Weekly Worship

Message

Lectionary readings: 

Acts 2:1-21

Ps 104

1Cor 12:3-13
Jn 20:19-23

Before you read this message – put on something red or spread out something red where you can see it from where you are sitting. Maybe light a candle and spend some time looking at the flame. Read Acts 2. Pause every now and then and look at the candle or the red. As you are reading and thoughts occur, or questions arise - stop and pray. Pray about the thoughts. Pray about the questions. You might even want to re-read parts of Acts 2. Don’t rush. Make time for God. Take time with God.

When you are ready, if you choose, read the message.

You may already have been blessed and just want to stay in God’s presence. Please do, that’s better than anything a person can offer on Pentecost Sunday (or any other time for that matter).

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So here we are, 50 days after Easter. 10 Days after the Ascension. Pentecost.

Mostly we observe, sometimes actually celebrate, Pentecost Sunday by hanging red decorations on the church furniture (the banner on the wall behind the Communion Table, on the lectern, on the pulpit and the bookmark in the large Bible on the Communion Table) and retelling the story from Acts 2. Many preachers avoid explaining the triune nature of the Godhead because it’s a hard concept to explain and besides, the story is much more exciting for the congregation.

Usually we focus on the spectacular story in Acts 2 because it’s exciting and easy to picture in our imaginations - the strong wind, the tongues of fire, the followers of Jesus spilling in to the streets all speaking foreign languages, the noise of people speaking, the crowd that gathered and Peter standing up and sharing the Good News of Jesus and Redemption. It’s so easy to picture and it’s a thrilling scene.

But how often do we peel back the layers and look at the meaning, at the symbols, at what they foreshadow about the work of the Church? How often do we consider what the wind, fire, red decorations and dove teach us about how the Holy Spirit equips us for the ministry of the Church?

We love the story. But what are we expecting God to do in us today?

Are we expecting the Holy Spirit to descend on us? Are we expecting something more subtle? Perhaps we aren’t awaiting anything.

We know the Apostles were waiting. Jesus told them to – “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” (Luke 24:49). It was around this time, according to the Gospels, that Jesus gave the Apostles the Great Commission – “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20)

The Apostles were waiting because Jesus told them “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 1: 4-5) Interestingly we are often given the impression that the followers of Jesus were afraid, were in hiding, but according to Luke 24 that might not be the case. According to Luke, after Jesus’ ascension, “they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.” They weren’t hiding, they probably couldn’t – there were too many of them to be hiding in an upper room. Acts 1 tells us “the believers” were “a group numbering about a hundred and twenty”. They were waiting to emerge and go into the world; a bit like us at the moment.

So I ask you – what are you waiting for at this time? Perhaps as you try to answer this question you can stop and have a conversation with God about what you are waiting for. Maybe spend some time asking Him what He wants you to wait for. Perhaps ask Him what He is going to give to you, wants to give to you; so that when the time is right, you are ready to go into the world.

The believers were waiting for the time to be right to go and do what Jesus had told them to do. They were waiting for the time when they were ready; when they were properly equipped to do what Jesus directed them to do. (Matt 28:19-20)

Let us turn to the symbols of the day; the symbols of Pentecost. First we have wind, then fire and finally the dove. As we look at the symbols ask yourself, ask God, what do these symbols mean for me? What do these symbols teach me? What do the symbols of Pentecost show me – here, now, in my circumstances, in my waiting place?

The wind we encounter at Pentecost is “a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house” (Acts 2:2). We have all experienced strong winds, even violent winds. A violent wind is powerful, it moves things rapidly, and oftentimes things that we think are too big to be moved. A strong wind can blow away refuse, rubbish and dust. It can, and usually does, scatter things. It can send them far. Think about the times, after a windy night, you go out into your yard and are amazed at how far things have been moved. A violent wind drives things, moves things, like wind in the sails of a boat. Perhaps the violent wind at Pentecost was there to clear out the dust, the refuse, to show the believers where their work was to be, to get them moving. The wind came into the house – perhaps the violent wind rose to drive them out of the house and into the streets where they began sharing the good news.

Then we encounter the fire; “tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them” (Acts 2:3). Fire warms and comforts, it can be used for cooking and to provide light. So we can see fire as a symbol of Christian fellowship, of God’s comforting presence, of God’s promise to meet our needs – physical, emotional and spiritual, and of our call to meet the needs of others. The fire of Pentecost can be a symbol of how God’s truth shows us the way. (Exodus 13:21-22)

But fire is also dangerous and cannot be easily controlled. Perhaps from this we are to learn that the Holy Spirit cannot be controlled; that we are to share a contagious love – the love of God. As Australians we know that even from an uncontrolled fire, from the destruction wrought by a bushfire, new life bursts into existence. The fuel that is actually the source of danger, the dry leaves and the low bush, is burnt away and new life erupts. Perhaps the fire of Pentecost reminds us that what is perishable in us (sin) needs to be cleared away so that new life can take its place. (2 Corinthians 5:17) In the same way, that the fires of a foundry cause the dross to rise to the surface so that impurities can be removed and pure metal be left behind; perhaps the fire of Pentecost reminds us that we too can be, need to be, purified and refined so that what is precious can emerge. (Isaiah 48:9-11, Psalm 66:10, 1 Peter 1:7)

With the fire of Pentecost we come to the colour red. Red in the history of the Church symbolises the Passion, physical martyrdom and the fire of Pentecost. Red is also, in Christian tradition, associated with ordination.  Perhaps the symbol of fire and the colour red reminds us that we called to give up our lives, our plans, our desires (Matt 10:39) and pursue God’s plan for us (Matt 6:33).  Perhaps the red of Pentecost is there to remind us that we are all ordained (ordered) – set apart for God as a royal priesthood – to minister, to share the Good News and the hope we have in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:9 and 1 Peter 3:15). That we are all called to serve, and show care and compassion to those we meet in our daily journey.

Often, at Pentecost and when talking about the Holy Spirit, we incorporate the symbol of a dove because when Jesus was baptised “heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove.” (Luke 3: 21-22) In the story of Noah and the flood the dove returned to the ark carrying an olive branch showing that the flood waters were subsiding. Perhaps the dove, as a symbol of the Holy Spirit, reminds us that we have a covenant (bond) with God. That through His grace, and our willingness to accept His grace, we have found favour with God; that we are the adopted sons and daughters of God, He loves us and He finds pleasure in us.

When we peel back the layers of the account in Acts 2, and think about the symbols we associate with Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, we see that the Holy Spirit gives us all we need to fulfil Jesus’ Great Commission. The coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost leads to the believers doing exactly what Jesus told them to do -  “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matt 28:19-20)

What was the result of the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost? The believers flowed out of where they were waiting, into the street “declaring the wonders of God” and “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.” (Acts 2: 41)

How do you think God is preparing you, preparing us, in our time of waiting? How will we emerge from our time of waiting as a church? Are we anticipating that God will prepare us to continue His Son’s work? After all, that is what Jesus told us to do - to wait, together, for His Father’s gift and then when equipped to go and make disciples…

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Join me in this prayer, these are the lyrics to a song by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty, you may wish to listen or sing along https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eia7Hs6jSMg

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Holy Spirit, living breath of God,

Breathe new life into my willing soul.

Bring the presence of the risen Lord,

to renew my heart and make me whole.

Cause Your Word to come alive in me;

Give me faith for what I cannot see,

Give me passion for Your purity;

Holy Spirit, breathe new life in me.

Holy Spirit, come abide within,

May Your joy be seen in all I do.

Love enough to cover every sin,

In each thought and deed and attitude.

Kindness to the greatest and the least,

Gentleness that sows the path of peace.

Turn my strivings into works of grace;

Breath of God show Christ in all I do.

Holy Spirit, from creation’s birth,

Giving life to all that God has made,

Show Your power once again on earth,

Cause Your church to hunger for your ways.

Let the fragrance of our prayers arise;

Lead us on the road of sacrifice,

That in unity the face of Christ

May be clear for all the world to see.

Keith Getty & Stuart Townend Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

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Grigor Fahlbusch