Acts
2:1-21; John 14:8-17, 25-27
Have you
ever picked a dandelion and blown away the seeds? As adults who have to get the
pesky weeds out of our lawn, we shudder at this simple action. But as children,
we love to see the wind take the little seeds away and carry them to who knows
where.
That is sort
of how Spirit works. She takes the Word of God, the love of God and spreads it
far and wide, wherever she wants it to go.
Today,
we have two very different stories about the coming of the Holy Spirit. The
story on John is a quiet, simple event, and the one from Acts is a raucous
affair, designed to draw a lot of attention.
The story
from John occurs on the evening of Easter day. The disciples are gathered in a
room with the doors locked. They are afraid they will be arrested and crucified
because they are known associates of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus tells them and us
that he is sending his Spirit, an advocate, a companion to be with them in his
absence. He breathes on them, they breathe in, and they are
filled with Jesus’ spirit.
As I
reflect on this story, I believe this is just what the grieving, terrified disciples
needed at that moment. They needed to be reassured that what Jesus had promised
would continue through them. They needed to know that he was not leaving them
alone for the ministry he had charged them with continuing.
In John,
there are a couple more stories of his appearing to the disciples after the
resurrection. He appears to the disciples and Thomas; to Peter and the
disciples as they returned from fishing. The disciples seem to have returned to
their homes, and resumed their normal lives, perhaps waiting further
instruction. In one of these encounters, Jesus tells Peter to feed the sheep.
This is the further instruction they have been waiting for. They apparently now
begin spreading the Good News like blowing on dandelion seeds.
For the coming
of Spirit in Acts, Luke gives us the specific timing of 50 days after the
resurrection, which also happens to be 50 days after the Passover. It is the Jewish
festival of Shavuot, a harvest festival which includes the giving of the first
fruits. It is also a celebration of the giving of the Torah, which marks the covenant
of the relationship between God and God’s people.
Because Shavuot
is an important festival, Jews from far and wide are gathered in the city for
the celebrations. There are more tourists than residents of Jerusalem in the
city. Over the centuries, Jews have scattered around the Mediterranean and made
their homes there.
Their
first language is that of the place where they have settled; Greek, Egyptian,
Latin, Persian, Arabic and more. Some archaeologists have even found evidence
of Jews in China. They have forgotten Aramaic and many have even forgotten
their biblical Hebrew. The disciples are probably speaking Aramaic, and Spirit
is instantly translating what they say into whatever language their listeners
can understand.
This
coming of Spirit into the people gathered that day must have been an amazing event
– with fire and wind and noise. It makes me think of a rock concert in its
enthusiasm.
There is
concern among the leaders and other people that the disciples are babbling in
their drunkenness, but Peter suddenly realizes he has been called the Rock for
a reason. He gathers his wits and his courage and explains that this is the
result of Jesus’ spirit in them. Those who hear and believe are baptized that
day, thousands of them.
It was
what we often call a mountain-top experience. In the days, months, years,
centuries since that day, there have been smaller events where people have felt
Spirit’s movement and presence, but this was most likely the biggest event
ever.
Most of the
time, our experience of Spirit is more subtle, more like the event in John’s story.
Most of the time, we are not aware of Spirit’s presence until we look back and
reflect on an event.
Congregations
in transition spend time intentionally seeking Spirit’s wisdom and guidance. They
need to be as open to Spirit’s movement as a dandelion seed on a windy day. They
need to learn how to speak the language and culture of the people in the
neighborhood today, even as they look back to discover and celebrate the
languages and cultures of the people in their history.
For
example, few of our charter members are still living. Their culture has changed - think about what has happened with telephones in the last 50 years.
For example,
with Lori as our intern, we may all learn some American Sign Language and begin
to welcome others who are deaf or hard of hearing in their language.
For example,
we may be led to try something so old it is new again as a way to reach our neighbors.
In this example, Dinner Church is a gathering of people with worship and conversation
over a simple meal.
As Spirit
guides us and speaks to us, we want to take time to listen to her. In order to
listen we want to spend time in prayer and silence. We want to spend time in
prayer together. We want to spend time imagining a future where our passions
are recognized and put to use in Jesus’ name.
I
encourage you all to spend time each day praying for Spirit’s wisdom and guidance
for St Matthew’s Lutheran Church. How is Spirit calling us to blow the
dandelion seeds of the Good News of Jesus’ resurrection into the neighborhood
today? Amen
