life. Her teacher, Annie Sullivan, toiled tirelessly to convey the idea of language and meaning to her. As Annie pumped water across her hands, spelling W-A-T-E-R into her hand simultaneously, language was finally revealed to her. She GOT it & dragged the exhausted Annie from place to place, object to object in the yard, drinking in the knowledge of the names which had previously eluded her. We can only imagine the joy of a whole new world opening up to Helen as she grasped the concept of language.
Upon listening to languages we don't understand this morning & then having the meanings revealed with the familiar English, we only glimpse the amazement & astonishment those Parthians, Medes, Elamites, & others from throughout the known world must have felt the first Pentecost Day as the backwoods Galileans shared God's deeds of power in the language of each one. Their hearts were open to the Good News because they understood a language.
All those amazed & perplexed asked "What does this mean?" And each year when we hear the scriptures in languages spoken by members of our own congregation, some ask, "What does this mean?" No, they weren't drunk, nor are we this morning. Surely, it is good for us to spend a few moments as clueless as some of our neighbors here in Oak Forest might be if they happened into our worship. How would we make a Spanish speaker feel at home here? Yet they surround us in this neighborhood, many of whom are unchurched.
"What does this mean?" we ask. Peter helps them discern when he quotes the prophet Joel: "God declares, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, & your sons & your daughters shall prophesy, & your young men shall see visions, & your old men shall dream dreams. . . . everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." No one among them was left without a share of God's gift—all were immediately filled with the Holy Spirit. Now many in the Hebrew Scriptures were empowered by the Spirit for specific tasks for a limited time, but the Advocate whom God sends on Pentecost gives gifts for ministry to all the believers for all their lives. Thus is the Church born. Though the signs & portents in Joel were a prelude to disaster, here they are an indication of God's purpose of redemption for all humanity as the Spirit brings new life to the world.
So what? What does this mean to us? Today? First, as Paul tells us in Romans, ALL those led by the Spirit of God are God's children are heirs of God & joint heirs with Christ. We can't claim exclusive privilege as super Christians, nor can we pass the buck by claiming that only the ordained are called to spread Christ's gospel in the world. Each Christian has received a spirit of adoption at baptism which we'll celebrate [at 10:30 /in a few minutes]. Paul tells us we didn't receive a spirit of slavery & cannot live in fear.
Today, here at Hope parish, we are called to celebrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are poured upon us as surely as they were the first Pentecost. We have been given new life in this parish church, & each of us has the opportunity & responsibility to welcome & utilize the gifts we have been given for the building up of the Hope community & our reaching out into the larger community. Many of us prayed fervently to discern God's will in our coming together into one parish. Now is the time for us to discern God's yearning for this parish in moving forward in our mission. We cannot live in a spirit of fear or be passive spectators. The Spirit will equip us for Hope's ministry, & we must each lend our prayers & our action to God's purpose for Hope.
Opportunities abound for leadership training within the Diocese, & we're being offered scholarships to diocesan & larger church training events this summer. How about your volunteering for one or more of them? Participate in the Crosspointes' Charter weekend in June, the new diocesan leadership initiative. Register for the national Union of Black Episcopalians Conference this July. I've been offered scholarships & travel expenses for 3 for the Kaleidoscope Institute in Los Angeles with Eric Law as trainer so we can do more cross-cultural training in our Diocese. There are 3 trainings between the 9th & the 18th of August. And in October, there's a small church conference in Kanuga, North Carolina entitled "Creative Models of Sacramental Leadership for the Small Church" to which we're being offered a reduced rate.
These are only some of the opportunities we're being offered because we are a multi-cultural congregation whom the Diocese sees as full of Hope for our future. Will we rise to the challenge? Are you willing to vision, to dream dreams, to begin to answer "What does this mean" for Hope?
The Feast of Pentecost - 27 May 2007
Text: Acts 2: 1-11
Other Readings: John 14: 8-17; Romans 8: 14-17; Psalm 104: 25-35
Doubtless most of you know the story of Helen Keller, the young Southern girl made blind & deaf by illness early in life. Her teacher, Annie Sullivan, toiled tirelessly to convey the idea of language and meaning to her. As Annie pumped water across her hands, spelling W-A-T-E-R into her hand simultaneously, language was finally revealed to her. She GOT it & dragged the exhausted Annie from place to place, object to object in the yard, drinking in the knowledge of the names which had previously eluded her. We can only imagine the joy of a whole new world opening up to Helen as she grasped the concept of language.
Upon listening to languages we don't understand this morning & then having the meanings revealed with the familiar English, we only glimpse the amazement & astonishment those Parthians, Medes, Elamites, & others from throughout the known world must have felt the first Pentecost Day as the backwoods Galileans shared God's deeds of power in the language of each one. Their hearts were open to the Good News because they understood a language.
All those amazed & perplexed asked "What does this mean?" And each year when we hear the scriptures in languages spoken by members of our own congregation, some ask, "What does this mean?" No, they weren't drunk, nor are we this morning. Surely, it is good for us to spend a few moments as clueless as some of our neighbors here in Oak Forest might be if they happened into our worship. How would we make a Spanish speaker feel at home here? Yet they surround us in this neighborhood, many of whom are unchurched.
"What does this mean?" we ask. Peter helps them discern when he quotes the prophet Joel: "God declares, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, & your sons & your daughters shall prophesy, & your young men shall see visions, & your old men shall dream dreams. . . . everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." No one among them was left without a share of God's gift—all were immediately filled with the Holy Spirit. Now many in the Hebrew Scriptures were empowered by the Spirit for specific tasks for a limited time, but the Advocate whom God sends on Pentecost gives gifts for ministry to all the believers for all their lives. Thus is the Church born. Though the signs & portents in Joel were a prelude to disaster, here they are an indication of God's purpose of redemption for all humanity as the Spirit brings new life to the world.
So what? What does this mean to us? Today? First, as Paul tells us in Romans, ALL those led by the Spirit of God are God's children are heirs of God & joint heirs with Christ. We can't claim exclusive privilege as super Christians, nor can we pass the buck by claiming that only the ordained are called to spread Christ's gospel in the world. Each Christian has received a spirit of adoption at baptism which we'll celebrate [at 10:30 /in a few minutes]. Paul tells us we didn't receive a spirit of slavery & cannot live in fear.
Today, here at Hope parish, we are called to celebrate the gifts of the Holy Spirit which are poured upon us as surely as they were the first Pentecost. We have been given new life in this parish church, & each of us has the opportunity & responsibility to welcome & utilize the gifts we have been given for the building up of the Hope community & our reaching out into the larger community. Many of us prayed fervently to discern God's will in our coming together into one parish. Now is the time for us to discern God's yearning for this parish in moving forward in our mission. We cannot live in a spirit of fear or be passive spectators. The Spirit will equip us for Hope's ministry, & we must each lend our prayers & our action to God's purpose for Hope.
Opportunities abound for leadership training within the Diocese, & we're being offered scholarships to diocesan & larger church training events this summer. How about your volunteering for one or more of them? Participate in the Crosspointes' Charter weekend in June, the new diocesan leadership initiative. Register for the national Union of Black Episcopalians Conference this July. I've been offered scholarships & travel expenses for 3 for the Kaleidoscope Institute in Los Angeles with Eric Law as trainer so we can do more cross-cultural training in our Diocese. There are 3 trainings between the 9th & the 18th of August. And in October, there's a small church conference in Kanuga, North Carolina entitled "Creative Models of Sacramental Leadership for the Small Church" to which we're being offered a reduced rate.
These are only some of the opportunities we're being offered because we are a multi-cultural congregation whom the Diocese sees as full of Hope for our future. Will we rise to the challenge? Are you willing to vision, to dream dreams, to begin to answer "What does this mean" for Hope?
posted by
Hope Episcopal Church
at 12:24 PM
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