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June 04, 2006

Fred Heard - Pentecost 2006

Pentecost Sunday, 2006 Holy Trinity
Father Fred Heard John 20:19-23

In our Thursday Bible Class, one of the members asked me what they could take away from that class for Pentecost 2006. I said I wanted to hear the other class members respond to the question before I gave my opinion. She probably thought I was dodging the question.

But Pentecost is a time when we receive a very important promised gift from Jesus…the Holy Spirit. This third part of the Trinity is one of the least understood of our gifts. Think for a time about water as a metaphor for God. Water can be solid as it is in the ice of a glacier. Representing God, the glacier ice can create valleys and even pull rocks apart. It can re-create the world. Water can be liquid when we drink it from a glass. Jesus is the water springing up from the earth bringing life and sustaining us. Jesus washes away our sins. Water can also be the steam in a turbine engine. In this story, the Holy Spirit is represented by steam and it has unlimited power. It can take the heat of fire and like God the Holy Spirit; steam is a source of unlimited power and potential. That is quite a gift.

A traditional Jewish holiday, Pentecost called for a huge celebration. Faithful Jews were summoned from around the world. It was full of ceremony and tradition but in a modern sense, rather boring. But, suddenly with a great rush of wind the whole world changed. The Spirit came and filled Jesus’ disciples with the Holy Spirit. A very small Jewish sect was transformed into a world religion during that Pentecost moment. The apostles were empowered to bring the good news of Christ to every nation on earth.

This is a day of baptism and new birth: a day when we are visibly reminded that what happened to those disciples happens to us all. Today we celebrate with balloons, banners, flowers, and red clothing in churches throughout the world. Today’s scriptures are read in many languages and it is not just one big language lesson. It is a day to symbolize the miracle of Pentecost when everyone who was there could hear God’s word in languages they could understand.

Speaking the language of the people is one of the great accomplishments and goals of the Anglican Church. More than 400 years ago, the Book of Common Prayer and the King James Bible were published in English so the people could understand their worship service. The reason for the change was forgotten and as each succeeding generation has attempted to keep the language of our liturgy and music current and contemporary, there is always great opposition to those update changes.

Today at Holy Trinity, we baptize Devon during our 9:10 service and next Sunday in Oregon, I will baptize my grandson, Carter. Those two children will grow up in a world that is much different than this world of 2006. Pentecost, 2006 asks us questions—first are we up to the challenges that lie ahead of us? Can we preach and teach and share the gospel in a language familiar to us in this sanctuary—but also in the language of our workplace, in the language of the computer and the classroom and the mall? Can we share this gospel in the changing language of our culture and our streets? And, oh yes, can we make ourselves understood in the language of Devon and Carter? You see, one of the great challenges of Pentecost is that we share the Good News of Jesus Christ in all of the places where God’s people gather. The message is we can fulfill our baptismal covenant as modern disciples and evangelists only if we can communicate the care and the love of Christ. The world is not static—it does change…and the language changes and our tools of communication change. I am currently reading a book about John Adams, the second President of the United States…that wasn’t that long ago—only a little more than 200 years. Some of President Adam’s official statements or the letters between him and his wife Abigail are not easy to read because the language is different. Think for a moment about how the language has changed from when you were a child and today—now take that and ponder how communication tools have changed during your lifetime. It is up to the church and the 2006 disciples to communicate the Good News in whatever way it will be effective and understood.

Some people will say, “But, I have no tools or talents or gifts to communicate as you are suggesting.” One of the things I asked the Thursday Bible Class to do was think of five gifts you have been given as a Child of God. For some it was easy and others it was not so easy. Many are modest—but you really cannot help someone if you don’t know what you can give. For instance, I am not going to offer to tutor a young college friend in civil engineering because I know that is not my bag. I will offer to make lunch however, if someone else does the tutoring. I am not going to offer to drive someone to the doctor if I have no car or driver’s license—but I will offer to water their plants and feed their cat if they have to go into the hospital.

In today’s second reading, Paul reminds us there are “varieties of gifts and talents” and that we are more prepared than we might think. “…it is the same God who activates all (gifts) in everyone…To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.” What we sometimes forget is that these spiritual gifts are given to us for a spiritual purpose. These gifts might manifest themselves in sports, science, art or music, finances or faith. Through our baptism we have been given our special way to serve as a part of the body of Christ.

But always, let us remember as Douglas Wood tells us there is a secret in life and the world is full of secrets. Some people know them and others do not. The best secrets are the ones that make us happy. We might find the secret in life when the best times come on a beautiful sunny day and we remember to say thanks for that day…or when we see a flower almost like it was for the first time and remember to say thank you…or when we are dreaming as we lie under an old tree enjoying the cool shade on a hot day…perhaps we hear a bird sing and remember to say thank you for that gentle music…or we remember to say thank you for all the creatures whether fur or feathers or scales or shells because they remind us of the mystery and beauty of life on our small blue planet…and then there are the stars and the moon in the sky that light our way on a dark night and we remember to say thank you and perhaps the secret is there or maybe it is in our homes as we sit at the table with the people we love and we say thank you to them—

But then Douglas Wood in his book for children: The Secret of Saying Thanks suggests you might feel the secret when someone is holding your hand, or kissing away tears, or hugging you close, or reading you a story, or tucking you into bed at night and reminding you to say your prayers…Ultimately we will find the secret is: “The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time. The more we say thanks, the more we find to be thankful for, and the more we find to be thankful for, the happier we become.” --We don’t give thanks because we’re happy. We are happy because we give thanks…and that is the message my Brothers and Sisters on this Pentecost 2006. The issue is not whether you have been given spiritual gifts. You have. Paul makes that perfectly clear in this morning’s reading. As a priest at Trinity for nearly three years, I hear people praying thanksgiving prayers all of the time for the many gifts that abounds in this place. Others are praying for you and about you and your gifts. On this Pentecost, acknowledge and celebrate what you have been given by God. The Holy Spirit has visited you and is a part of you. Use your gifts and give those gifts to those who need to hear the Good News. Proclaim the Good News in the language of the people who call you to their side and never forget that Devon and Carter are depending on you and God has given you the tools to reach out to them. AMEN