MUMC Sermon-06/04/06

Something happened that day. I don’t know what it is, but something happened. The text we read from the Book of Acts begins with these intriguing words: “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all together;” I have always wondered what the words “the day of Pentecost had fully come” mean. What if Luke is telling us that the festivities of the day, the Jewish Pentecost celebration around the Temple, had come to its fulfillment? In other words, the Jewish harvest feast was over – they had done all the celebrating they could do. Those who attended the festivities were expecting nothing less, nothing more, just worship as they had always had it for a thousand years on this feast day celebrating the harvest.

But what happened that day was hardly ordinary. The people attending the feast came expecting a festival. What they ended up experiencing was the transforming power of God in a group of rag-tag of simple, uneducated people. Those first Christians huddled in an upper room, frightened for their very lives, thinking the Romans who had but a few weeks ago pinned Jesus to a cross would soon be rapping at the door. They would be next: found, named, dragged into court, crucified, dead. Hardly something worth celebrating. But something happened.

In that moment when expectation sat down in the lap of fear, we are told the Spirit of God rushed upon those first believers and the Church took its first gasping breath. [1] Something happened we can’t explain, but we’ve been living its effects ever since.

The group of humble men and women found the power and the strength to change the world. Far from being the religious fanatics and zealots we often portray them as, these men and women received the gift of God’s spirit and their lives were forever changed. I’ve often been uncomfortable using language like “receive the Holy Spirit,” because I’m not always sure what we mean when that is said. But today more than ever I feel clear about what means: To receive the Spirit of God means to be begin living like God. It means that somehow those who receive the Holy Spirit find the boldness, the strength and the courage to live like God in this world—not leaving it the same, but transforming it more into the likeness of the One who gave it to us as a gift. That’s what happened on that day long ago when Peter and Mary and the rest of those folks emerged from their safe upper room and saw the world with different eyes and engaged it with transformed hearts.

Something happened that day. Something wonderful really happened.

But that shouldn’t be so surprising. The march of God’s Spirit has never stopped; we just don’t often perceive it. Just think about the origins of Methodism as an example. Two studious, shy young men go to prepare for the ministry at Oxford University because they didn’t really know what else to do with their lives. But something happened to John and Charles Wesley while at Oxford. The Spirit got hold of them, and soon they birthed a renewal movement that became a dominant force for good and for love initially in England, then in the United States, and eventually the world over. They prayed and studied together; they visited prisoners and those in need; they preached outside pubs and taverns and offered grace and love in the name of Christ to those who didn’t think they were worthy of or even interested in such love. And the Methodist Church for all its faults and missteps has remained a force for good and for the love of Christ even to this day.

I’m reminded of Florence Nightingale, a young woman born into privilege and wealth, and who could have had a life of comfort and ease. Yet, she reported having a divine calling, something like the Spirit of God took hold of her and she saw things with new eyes. She noticed the conditions that the poor lived in, the health care they received, and how most of them were just left to suffer and die without adequate care. She became a nurse, a profession that at the time was reserved for servants and the lower classes. She scandalized her parents and their wealthy friends by choosing a profession, and even worse choosing one that did not befit someone of her social standing. Florence, however, wasn’t compelled by ease; rather, she longed to be the presence of Christ to the sick and dying, and in the process the world was changed by her efforts. Something happened to Florence.

Dietrich Bonehoeffer was a studious young German who was preparing for a career as a university professor. Living in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s he grew increasingly outraged by the quiet, yet systematic treatment of Jews in Germany. Born into a prominent family, Dietrich had no reason to ruffle feathers and threaten his own future success. Yet, the Spirit of God doesn’t work according to human logic, and thus Dietrich took up the cause of attempting to stop the mass murder of Jews in Nazi Germany. It cost him his life. He paid the ultimate price for living his faith. But something happened to Dietrich, something that made him bold, daring, and faithful.

Oscar Romero was a shy country priest in El Salvador. Over the years he rose through the ranks of the Roman Catholic hierarchy to become Archbishop of El Salvador. He was chosen because it was assumed that he would not challenge the political leaders of the country who were a violent, ruthless military regime. But something happened to the quiet, bookish Archbishop, and before long he was leading the movement for justice and equity on behalf of the poor of El Salvador. He demanded, in the name of Christ, that the marginalized be cared for and that the economic inequity in the country be addressed. The suffering of the masses transformed him, and he was open to the Spirit of God who emboldened him to preach and to organize others with an authority few knew he was capable of. He too paid with his life, assassinated while celebrating communion for a group of nuns in a small convent chapel. Something happened to Oscar; he was transformed by the Spirit of God and he transformed the world around him in the process.

Something happened to Bono, the lead singer of U2 and perhaps the most famous rocker in the world. Leaving a small African village one day he penned a song, “Where the streets have no name” a song about the inequity and injustice so many people in our world live daily. It was his attempt to make sense of his life, his success, his wealth and his privilege. And in that searching the Spirit of God took hold of Bono and he has used his celebrity for the sake of billions of the world’s people who live in dire conditions. Today Presidents and other world leaders listen to him, and seek his counsel, as he tries to make the world more just, more loving, more peaceful. Something happened to Bono.

And something may happen to you. I would like for Grace, Jeff, Vainus, Evan, Charlie, Caitlin, Jeffrey, Emily to stand up. I want everyone here to see you. I want you all to see this amazing group of young people who Confirm today. Something has happened to these young people. Most of them will admit that they began Confirmation reluctantly, but in the process they have grown, and they grown increasingly open to the Spirit of God. They may not use that language or even be aware that this is what is going on; but it is. Confirmands, today you become a part of tradition of bold, strong, faithful people who are open to the power and Spirit of God. You may have plans to do something with your lives, but if God has God’s way with you things may just turn out differently than you imagined.

This is what I want you to remember from your Confirmation today: You were meant to be something great!You were meant to do something wonderful with your lives; not something famous, not something that will necessarily bring you fame, not necessarily something that you will bring you wealth, but something great nonetheless. Today we make vows to support you in your openness to what that might be. Don’t be afraid; don’t fret; just listen and be aware for the Spirit of God will surprise you and use you in ways you can’t even imagine.

Something is happening here today, friends. Do you sense it? The Spirit is finding his way into our hearts, and if we let God’s Spirit have its way, we will be changed, and the world will changed through us.

Something is happening here today, friends. Yes, indeed, something is happening here.

[1] These first paragraphs are from GraceWorks. July 4, 2006, p. 1.