Take a Deep Breath
The
Yorktown United
Pastor Roy Grubbs
May 11, 2008
Acts 2: 1-21
Pentecost (Mothers' Day)
John 16: 12-15
Today we celebrate Mother’s Day.
What a wonderful time to celebrate those women who have loved us,
nurtured us, taught, comforted, and cared for us throughout our lives.
In fact, I would venture to say that there are many women we are thankful
for throughout our lives. And this
morning’s breakfast was a wonderful way to celebrate the women of our church.
Just try to imagine all the countless hours and different ways our church
has been blessed by all the “Mothers” who have shared their gifts and
graces. They have really made our
church what it is today; a loving community where together we worship and serve
Jesus Christ and extend that love into the community and the world.
In fact, you could say that our “Mothers” have breathed
life into this church. Just like the
Spirit breathed life into the world, breathed life into humanity at the
beginning of our journey. I think
there is a wonderful connection between Mother’s Day and Pentecost.
Our Mothers gave us life at our birth.
At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit gave life, gave birth to the Christian
Church.
On that day, the disciples were gathered.
They were a small, select inner group at this point.
They began with just 12, grew to more than 70, but were still a small
group movement. They gathered for
worship. At that point, a rather
ordinary room held all of the known followers of Jesus; we are gathered here in
this church, a small segment of our community, gathered to worship and praise
our loving God who continues to shower blessings and grace upon us.
The disciples did not anticipate the power that was about to come into
their midst. Then all of a sudden,
the sound began.
It was a sound like a very strong wind that came to change
everything for all time. The
disciples were anointed with tongues that appeared as fire on each of them and
were filled immediately by the power of the Holy Spirit, enabling them to speak
in the languages of every nation. Many
began to gather outside wondering what was going on.
They could not believe their ears. Coming
from so far away how was it possible to hear their native language being spoken?
In our Genesis class, we will soon be discussing the
But now, on the day of Pentecost, it seems God was
reversing this act. So many came
together, listened to one another. People
were given the ability to communicate and understand in a very special way.
The language of God’s love is universal.
It is available for everyone, and God calls us to breathe in that love
and breathe it out to everyone around the world.
Isn’t this just what church is all about?
And what a wonderful story and power behind this awesome event!
God’s Spirit anointing those gathered, giving them the power to share
the Good News. What a happy day!
What a celebration!
But as we read on, we find that not everyone was
celebrating with them. A crowd heard
the noise and began to gather outside. They
heard the Galileans inside speaking so many different languages.
They were amazed and astonished. It
was impossible for them to know so many languages from so far away.
They began to wonder what it all meant.
And that is where the skeptics began their work.
Because they could not understand the power of the Holy
Spirit, because they did not have faith that God was once again fulfilling what
was foretold, they began to mock the apostles, sneering, and calling them drunk.
Doesn’t that sound just like our world?
Doesn’t that sound like our community?
So many turn away from God, sneer at the idea of the Spirit working in
their lives, trying to create something new.
So many just go on about their daily routine, missing out on the love and
fellowship our church has to offer.
Perhaps we know people like those in the crowd.
Perhaps we have family or close friends that feel they do not need
God’s love in their lives. They
can do it all on their own. Perhaps
at times, we have been like those in the crowd.
Maybe some of us here right now feel like this is all nonsense.
With all the “bad” in the world, with all the hurt, disappointment,
evil, loss, pain, and grief, what is this Pentecost stuff all about?
What good is it anyway?
In our reading, Peter goes on to “face down” the crowd.
He began to preach, to proclaim the Good News that Jesus rose from the
dead. Jesus Christ is Lord and
Messiah and sits at the right hand of God the Father.
And now the Holy Spirit has come as Jesus had foretold to empower each
one gathered to go and spread the love of God to all in the world.
I can just imagine the silence that came upon the crowd.
Scripture goes on to say that the crowd was “cut to the heart.”
They were in awe. Then, I
imagine each one of them took a deep breath.
They breathed in these holy words from Peter, they felt the power flow
through them, and were converted that very day.
3,000 were baptized on the spot. This
crowd’s mocking disbelief was transformed into belief.
And now, this cozy little club, this group who knew each other so well,
had to deal with so many who were very different from them.
God’s power, God’s Spirit, transformed the church on
Pentecost, opening it up to a whole host of new believers.
These new Christians came with their own ideas, their own ideas of how to
run things, their own ideas of how to worship, how to interpret scripture.
They came with different gifts, different backgrounds.
But each one became an equal, important part of the Body of Christ.
A large measure of the joy in Christian life
comes from believing that the Holy Spirit has provided each one of us with our
own set of special gifts. We are
called to discover and use them for God’s work.
It is also a huge relief to know that we have different gifts, and not
everyone has to have them all. All
of us together that make up the Body of Christ, and it is the Holy Spirit that
gives that Body life. Who can we
welcome and how should we encourage them?
The Holy Spirit on Earth appears in the wind and in breath.
It is sometimes labored, sometimes gentle, and sometimes it will blow
your socks off. But it is
meaningless to talk of life without it, and life is meaningless if we never make
an effort to discover what purpose our breath has been given.
So I ask you to take a few moments each day to connect with the Holy
Spirit. In that time, I encourage
you to experience your breath as the Spirit of God bringing life into your body.
If you know the gifts you have been given, give thanks.
If you need to find out, let us work together to find out what they are.
Together we will use our gifts to bring more and more people to the love
and everlasting life in Jesus Christ.
Today we also celebrate Pentecost.
What a wonderful time to celebrate the Holy Spirit who has loved us,
nurtured us, taught, comforted, and cared for us throughout our lives.
This morning’s service is a wonderful way to celebrate the Holy Spirit
in our church. Just try to imagine
all the countless hours and different ways our church has been blessed by the
Spirit providing gifts and graces. The
Spirit has really made our church what it is today; a loving community where
together we worship and serve Jesus Christ extending that love to the community
and the world.
For now, for today, I ask that we all breathe and experience the presence of God. Say to yourself, “I believe in the Holy Spirit.” Experience the life, the power, and the gifts of God.
Take a Deep Breath.
Amen.