The Pentecost Moment

Thursday Chapel. That's when I offer a short sermon on Pentecost. Bishop Spain gave me the order of worship today, and it included a title for the sermon on Acts 2:1-14: "The Pentecost Moment." Interesting. I had never thought of the event in Acts 2 as a moment... but you know, only four verses of the chapter describe the sound like a mighty wind, tongues like fire, and speaking in foreign languages. The remaining verses, all 43 of them, describe responses to that event.

I want to raise some questions Thursday: Do we really believe in the presence and power of God's Holy Spirit in our lives? If we aren't sure, what might change in our lives if we did believe? If we do believe, do we live and act out of that belief?

I wonder if it is easier to believe in the presence of God's Holy Spirit when the big things happen and we know that we have no control of outcomes, when our only option is relying on a power greater than our own. Katrina. Tornadoes. Floods. Cyclones. Tsunamis. Catastrophic illness. Job loss. Death of a loved one. I suspect it may be more difficult to believe as we move through the everyday details of life, through the daily grind of tasks and responsibilities. What would the daily grind be like if we believed in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit every moment?

Believe is a good word. It means so much more than simply assenting to some basic truth. It comes from a word family that includes the meanings confidence, trust, desire, like, and love. These meanings point to a sense of giving oneself to something.

In Acts 2, the disciples experienced a power that transformed them and that transformed others through them. The commentary in the old Interpreter's Bible said the disciples were not sitting around using their minds and emotions to work out a concept of the Holy Spirit. God as Holy Spirit was working on THEM, on their minds and emotions.

If I had to tell somebody about the Holy Spirit, about who or what the Holy Spirit of God is, what would I say? Again, the IB commentary sounds good to me: the vital energy of God, the creative and vitalizing force of the world, the source of skill, strength, wisdom, ecstasy, inspiration, and morality.

This is where I am tonight with this Pentecost Moment. I'll work more in the morning before I head to the office.