First Reading Ezekiel 37:1–14
1 The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord GOD, you know.” 4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. 5 Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6 I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 7 So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8 I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. 9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord GOD: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” 10 I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. 11 Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12 Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. 14 I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD.”
Psalm Psalm 139:1–16
1 Lord, you have searched me out; O Lord, you have known me. 2You know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3You trace my journeys and my resting-places and are acquainted with all my ways. 4Indeed, there is not a word on my lips, but you, O Lord, know it altogether. 5You encompass me, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. 6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain to it. 7Where can I go then from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I make the grave my bed, you are there also. 9If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10even there your hand will lead me and your right hand hold me fast. 11If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me, and the light around me turn to night,” 12 darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day; darkness and light to you are both alike. 13For you yourself created my inmost parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14I will thank you because I am marvelously made; your works are wonderful, and I know it well. 15My body was not hidden from you, while I was being made in secret and woven in the depths of the earth. 16Your eyes beheld my limbs, yet unfinished in the womb; all of them were written in your book; my days were fashioned before they came to be.
Second Reading Acts 2:1–21
1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they 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.’
Gospel John 15:26–27; 16:4b–15
Chapter 15 26 When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
Chapter 16 4b “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. 12 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
THE BROKEN ENGLISH OF PENTECOST
Notwithstanding the whole Global warming, Climate change industry and debate, everyone and everything, it seems, is “going green.” Take for example NASCAR. Last year NASCAR started a campaign, featuring Rousch driver Greg Biffle, boasting about all the environmentally friendly efforts they’re involved in: Everything from recycling, to planting trees, to solar energy reducing their carbon emission by 20 percent. And their efforts didn’t stop there. For the past couple of years have been using a 15 percent corn ethanol blend to fuel the race cars. Additionally, government regulations concerning fuel mileage has prompted the automotive industry to improve fuel efficiency and offer vehicles with low or no emissions.
As most of you know, for the last few of years, if you wanted, you can now buy a zero emissions, all electric car. And if the all-electric vehicle’s range is a problem, you also have the option purchasing a fuel efficient hybrid car. And it’s not just the auto industry that’s offering improved efficiency. Every manufacturer I know of is improving the energy efficiency of their products. Go into any store and you’ll find energy chiseling appliances, low-voltage corkscrew light bulbs and if you really want to save energy, you can purchase LED light bulbs. If you want to go further to reduce your carbon footprint or even “get off the grid” you can go with a sod roof now called “sky gardens,” and solar panels. Now please don’t get me wrong, I’m all for being responsible with the gifts of creation and science.
I think it’s important for us to take care of the earth, to recycle when possible, to use our resources wisely and leave this a better place for the generations that follow. I’m simply not buying into the whole sky is falling, the ice is melting and we’re all gonna fry because the ozone layer is disappearing. Again, being environmentally responsible is a good thing, however, for some recycling is the new mainline religion where throwing away a plastic bottle is a major heresy. The thing I want to recognize is that a lot of good has come from this green movement, some that simply make good sense.
One of the latest “green” products is also one of the loudest. “Sunchips,” a tasty little whole grain snack food, has “trashed” its old plastic bag packaging for a new “green” container. The Sunchips bag looks just about the same as any old bag of chips, but it’s now completely compostable. Bury a Sunchips bag in the ground and in a few weeks, it’s gone, sucked right back into the soil. It’s a idea that’s great for reducing landfill waste, plus it makes eating a tasty, salty snack food seem like a virtuous act. What’s even more interesting about this new bag is that while the compost ability makes for great advertising, the makers of this snack food manufactured it with another feature. The bag when handled is very loud.
If you haven’t done so already, the next time you’re in the supermarket, pick up a bag of Sunchips and you’d swear it was wearing a microphone. Whether it was intentional or a cool byproduct of the bag’s construction, the bag is really noisy. And the makers of Sunchips have capitalized on this feature. On the bag is a disclaimer of sorts, it says: “This bag is louder because it is compostable.” Every crunch and crinkle is amplified and resonates. Digging into a bag of Sunchips makes your ears hurt. Going to rock concerts and wearing ear buds connected to a cranked up Ipod are nothing compared to the din made by a Sunchips bag. Anyone with a serious Sunchip addiction may be the next big customer for the folks at Miracle Ear.
The point of all this Sunchips discussion is that this new sound created by the bag does make you sit up and take notice. The sound is different, it’s unexpected, and undeniable. Its loud noise calls attention to what makes it so different, so unique, among all the other chip choices. On Pentecost Sunday we celebrate a new sound.
The Holy Spirit came upon the disciples with “a sound like the rush of a mighty rushing wind.” The sound of the Spirit was so great that it “filled the entire house.” And then this huge universal sound became particular. The general became provincial and incarnational: the singular sound entered into each one of the disciples and became sound with a particular tone. The sound became languages real, distinct, human languages, that were spoken by various peoples all over the ancient near eastern world.
The disciples began to speak these languages, and the sounds of their voices called and communicated to the crowds who were passing by. To those who had come to Jerusalem from some far-off country, some distant region, there was suddenly a sound that sounded like “home.” No matter how many languages you might master in your lifetime there’ll always be one that is your “mother tongue.”
Your “native tongue” is the language that first expressed your feelings and fears, your desires and dreams. When traveling in distant lands, nothing perks up your ears quite so much as hearing a sudden snatch of conversation in your native tongue. When you’re away from home, hearing the language of home inspires you to strike up a conversation with someone you would never sit and talk to if you were home.
No wonder so many people who heard the Pentecost disciples spouting off, in all those languages, stopped and stooped to listen. Sophisticated travelers making their way to Jerusalem might have thought the disciples were just a gathering of grubby Galileans. But that changed when the dialect of home caught their ears and tweaked their heartstrings. Pentecost starts with the disciples using old, familiar languages to tell a wholly new story.
The old reveals the new, a new reality for a new world. The mother tongue spoke of the Father’s “deeds of power.” Then it was time for the Holy Spirit to begin speaking of the Son. The gift of the Holy Spirit transforms each of us into multilingual communicators. Because we are broken, sinful, human beings, we speak the language of despair and disappointment, guilt and betrayal, jealousy and greed. Because we have confessed Christ; because we have experienced death and resurrection through our baptism; because we’ve felt the power of divine love and forgiveness: we also now speak the language of hope and salvation, wholeness and health, future and fulfillment.
But we aren’t fluent in this Pentecost.
You and I are still broken people living in a broken world. We’re still bruised and battered people living in a bruised and battered world. Some of our wounds may never heal. Some of us will limp for a lifetime. But the very brokenness of our language is the “mother tongue” for others who listen to us. How many here today have ever heard of “broken English?”
Something I learned a few weeks ago was that “broken English” is now considered an actual language? North Carolina Judge Jesse Caldwell tells the story of a Vietnamese woman who was waiting her turn to be examined in a crowded hospital emergency room. She gradually became aware of a frustrating “non-conversation” being attempted a few seats down. A nurse was trying to ask a new patient for some details on her illness. The patient spoke Spanish. The nurse did not.
The Vietnamese woman listened for a minute then realized that while she didn’t speak Spanish she did understand the broken-English bits and phrases the Spanish speaking patient offered as answers. Because of her own experience of learning to communicate in “broken English,” the Vietnamese woman could hear the heart and gist of what this other woman was trying to say. The Vietnamese woman offered to “translate” the broken English of the Spanish speaker into something the nurse could understand. She was so successful at bridging the brokenness of their languages that eventually the Vietnamese woman was hired by the hospital as a kind of generic translator. Brokenness was the common language spoken by all hospital patients. The Holy Spirit speaks through broken people to a broken world, using language every broken heart can hear and understand.
Because we know what it’s like to be broken by hatred, we can speak of the healing love of Christ’s sacrifice. Because we know what it’s like to be broken by despair, we can speak of the healing hope of Christ’s forgiveness. Because we know what it’s like to be broken by doubt, we can speak of the healing faith in Christ’s promises. Because we know what it’s like to be broken by illness, we can speak of the healing wholeness of Christ’s resurrection. Because we know what it’s like to break down doing church — program church, purpose-driven church, seeker-sensitive church, organic church, missional church, simple church, we can stop doing church and start doing Pentecost.
The church of Jesus Christ is alive and well. In fact, Christianity is still the fastest growing religion in the world. But it’s growing not in the North and West, but in the South and East. Why the difference? Why is Christianity surging in the South and East and not in North America and Europe?
Because where the body of Christ is growing the people aren’t trying to do church. They’re doing Pentecost. Maybe it’s time for us as a church to stop relying on our own powers and programs, our blueprints and boilerplates, and start doing what these early disciples did: trust the Spirit and do Pentecost. When we do church, we’re concerned about our protection and position in the church. When we do Pentecost, we’re concerned about being out there in the world “hid with Christ in God.”
When we do church, we’re concerned about decency and order. When we do Pentecost, we’re concerned about fire and glory. When we do church, we want God to leave us alone; when we do Pentecost, we want God to order us around. When we do church, we wear out our lives maintaining an institution. When we do Pentecost, we set ourselves on fire, blow up evil, and our lives are spent setting off the gospel-dynamite of spirit and fire.
When we do church, we worry over human dreams, schemes and appointings; when we do Pentecost, we worry over divine anointings. When we do church, it’s all about human functions; when we do Pentecost, it’s all about divine unctions. When we do church, we’re organizing; when we do Pentecost, we’re agonizing . . . over a world God loved so much Jesus came to die for it.
Today is Pentecost Sunday. Isn’t it time we quit worrying about doing church and start doing PENTECOST? I think it’s time the world heard some different sounds . . . the sounds of eternal significance. It’s time we let the world hear the message of God’s love and redeeming power shown to us in Jesus Christ. It’s probably my most favorite piece of advice to give folks trying to achieve a goal. Don’t fall into the trap of allowing the numbers drive our ministry, instead, let our love and concern for the eternal welfare of others ministry drive our numbers. If we are truly, genuinely and whole heartedly willing to set aside our agendas and take up the agenda of God’s kingdom, then instead of simply doing church week in and week out we’ll be doing Pentecost and the message of God’s redeeming love in Jesus Christ will be shared with all those in our lives.
Amen