Sunday's Message - From Me to Us, From Us to Them

Here's the message I offered during the celebration services in the First United Presbyterian Church of Brilliant, Ohio and First United Presbyterian Church of Mingo Junction, Ohio on Sunday, May 23, 2021.

Acts 2:1-21 [Contemporary English Version]

On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.

Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. They were excited and amazed, and said:

Don’t all these who are speaking come from Galilee? Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? Some of us are from Parthia, Media, and Elam. Others are from Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia, Pamphylia, Egypt, parts of Libya near Cyrene, Rome, Crete, and Arabia. Some of us were born Jews, and others of us have chosen to be Jews. Yet we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done.

Everyone was excited and confused. Some of them even kept asking each other, “What does all this mean?”

Others made fun of the Lord’s followers and said, “They are drunk.”

Peter stood with the eleven apostles and spoke in a loud and clear voice to the crowd:

Friends and everyone else living in Jerusalem, listen carefully to what I have to say! You are wrong to think that these people are drunk. After all, it is only nine o’clock in the morning. But this is what God had the prophet Joel say,

“When the last days come,

I will give my Spirit

    to everyone.

Your sons and daughters

    will prophesy.

Your young men

    will see visions,

and your old men

    will have dreams.

In those days I will give

    my Spirit to my servants,

both men and women,

    and they will prophesy.

I will work miracles

    in the sky above

and wonders

    on the earth below.

There will be blood and fire

    and clouds of smoke.

The sun will turn dark,

and the moon

    will be as red as blood

before the great

    and wonderful day

    of the Lord appears.

Then the Lord

    will save everyone

    who asks for his help.”

From Me to Us, From Us to Them

I believe most of us are pretty relieved, if not out-and-out happy to be coming out of the pandemic. I mean, outside of some of the deniers who still seem to think that COVID was just this elaborate political hoax that would completely disappear after the 2020 election, I think you’d be hard pressured to find many folks who’ll miss the kind of lives we’ve been forced to live over the last fifteen months. 

Of course, the reason for this isn’t exactly rocket science. I mean, the pandemic has really taken it’s toll on all of us. Now, before I say anything else, let me be clear about two things. One, I not suggesting that the toll has been equally distributed. I mean, although my family has pretty much weathered this storm without much pain, that sure hasn’t been the case for those who lost people they loved. I don’t want anybody to think that I’m somehow equating the inconvenience I faced wearing a mask with the genuine loss they experienced. Let’s just say the impact hasn’t been equal or fair. That’s one. And two, I fully recognize that going through this pandemic has really brought to light some things that we kind of like and may continue to do in the future. For example, according to a recent Pew survey, a third of American believe that the shut-downs and the stay-at-home orders strengthened their relationship other family members and actually forced them to find new ways to communicate with their relatives. And according to the survey, one person said, “Teleworking has been a welcome change. I enjoy the extra two hours a day I would have spent communing. I also enjoy spending more time with my wife. I know I’m fortunate, and I’m grateful.” As a matter of fact, 73% mentioned something positive coming from the pandemic, and I know this too.

Still, almost 90% of Americans saw at least something negative. And I’ll tell you, one of the most dramatic of these downsides involves the general isolation most of us felt as we were socially distanced. I mean, since we haven’t been able or maybe comfortable getting out in public, our contact with our bigger community has suffered. And I think we all recognize this happening in the church. I mean, even though streaming the services has been alright, it really isn’t a substitute for brothers and sisters gathering in one place to worship God. 

But fortunately, we’re starting to see things change. And I’ll tell you, I don’t think there’s a better time to mention this than Pentecost Sunday, what really is the birthday of the church. In other words, the coming of the tongues of fire on those disciples gathered in Jerusalem sort of did what the easing of some of the necessary restrictions are doing; it enabled the church to come together. And you know, that’s going to be our focus this morning, how the Holy Spirit actually moved those first century Christians and how it can move us to take two very clear and distinct steps which, when taken together, can not only define who we are but also what we’ve been called to do. And for me, it’s all in this story of Pentecost.

You see, as I read the passage, I believe the Holy Spirit moved Christians then and moves Christians now from “me to us.” In other words, the Spirit takes a bunch of isolated individuals gathered in a room and transforms them into a genuine community, with all kinds of shared hopes and dreams and all kinds of common beliefs and values. Now, in my opinion, this kind of movement was really the Holy Spirit’s first step.

And I think that’s pretty clear in the passage we just read from Acts. I mean, just think about what the Evangelist Luke wrote, “On the day of Pentecost all the Lord's followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind! It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone...” [Acts 2:1-4a, CEV] Now that’s what happened in Acts. Those tongues of fire rested on everyone. And even though the details are certainly different, when we compare what happened here with how the Evangelist John described the coming of the Spirit in his gospel, the results were pretty much the same. Remember, John wrote, “After Jesus had greeted them again, he said, ‘I am sending you, just as the Father has sent me.’ Then he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” [John 20:21-22, CEV]

You see, whether it was Jesus breathing it into his disciples or it’s coming with “the sound of a mighty wind,” the Holy Spirit filled Christian disciples then and now. And you know, that was exactly what Jesus promised would happen, when “...he said: 

Don’t leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do. John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. [Acts 1:4b-5, CEV]

Now that’s what Jesus promised, and of course, it happened. But I’ll tell you, more than that, it continued to happen long after Pentecost. I mean, just listen to how the Evangelist Luke described a church that Paul and Barnabas had visited: But the Lord’s followers in Antioch were very happy and were filled with the Holy Spirit. [Acts 13:52, CEV] You see, this filling occurred and continues to occur, and I’m talking about right to this day. I mean, this is what Paul said to the Corinthians: I want you to remember that before you became followers of the Lord, you were led in all the wrong ways by idols that cannot even talk. Now I want you to know that if you are led by God’s Spirit, you will say that Jesus is Lord, and you will never curse Jesus. [1 Corinthians 12:2-3, CEV] Believe me, if you can say that Jesus Christ is Lord, you’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit.

And it’s through this filling, that we’re united: united into one community, united into one body. And that’s why Paul could write, also to the Corinthians, that “....the body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does. Some of us are Jews, and others are Gentiles. Some of us are slaves, and others are free. But God’s Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the body of Christ. Now we each drink from that same Spirit.” [1 Corinthians 12:12-13, CEV] You see, it was through the indwelling of the Spirit that this whole bunch of “Is” and “mes” become a single “we” and “us.” And for me, that’s the first step in how the Spirit moves us. But it’s not the only one.

Because, second, I believe the Holy Spirit moved the disciples and moves us from us to them. In other words, this powerful wind from God and this personal breathe from Jesus, man, it pushes us to reach out beyond our little congregation into the world and to do it in a way that the world can understand. And I’ve got to be straight with y’all; this is not particularly easy for a lot of Christians to hear. I mean, even though I think most believers are comfortable with this business about moving from me to us, as soon as we bring “them” into the equation, well, that may demand breaking our comfort zone into little pieces. 

And yet, isn’t that exactly what occurred on Pentecost? Remember, according to Luke, this happened: 

The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak.

Many religious Jews from every country in the world were living in Jerusalem. And when they heard this noise, a crowd gathered. But they were surprised, because they were hearing everything in their own languages. They were excited and amazed, and said:

Don't all these who are speaking come from Galilee? Then why do we hear them speaking our very own languages? ...we all hear them using our own languages to tell the wonderful things God has done. [Acts 2:4-8, 11b, CEV]

Now I think this is really important. I mean, the Spirit didn’t have the disciples speak in a way that was most comfortable for them. And it didn’t enable the people who heard the message to understand Hebrew. And it sure didn’t lead the disciples to separate and exclude those who just wouldn’t put forth the effort to appreciate their message, did it? No siree. Instead it empowered those who’d been filled to speak in different languages, in other words, in the languages of those for whom the message was given so that they could understand and believe. And even though the message was focused clearly on what Jesus came to do, the Spirit enabled Peter and the others to communicate it in a way that fit those outside their group.

And why did the Spirit do that? Why did God push those disciples outside their comfort zones? And why were they equipped, my gosh, why are we being equipped to share the good news in a way that may resonate more with them than with us? Well, I’ll tell you, that may be the easiest question of all. I mean, right after the resurrection and before the ascension, Jesus was with his disciples for forty days. And even though I image he told them all kinds of stuff, I mean, he was with them for over five weeks for crying out loud, Luke only recorded one command. He wrote:

Jesus said to them, “...the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.” [Acts 1:7a, 8, CEV]

Not that’s what Jesus said. And I’ll tell you, we’ve been given the ability to do it. I mean, we’ve been given the equipment to tell everyone about Jesus everywhere in the world. And since we’re not stupid, we can learn other ways to bring the gospel to men and women who aren’t part of us. In fact, that’s what we’ve been called to do. But if we choose to ignore the ability God has given us to speak the good news of Christ to folks who have no background in the church at all by using language and images that are more meaningful to them than to us and if we choose to focus so much of our attention on what we like that the world around us stops listening but worse, stops caring what we have to say, I think that’s on us, not them. My gosh, they’re not obligated to listen, but we’re obligated to share the word and to share it effectively. You see, if we’re going to apply the story of Pentecost to ourselves, I believe it’s pretty clear that the Spirit is moving us outside of ourselves. It’s moving the church from us to them. And that’s the second step.

Now, like we said a little while ago, as COVID numbers go down, I think we can expect things, including the church, to open up. But when it does, instead of just settling into doing what’s always been done and then wondering why our influence in the world around us seems to be going down, let’s claim Pentecost, a story that reminds us that the Holy Spirit continues to fill us and to unite us just like it continues to equip us and to call us. In other words, let’s decide that not only are we going to accept that the Spirit has moved the church from me to us, we’re also going to actively seek to figure out how, right here and now, that same Spirit is moving us to them.