Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
I am shopping for a new car. After 13 years I think my Honda Pilot has served me well. Every time I fill up, I am reminded that I have a big car. The first question I had to answer was what kind of car do I want? I am leaning towards a smaller SUV because I like being up high and would like to save on refills at the pump. I also thought about the power source, deciding between gas, hybrid or electric. I’m intrigued with the electric cars, but I was not thrilled when taking a road trip in my friend’s Tesla and needing to stop at charging stations, and mapping the trip based on recharging. I want a power source so that I can go where I want, when I want.
(I know some of you will tout the wonders of electric cars to me after church….)
With modern technology we have three choices in our transportation power source: gas, hybrid or electric. But when it comes to spiritual power there is only one – The Holy Spirit.
Listen now to the first Spirit filling when the Holy Spirit breathed life into an infant church awaiting Christ’s return.
When the day of Pentecost had come, disciples were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
Pentecost, rush of a violent wind, tongues of fire, being filled with the Holy Spirit! This great filling means diverse groups of people who gathered to celebrate the first fruits of the harvest had their language barriers torn down and spirit filled revelations shared. This great filling fulfilled Joel’s prophecy of women and men, slave and free having the Holy Spirit poured out upon them. This great filling led to 3,000 converts to Christianity in one day!
Pentecost is the birthday of the church and the most dramatic demonstration of the power of the Holy Spirit. But if we see this as an isolated, historic event then we have missed the point. The disciples are empowered with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost and encouraged to begin the ministry that will share God’s love beyond Jerusalem. But let’s be clear the Spirit has been moving, hovering, since before the creation of the world, before God put form to land and lemurs, hawks and humans. Our Psalm attests to the power of the Spirit moving in creation. “Sending forth God’s Spirit, they are created; and God renews the face of the ground” (v. 30). The same Spirit moved through the prophets like when Ezekiel saw a vision of God’s Spirit blowing through a valley of dry bones and bringing them to life. The Spirit descended upon Jesus as a dove at his baptism. A side note here. Celtic Christians chose, not the dove, but the wild goose as a symbol representing the Holy Spirit. It sounds strange to us, but it has a long tradition in Scotland and Ireland. A wild goose is one noisy, bothersome bird. A wild goose is well, wild. I like this image of the Holy Spirit because it jars us out of our complacency. It reminds us that the Spirit of God cannot be tamed or contained, and when it comes to God, to expect the unexpected.
Going back to cars for a minute. Power can be used in at least two ways: it can be unleashed, or it can be harnessed. The energy in ten gallons of gasoline, for instance, can be released explosively by dropping a lighted match into the can. Or it can be channeled through the engine of a Honda in a controlled burn and used to transport a person 350 miles. Explosions are spectacular, but controlled burns have lasting effect, staying power. The Holy Spirit works both ways. At Pentecost, she exploded on the scene; her presence was like “tongues of fire” (Acts 2:3). Thousands were affected by one burst of God’s power. But she also works through the church–the community God began to tap the Holy Spirit’s power for the long haul. Through worship, fellowship, and service, Christians are provided with staying power and we should always expect the unexpected!
The first point is the Holy Spirit intensified during Pentecost, but it did not start there or end there. The entire book of Acts is called the gospel of the Holy Spirit because there are so many times, over 40, that the Spirit is the source of power, the reason for an event. Over and over again disciples are filled and refilled with the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit is the source of guidance preparing Peter to receive Cornelius (10:19) and for Paul and Barnabas to be set apart to take the gospel to the Gentiles (13:2,4).
The Spirit filled the early church leaders who were caring for the needy (6:3).
The Spirit gave Peter courage to face the Sanhedrin (4:31). When the disciples needed courage, power, eloquence or joy it all came from a single source, the power of the Holy Spirit.
The second point is Pentecost reminds us of the power of the Spirit so that we can be open to the Spirit filling and refilling us today. Spirit comes from the Hebrew word Ruach which means breath going back to God breathing life into humans. In the same manor, the Holy Spirit breathed upon all the people gathered at Pentecost changing the world forever. The Breath of God is still moving today. For us to get a sense of this let’s take this balloon. It is empty, lifeless and does not move. It is essentially dead. But if I breathe into this balloon, what happens? It fills with air; but until it is released it does nothing. When the power, the breath, within the balloon is released it is wild, it goes where it wants.
Jesus did not give the disciples the Spirit’s power so that they could stay behind locked doors in fear. It is given as a power to move people out into the world — even if we don’t always know exactly where we will end up.
What happens once the energy, the breath of the balloon, is spent? It is empty again. But it can also be refilled. I can fill it with the power of breath and more wild things can happen.
I can fill and refill this balloon. We are filled and refilled by the Spirit all the time.
We will never run out of the Spirit’s power.
Jesus promises that the Spirit will be with us forever. The Spirit given to you in baptism is a forever Spirit, a moving Spirit, a holy Spirit. Worship, service, community is our weekly fill up, energizing us, refilling us with the Spirit, for the coming week.
In closing I want to share a story I heard this week. A man named Trevor was a confirmed bachelor. All of a sudden, he had an instant family. His sister had adopted a child from Asia, but then his sister died, leaving Trevor with a little girl to raise. His well-educated brother also pitched in to help raised the child. They arranged for Trevor to earn the living and his brother assume the day to day care. But then his brother needed to go into rehab, Trevor sent him, and cared for the little girl. All the responsibility was on Trevor. This happened several times. I asked Trevor if he felt resentful caring for everyone. He said he was starting to, but during a road trip to Southern California that resentment was lifted. Trevor said, “the Holy Spirit came over me, filled me, and my resentment was gone.” An active resentment was lifted by the power of the Spirit, by the healing and wild imagination and care of God. Years later the child is now raised, and his brother has since passed, but Trevor is at peace knowing that he was able to provide for his sudden family. He truly was filled with the Spirit, healing the resentment, and inspiring his generous care.
On this Pentecost Sunday what wild thing is God’s Spirit doing in your life? Are you being healed of a resentment, called into ministry, encouraged on the path you are on? The Spirit is moving, God’s Spirit is with us now. Our question is what is the Spirit calling you to do or helping you to see?
May we trust that the Spirit fills and refills us as we walk this path, this life of Faith. Amen.
