"Help is here" (Acts 2: 1-21) (Pentecost) (May 28 2023)
Sermon Title: Help is here (Pentecost)
Scripture: Acts 2:1-21
Date: May 28 2023
Location: United Church of Hyde Park
0. opening – the important day for “church”
Our senior pastor, Rev. Charlene Hill, is under the weather.
Today, I am fitting in to provide the message. And I believe it also resonates
with the original sermon title.
Let us pray.
耶和華──我的石磐，救贖我的主啊，願我的嘴所講的、心所想的佇你的面前得著接納。(詩篇19:14)(巴克禮台語漢字版，1933)
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (Psalm 19:14) (NRSV Updated Edition). Amen.
1. the challenge of a homogenous community
For some Christians, today is the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Easter. Pentecost in Greek means “50.” Traditionally, the color used in the worship service is in red, to represent the scripture we read today: “(The Spirit was like) Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.” (Acts 2:3)
For Jewish people, today, or around this week, is Shavuot, “one of the three pilgrimage festivals, that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan,”[1] a week of celebration for harvest. This is the background of the story today. On that busy day, “the devout Jews” gather in Jerusalem for the festival. They came back from various places, and they witnessed what was happening in front of them.
We might not be surprised that Jews were the majority members of Jesus’ fallowers in the very early time. Although in the New Testament, Jesus was consistently demonstrated as a friend of the outsiders, the poor, and unclean people; however, his followers always prevent their teacher from being touched by people outside their circles.
However, the Book of Acts shows us another picture of this very “church-ish” day in the early time: although the members are Galilean Jews, they speak different languages. It is pretty uncommon for people from Galilee who speak only Aramaic, AKA Galilean, most of their life. The surprise there are two folds: for the foreign Jews, they hear their own native tongues from Galileans; for the Galileans and friends of theirs, they are surprised too. How and where did they learn about those languages? How can we make this communication possible? The crowd felt perplexed – they could not figure it out. This is not what they used to be. It is not the tradition or experience they were here for. This is not their comfort zone.
2. transition – fear and hope
We might still remember an old story in the book of Genesis- the tower of Babel. People at that time spoke only one language and belonged to only one group. One day, they would like to build a tower up to the sky, for themselves, to demonstrate their power, to be just like those divines. However, the divines interrupted those people’s plans, and scattered them from Babel to all around the world. Furthermore, the divines changed their languages and tongues, and they could no longer understand each other. Some scholars told us that story was about the Babylonian Empire, who wanted to unify the whole world into one kingdom and one language, and how God would eventually destroy their plan.
Psychologically, the story of Babe; made sense to us that we like to be with people like us, speak in the language, and stay where we are. It was especially true for the early followers of Jesus. They just lost their teacher and leader. They were not sure about what to do next, who they were before and could be at that moment, or what they could do without their teacher. It is during the transition. They might feel exceedingly fearful about new things and changes. But it was also at the very critical moment that the “new teacher,” Holy Spirit, just came down and kept inspiring them.
Peter, one of the disciples, stood up and addressed the
crowd. Peter quoted from the prophet Joel 2:28-32 and indicated that
God’s spirit made all these “strange things” happen. The prophecy indicates not
only the Jews, but all fresh will receive the Spirit of God. People shall
prophesy, see visions, dream dreams, and this phenomenon is beyond the limits
of gender, age, race, and class. Not only to men, but also to women. In our time,
I believe, the Holy Spirit also works with genderqueer and non-binary folks.
Not only to the free human beings, but also to the enslaved person, in various
conditions. It is a glorious time of God, not only is it the harvest week for
celebration, but also a new era for God’s people to explore new possibilities,
to be freed from limitations. And God, the Holy Spirit, was with Peter, the
disciples, and the devout Jews, and are with us today.
3. the help is here
In our life journey, we keep experiencing all kinds of transitions. We share uncertainties, fears, and un-traditional incidents. But in the meantime, we also realize a new possibility is on the corner, although it might take some time. Our church and all churches are experiencing various challenges. We also feel afraid and anxious. It is normal, although it is not okay.
For the first Pentecost, people gathered for harvest and
celebration. Today, we shall also celebrate our achievements, as the harvest of
our hard work. For instance, during the pandemic, we assumed we cannot do
anything but sitting in front of Pc, watching worship service. But we found a
new way to do ministries. Every third Wednesday, our church collects sandwiches
and delivers them to the Night Ministry bus, in the south side of Chicago. We contributed 445 sack meals this year
(2023), 925 sack meals last year (2022) and 521 sack meals in 2021. Yesterday,
we re-opened the Open Breakfast, and many folks volunteered to serve the people
in need in our community. I wish I were here too. People on the 53Rd
Steet might feel astonished and perplexed at the same time: are they crazy?
Aren’t they drunk? Why and what made them do this regardless of their financial
situation, and all the challenges they have right now?
I believe one of the divided tongues, God poured out from heaven, enables us to speak the language of love. And that explains why and what we gather here, we share the love of God with everyone. And that is one among many languages we can speak. We still have much more to say, to witness.
4. fulfillment
For some Christians, Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian church. It is un-traditional, but not out of nowhere. It is scary, but also new possibilities. People can communicate again and recognize the beautiful works of God Our Lord Jesus Christ has promised that we shall wait in Jerusalem till the Spirit of God come and empower us. Today, the promise has been fulfilled. May the Holy Spirit continue to inspire us and guide our every step. Amen.
Closing prayer:
願賞賜人氣力的主聖神,
may God, the Holy Spirit, who empowers people, bless you and keep you;
願照亮前路的主聖神,
may God, the Holy Spirit, who guides our path in the darkness, make his, her, and
their face shine upon you and be gracious to you;
願愛疼的主聖靈,
may God, the Holy Spirit, who shows love to everyone, lift up his, her, and their
countenance upon you and give you peace.
Amen.
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