The Power of the Spirit - Acts 2:1-12
2023 Le Couteur/Whitaker House Chapel Sermon
One of the most enduring memories for me in my experience of Church was when I was representing the Uniting Church at the World Methodist Conference in Houston, Texas. This was a gathering of thousands of people from across the world, all with a common Methodist or Uniting Church heritage. It was a profound time of learning and sharing from one another. But one of the most striking moments for me was in the Opening Worship, when we were invited to pray the Lord’s Prayer in our own language. Suddenly, in this vast conference hall you heard this incredible crackling of thousands of voices speaking in a multitude of different languages, but each saying the same, ancient prayer. We all paused at the same time and finished at the same time, even though we were also saying different words. It showed me this idea of finding unity through diversity. We were all unified in prayer, although we were speaking diverse languages. It was a profoundly moving experience and gave me the closest insight into the moment of Pentecost, which is the reading we heard today.
The story of Pentecost is one of the most important stories within the Christian tradition and speaks about the Coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples. It’s a celebration that Churches around the world will mark in two week’s time. Pentecost occurred some weeks after Jesus’ Resurrection, which we celebrated at Easter, and after Jesus has ascended into Heaven and left the disciples for good. It was now left to them to continue Jesus’ teaching and do God’s work. But Jesus has promised them that they will not be left alone and that God would send them the Holy Spirit to be with them, to encourage and inspire them.
In this story, the disciples are gathered in a room and suddenly they hear a rushing wind and then see tongues of fire coming to rest above each disciples’ head. This wind and this fire were a manifestation of the Holy Spirit, God’s enduring Spirit that is with all people; even today. That manifestation of the Spirit allowed the disciples to speak in different languages, all the various languages of the people who were gathered in Jerusalem from all over the known world. Those people were able to hear and understand the disciples, in their own language, as they proclaimed Jesus’ message.
As Christians, we believe that the Spirit is with us today. It is an embodiment of God’s presence that moves amongst us, inspiring us, sustaining us and connecting us. The Spirit is God’s presence that endures today.
When we explore the notion of the Holy Spirit and the story of Pentecost, we come to understand this idea of unity through diversity. God’s Spirit gives each of us unique and diverse gifts, skills and ideas but draws us together as one from that diversity.
I am constantly reminded of that notion of unity through diversity through this picture. It’s the picture that has been the background of my phone for many years. Although, seemly inconsequential, for me it’s profoundly inspiring. It’s a photo I took many years ago when I was working in congregational Youth Ministry and preparing an activity on Pentecost for children. It was simply a variety of coloured bits of paper that I cut out into different shapes and was then going to get the kids to stick onto a big sheet. A very simple manifestation of diversity coming together in a unified way.
But as I looked at that multitude of paper strewn on my desk, I was inspired by the simple image of diverse ideas coming together in one place, so I took a photo and that’s photo has inspired me since. Each time I check my phone is see this photo and am reminded of God’s Spirit, gifting us each with diverse and unique gives yet drawing us together in connection with one another for the building up of the whole.
The foundational document of the Uniting Church, the Basis of Union, also speaks about the way God’s Spirit unites us together and calls us to use our diverse gifts to serve the wider body. It says this ,
God has given to all people the Holy Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of the coming reconciliation and renewal which is the end in view of the whole creation. The Church’s call is to serve that end, to be a fellowship of reconciliation, a body within which the diverse gifts of its members are used for the building up of the whole.
Now I realise that is overly ‘Churchy’ language that might seem strange to some. And while specifically targeted towards Church, I think there is a broader message there. Our call as individuals is to be a fellowship of reconciliation, a place where all people are brought together as one and to be a body where diverse gifts are used for the building up of the collective.
If we are people who stive for connection with one another and connectivity to different groups in society, then we should be striving to be people who seek to create spaces where diversity can be valued and differences should flourish. We should strive to create places were different gifts have a place to belong and where they can contribute to the greater good of the whole.
At the heart of it all, that is what the Holy Spirit means for us today. It is the Spirit through which God moves amongst us and sustains us. It is God’s presence that gives us hope and sustenance when we face times of challenge. It is the Spirit that gives us each individual good gifts and skills and encourages us to use them for the building up of the whole.
If we are people who strive for greater connection with one another, then we should be challenged to think about how we might use our individual and diverse gifts for the building up of the whole. And as we do that, we have the enduring image of the Spirit, the rushing wind and the flaming light at Pentecost to remind us that through it all, God is with us.
