Pentecost

June 4, 2006

The Rev. Dorian McGlannan

 

Pentecost is a pinnacle point in the story of faith. It is, as well-known preacher Herbert O’Driscoll describes, “a time when divine energy and the human heart interlock.” What an image! Just imagine. We have moved through Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension. And then! The Holy Spirit descends on God’s people

 

The electricity of God’s power is with us all the time. We are walking through the mist of that energy every moment of our lives. Then on those special occasions, that energy rushes into our hearts. The interlocking of divine energy and the human heart, well that is something else indeed. 

 

The possibility for Holy Spirit experiences is more frequent than we might think. Our spiritual responsibility is to make space for those interventions. More often than not, we set up enormous blocks to the energy of the divine:  television, talk radio, shopping, mindless small talk and gossip. We have to make a conscious decision to clear the space for God’s energy to reach us, for God’s energy to embrace us. We need to make a decision to receive the Holy Spirit, to breathe the Holy Spirit deeply into our lives. Surrounded and embraced by the Holy Spirit, miraculous events happen in people’s lives: shy people are able to address a crowd, fearful people are able to take great risks, bitter people become heartfelt, suspicious people learn to trust, frugal people open their pocketbooks, grumpy people become surrounded by genuine friends… There is no limit to the power of the Holy Spirit. 

 

The second chapter of the book of Acts from which today’s reading comes continues on following the story of the giving of the Holy Spirit. After the event of Pentecost, Peter preached to those who were gathered in Jerusalem. That must have been some sermon! The book of Acts tells us that those who heard the sermon were cut to the heart. They asked Peter what they should do. His response was simple: “repent and be baptized”. And so they were - a mere three thousand of them - an altar call beyond all altar calls. This chapter from Acts is a powerful chapter of scripture. It talks about the releasing of holy energy in our lives. It is they story of divine intervention par excellence. Stories of the Bible don’t get any better than this.  

 

Baptism is an amazing sacrament. In it we walk into the river and wash away everything that stands between us and the love of Christ. We die with Christ and are reborn with him. Through anointing we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

What about this repentance of which Peter speaks and which is a core element of our baptism service? In a few moments those speaking on behalf of our baptismal candidate will join in three renunciations. The renunciations speak of the powers of evil, of turning our backs on the spiritual forces of wickedness that rebel against God, of the evil powers which destroy the creatures of God and all sinful desires which take us away from the love of God. This is what Peter means by repentance – riding ourselves from whatever keeps us from hearing God’s word, from following God’s word. Each of us has our list, our list of struggles in our own lives, struggles which keep us from living more faithfully. Repentance is about naming those struggles and turning them over to God. The key is to be ever so honest in naming our shortcomings because you are the only people you can change and I am the only person I can change. 

 

The renunciations in our baptismal service are followed by three affirmations which speak of reorienting our lives. The affirmations all have to do with our relationship to Christ, accepting him as our savior, putting our whole trust in his grace and love, following and obeying him. We make dramatic promises when we submit ourselves and our loved ones to the waters of baptism. Through baptism we claim the Christian faith for ourselves and those whom we bring to the water. Through a simple encounter with the river of life, we are admitted into the worldwide Christian community and with that comes great responsibility. 

 

The abundance of God’s grace is always there for us. God always loves us. The part that belongs to us, the piece for which we alone are responsible is to be faithful to the promises we make, to make space for God, to immerse ourselves in the waters of baptism and then in the life of the church. Through the discipline of being in church, we open ourselves to the activity of the Holy Spirit and to the formation provided by the community of faith. 

 

Pentecost is the time for all of us, brand new and life long Christians, to renew our baptismal covenant, to remind ourselves to trust that God will always be there for us. Pentecost is a time to be open to the Holy Spirit; a time to shake off whatever might separate us from the love of God.  Pentecost is the time to take the risks of faith. It is an explosive time – the interlocking of divine energy with the human heart.   

 

And so I leave you with this charge. Don’t hold your breath. Continue to breathe in the Spirit of life. Keep being open to whatever God puts before you. Listen to those wild and crazy ideas that come charging into your consciousness. Some people call them “ah ha” experiences, others call it intuition. From that first experience of the breath of God blasting through those who were gathered in Jerusalem, the church has called it the Holy Spirit.