Primed for Joy: May 19, 2024

Year B, Pentecost Acts 2:1-22

Last week I had the opportunity to complete my women’s leadership training through Princeton Seminary.  It started 18 months ago and included women from across the country.  We were split into small groups and our group had 7 women from 6 different states and 5 different denominations.  I have learned a tremendous amount from these women over the past year and a half.  

One of them is at University Baptist Church in Austin-- right across from the University of Texas.  During our time together, she shared what it was like opening her church up as a respite center for the college protesters.  Her church became not just a safe space, but a place of healing.  People could come after being sprayed with pepper spray and tear gas, a place people came to weep after being released from jail.  She said she never saw any violence from the students, but excessive use of force from the police in riot gear.  She spoke of poetry readings, interfaith worship, and the joy that accompanied these unexpected moments.  The group she encountered was made up of Jews, Muslims, Christians and agnostics, all working together.  One of the other pastors in our group said it sounded just like Pentecost and I thought…well Pentecost with riot gear. It made me wonder what would happen if Pentecost happened today.    

A lot of people think that Pentecost was always a Christian holiday, one of the originals that we invented.  But it was, and still is a Jewish holiday. Our story from Acts refers to a crowd gathering.  It says, “Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.” That crowd was there to celebrate the Jewish feast of Pentecost. In the Jewish faith, Pentecost marks the end of the spring harvest.  People gathered together to present their first fruits of the harvest.  It was a time to praise God and show gratitude for all God had given.   

Later in chapter 2 of Acts, it says that 3,000 people were baptized. Presumably not everyone present was baptized which means this crowd was at least 3,000 people.  That is significant crowd. They were there for their own purposes (the Jewish feast of Pentecost) and it must have been rather jarring to have their holiday suddenly usurped by 12 Galilean fishermen who were speaking in different languages. Their behavior was so bizarre that people assumed these disciples of a crucified Messiah were drunk.  It had to be very unsettling.    

Peter defended himself and his companions by quoting the prophet Joel and talking about the sun turning to darkness and the moon to blood.  That’s just a weird way to try to calm a crowd.  It seems to me that would have just stirred people up, which is exactly what the Holy Spirit is known for, stirring things up.  But the crowd didn’t know that.  They were there for a harvest festival.  They were not there for tongues of fire, blood moons and seemingly intoxicated disciples.  This was in Jerusalem…a city. This wasn’t in a field in the middle of nowhere.  What do you think would happen in Old City if there was an event like that…without a permit? Would there be police? Almost surely.  I would probably be the one calling them, because this would be alarming  

After Peter preached his disturbing, but inspiriting sermon, the people were clearly moved. That was why they were baptized.  Yet I can’t help but wonder what the Roman authorities were thinking. We don’t actually know if there were any Roman soldiers on the scene at Pentecost. The Roman military was known for getting involved in anything that might be perceived as disturbing the peace.   The years 27 BC to 180 AD are referred to as Pax Romana because it was a period of relative peace and security for the Roman Empire. Jesus’ life and death and the birth of the church falls squarely in that period.  But that peace was enforced by the Roman military.  One of the reasons that Jesus was killed was because they feared rebellion.  Yet, even if there were soldiers on the scene, they didn’t respond with violence, because that would have been included in the story. 

When I started thinking about this sermon, I wanted to talk about why our nation and world seems to deal with things so violently and I was going to contrast our present day with the peaceful Pentecost 2000 years ago. But the reality is that humans have been hurting each other since Adam and Eve’s eldest son killed the younger one.  We have just found more and efficient ways to do it.   

Now I understand that some of these protesters are bad actors and that many are breaking rules that are there for a purpose.  I also know that some of these protests have included anti-Semitic behavior.  And that is one of the reasons I have not wanted to discuss it. I have heard personal stories of some horrific anti-Semitic behavior. It’s terrifying and heinous.  But there has to be a way for people to express themselves on divisive issues without it escalating to violence.  Not every college protest has ended with the police coming in.  We are capable of disagreeing in this nation without it leading to violence. 

I have struggled so much with this sermon because while I never pretend to have all the answers in any sermon, I try not to leave you more confused at the end.  I have been thinking, what’s missing in our world…or maybe not missing, but it short supply?  What had made us so quick to attack rather than finding ways to communicate? We had our last class on spiritual disciplines, which Noah brilliantly led.  And our final spiritual discipline was celebration.  We spent a lot of time talking about the things that bring us joy.  And I realized…that’s what’s in short supply.  It’s joy.   I am not talking about happiness which we often equate with worldly things or even things that we have to earn---I am talking about the joy that comes when we see God in the world around us—when we show gratitude for what God has given us, which is exactly what the first Pentecost was. 

When my friend at the University of Texas talks about everything going on, it comes out in a mixture of tears, smiles, laughter, and more tears.  She has found so much joy in this new community that she is witnessing. She has also seen a lot of pain. If she can see joy in that tense and volatile situation, then we still have hope.  There is joy in our world.  Sometimes it is more subtle and sometimes quite obvious. We have a beautiful opportunity to witness joy today in our service because what is more joyful than a baptism?   What is more joyful than welcoming a new person into our community? What is more joyful than telling someone that they are marked at Christ’s own forever? 

But what about those times when joy is harder to recognize?  Our Acts reading is full of energy and joy.  The reading from Romans speaks to those times when joy and hope are elusive---times when it’s hard to pray and praise. In those times Paul (the author of Romans) writes that the Holy Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just come to us on happy occasions, or in tongues of fire, or even worship.  It comes to us in one on one conversations, sometimes painful conversations.  Sometimes moments of silence, or when we choose to listen instead of talk.  It come in sighs too deep for words…  

The Holy Spirit is here for all of it. I wonder if the answer is in that very first Pentecost.  That crowd gathered was there to praise God, to thank God for the harvest God had given them.  That joy and gratitude—it primed them to hear what the disciples were saying, even though it wasn’t at all what they expected.  That is why prayer and praise helps us, not just in our relationship with God, but in our relationship with one another.  It primes us for joy.  

Writing Our Stories of Transformation: May 5, 2024

Year B, Easter 6                                    Acts 10:44-48                                                            

        Recently I was contacted a by radio station that wanted to talk about the history of Christ Church.  Of course, I know many of the highlights and I got a tour of the church when I interviewed here, but I wanted to hear what stories our educators were regularly telling.  I contacted one of our educators and asked him what the go-to stories were. They were all from the 1700s.  I said, “Don’t you have any from the 1800s or 1900s?”  And he said, “Well, there are some, but we mostly stick to the 1700s.”  I understand that.  People come to Philadelphia because they want to hear about the start of our nation…which was in the 1700s. 

In some ways, we do the same thing when we tell the story of Christianity. The New Testament basically covers 100 years. In the Easter season, we emphasize this even more by replacing the Old Testament reading with readings from the Book of Acts.  We do this is partly to distinguish the Easter season from other seasons.  Something big happened on Easter, something that changed the world for everyone (whether they know it or not).  For these 50 days after Easter, we look ahead instead of behind.  The Book of Acts tells the story of the beginning of the Christian Church.  In doing so, it tells of transformation of individuals and groups.  It doesn’t just tell the story of what happened before, it gives us a template for our future story. 

            The Acts reading we have for today seems rather innocuous.  The Holy Spirit fell on some people and Peter decided to baptize them.  This is chapter 10 of Acts.  In just a few weeks we will hear the Pentecost story from the 2^nd chapter of Acts where the Holy Spirit fell on people in the form of fire.  People who did not even know the language that the disciples were speaking, could suddenly understand the disciples as if they were speaking their own language.  It was quite a scene.  Therefore the scene this week is well…boring in comparison.

            The problem is that we missed a few critical chapters between last week’s story of the baptism and conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch and this week’s story.  Therefore, to fully appreciate the drama of what happens in this text, let me share a little about what happened in the previous chapters, particularly with Peter.  As most of us know, Peter had some rough moments in the Gospels.  He did not come out looking like a star disciple. However, after the resurrection, Peter truly shined.  In chapter 9, we hear a story of Peter healing a paralyzed man, and then, as if that was not impressive enough, he brought someone back from the dead.   This undoubtedly gave Peter some confidence in his abilities, as well as his connection to God.

            After Peter raised someone from the dead we hear stories of two visions from God.  One is for Cornelius, a Roman officer, and one is for Peter.  Cornelius’s vision was simply a command to find Peter.  Peter’s vision was a little more complicated.  It involved a command from God to eat animals that were considered unclean by the Jews.  Peter initially insisted that he could not eat these animals because he would never eat anything considered profane or unclean by Jewish law.  Finally God responded, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” The God who raised Jesus from the dead had changed things.  God was telling Peter that it was time for him to change as well. 

            Shortly after this vision, Peter was called to the home of Cornelius, a Gentile and a Roman soldier.  Just the fact that Peter agreed to go to the home of a Gentile is remarkable.  There was something from that vision of the unclean animals---and perhaps even before that vision---that opened him up to this possibility. He met Cornelius, as well as Cornelius’ family and friends and heard the story of Cornelius’ vision from God.  Peter came to know Cornelius and his family as more than just Gentiles, but as people who God had called.

Peter proceeded to share this sermon: “I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”  This is a complete 180 from what Peter previously had thought.  Up until now, he had only preached to the Jews.  He had believed that only Jews could hear and receive the message of Jesus Christ.

            This turn around was partially due to the vision that God had sent, where he proclaimed that what God had made clean, no one could call profane.  But it also came from his interactions with Gentiles, the time he spent talking to them and eating with them. It was probably a more gradual change than it appears in these few chapters. It was no doubt a difficult change.  He didn’t just have a vision and fundamentally change his world view. He opened himself up to the movement of the Spirit.  He let down his guard enough to see that maybe things were not as clear as he once thought.

Wisps of the Holy Spirit had slowly whittled away at those beliefs that had been so sacred to him, so foundational to his faith.  It was not an easy transformation, as transformations rarely are.  But the transformation he made altered the course of history.  Without his willingness to be open to the Holy Spirit, we might not have a Christian faith today.

            That is what brings us to today’s reading.   He was at Cornelius’ house and a crowd formed.  It was a crowd of Gentiles.  Peter told the crowd the story of his vision and experience with Cornelius.  While Peter was speaking to these Gentiles, proclaiming the good news, the Holy Spirit fell upon every person who was listening to this good news. I love that the text says, “While Peter was still speaking…” The Holy Spirit interrupted Peter. It’s like it could not wait any longer. The Holy Spirit swept in and fell upon these Gentiles.  Surely Peter’s words had something to do with their transformation, but the text proves that there is something unpredictable about the Spirit, even to super apostles like Peter.  

While the Holy Spirit surprised Peter a little, it shocked the Jews who were the companions of Peter. They could not believe that the Holy Spirit would be poured onto these unbelievers, these Gentiles.  It is understandable that they were shocked.  After all, the Holy Spirit had been working on Peter for a while now.  He had seen visions. He had gotten to know faithful Gentiles.  But for Peter’s companions, this was new and shocking. 

Peter could have said, well, let’s prayerfully discern this. We can have some listening sessions, form a task force—then in a year or so we can decide whether we should start baptizing Gentiles. Nope, he simply asked the Jews in his midst, “Can anyone withhold the water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.”  No one could.  They could have said no. They could have grumbled and said things under their breath (which they probably did).  But no one was willing to withhold water from people who had already received the Holy Spirit. 

            The Book of Acts does not merely tell us the history of the beginning of the church.  It tells us our purpose.  It tells us our potential as people of the risen Christ. Sometimes in the church, we focus far too much on what has happened as opposed to what can happen. We focus on stories that have already been told.  That is understandable as we have a lot of great stories. But we cheat ourselves when we act like our faith is one of history and not a story of how we live today and tomorrow. 

The only way that we can move forward as people of faith and as a congregation is if we ask ourselves where the Holy Spirit is moving us now…what change might be on the horizon? What walls can we break down? Who are the Gentiles today? Sometimes it seems like it’s anyone we don’t agree with because we have gotten so bad at seeing the humanity in the people who we perceive as wrong or not as enlightened as we are. There are so many opportunities for connection and transformation.

            Imagine if there were no stories of transformation in the Bible.  It is impossible to imagine because it would be mind numbingly boring.  So why is it that we do think we can live on the transformation of people who have come before us?  We can’t.  The stories of the Acts of the Apostles are 2000 years old. We need new stories.  That’s up to us.  Let’s make sure that when an educator gives a tour in 100 years, they are talking about not just the 1700s (or even the 1800s), but the 21^st century.  We can build those stories of transformation now.