The Festival of Pentecost

May 19, 2002

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke’s Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Lessons:  Acts 2:1-21;  I Corinthians 12:3b-13;  St. John 20:19-23

     Today, Saint Luke describes for us the coming of the Holy Spirit in this way:  He writes in our First Lesson, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.  And suddenly, there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”

  This week, I’ve been thinking a lot about the power of the wind.  I got started thinking about it because my folks called last week, and said they’d had a severe thunderstorm—you know, Indiana has been having rain and storms for weeks now.  And Tuesday a week ago, after a particularly stormy night, my mom and dad drove up to our farm, and as they crested the hill that allows the first view of the farm, they saw that two of our three barns had been completely destroyed by the wind!  And these were big barns—hay barns with areas for storing grain and farm equipment and places where calves were corralled.  And the wind had picked up the huge, beam roofs, and thrown them aside, and the walls were blown down, like Lincoln Logs.  You see something like that, you think about the power of the rushing, violent wind—and it makes you think about those first disciples, in that upper room where the wind that was the breath of God’s Spirit blew, and St. Luke says it blew violently.  And it does make you think about the gift of the Spirit, at Pentecost, and how it was the power of the Holy Spirit that took these timid, frightened apostles, living, really, in hiding in the upper room, and transformed them into preachers and witnesses who seemed to know no fear.  How else could you understand what happened, for example, to Peter, who only days before had denied Jesus three times, for fear of being arrested and executed with Jesus, yet now, Peter is willing to stand up, publicly and preach the good news of Jesus crucified and risen?  How else would you explain Peter’s transformation, but by the great power of the Holy Spirit—the wind and breath of God that blew into the upper room, and filled Peter, and the others with such breath, with such inspiration, with such power, that they were changed.  They were made bold by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and being filled with the Spirit of God gave them energy, strength, momentum, enthusiasm and courage, to do what Jesus was calling them to do—to go, and speak the gospel in varied languages, to all people, so that all people would know, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved—regardless their race, or nationality, or background.  In one sense, that’s the kind of wind and power that we need in the Church today—a rushing, violent wind that fills us lethargic, fearful disciples, and knocks down our anxieties and hesitations about witnessing, and raises us up to be the bold, powerful preachers and teachers and examples that the first disciples were.  There’s a sense in which the Church needs a Pentecost every year to rouse us from our lukewarm, comfortable churches, and send us out to share the good news of Jesus Christ with our parents and children, our neighbors and friends—with all who have not yet come to know the good news of God, in Jesus Christ.  The truth is, we all know people who have not yet called on the name of the Lord, and so, are not yet saved.  We’re just not bold enough or strong enough or inspired enough to stand up publicly, and say, “Men of Judea and all who live in Colorado Springs—I am not drunk, as you suppose, but I am filled with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, risen from death, and I want you, too, to come to know Him, and to be filled with His loving, healing presence!”  It would take the violent, rushing wind of the Spirit to take control of most of us, to get us to do something like that—but, it can happen.  It did happen that first Pentecost.  And maybe it will happen to us, this Pentecost.  We can hope and pray for a new Pentecost!  But you know, the violent, rushing wind, that knocks down and raises up,  is not the only way that the Spirit comes to disciples.  We can hope and pray that it will come that way, to those who are open, and in need of a knock down-drag out experience of the Spirit!  But in our Gospel lesson, we hear of a different kind of Pentecost—a different way that the Spirit came, but powerful, nonetheless.  And that is when the Spirit came with peace.

     In St. John’s gospel, Jesus appeared to the disciples and the gift of the Spirit comes with peace…again and again, Jesus says to them, “Peace be with you.”  Then He showed them His hands and His side, and the disciples rejoiced, and Jesus said again, “Peace be with you—as the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”  And then, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  Interesting, isn’t it, that the Spirit came to the disciples once, with a rushing, violent wind, and again, with peace.  I don’t think it’s a coincidence, or a contradiction that the Holy Spirit comes once, with overpowering wind and fire, and again, with peace, and the gentle breath of Jesus.  It seems to me that is says to us, that the Spirit comes in different ways, to different people.  St. Paul says as much in our second reading, where he writes, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit—and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord—to each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”  What this says to us, is that there are different, but equally valid experiences of the Holy Spirit.  And each of us is to be open to the Spirit, however it comes to us.  Because just as some of us need to be knocked off our feet by the Spirit, and sent in a new direction in life, others of us need the Spirit to come to us, and bring us peace, to be able to face the people and circumstances that we already have in our lives.  And sometimes, the Spirit comes to the same person, in both ways, depending on the situation!  I have known the coming of the Spirit as a rushing, inspiring wind that has filled me with boldness and courage to preach with power—man the torpedoes, full speed ahead.   But I have also known the coming of the Spirit, as the Spirit of peace, that calmed me down, and allowed me to enter a darkened hospital room with a word of grace and forgiveness that freed a troubled soul to die, reconciled to God and embraced by the loving arms of Jesus.  As Paul says, “All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses.  And thank God for that.  Thank God that the Spirit comes violently and powerfully—and thank God that the Spirit comes and brings peace, and forgiveness.  Today, we simply thank God that the Spirit comes—that the Spirit is still coming to believers, allotting to each, individually, as the Spirit chooses.  And we pray, that the Spirit will continue to come, as the Spirit chooses.  We pray that the Spirit will come to the Church, and to individual believers in whatever way needed, to be able to bring people to forgiveness, to be able to proclaim our crucified and risen Lord, to be able to help all in our world to know, that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.  We celebrate the Holy Spirit, this Pentecost Sunday, but even more, we pray for the Holy Spirit, this Pentecost Sunday—praying, “Come, Holy Spirit!  Come as you choose—but COME!  Amen.