The disciples assumed that everything
was about to be resolved. After a shameful death on a cross, their Lord had
been resurrected; and they had seen him with their own eyes! His resurrection proved
that Jesus was God’s Messiah, so surely he would now restore Israel’s political
power. That was, after all, what everyone expected the Messiah to do. But when
Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to
Israel now?” he answered, “Don’t worry about that. You just sit tight and wait
for the Spirit.” (Acts 1:6-9)
The disciples must have been very
confused! One minute, the resurrected Christ was standing in their midst; and
the next minute, he was ascending into heaven without taking any political
power at all. In fact, he had only given them some vague instructions about
waiting for “the Spirit.” What did that mean, anyway? What were they supposed
to do now? Wait… on what? All they could do was to get together and try to
understand what had just happened. They probably wondered how they could
possibly go on without Jesus to lead them, and teach them, and inspire them?
And then the wind blew in (Acts 2:1-4).
Imagine, for a moment, that you have
just settled into the porch swing on a fine summer day with the morning
newspaper, ready to tackle the daily crossword puzzle. The newspaper is in your
lap and the pencil is on the table in front of you as you take one last sip of
coffee. But before you can start with “1 across,” a wind kicks up. It comes out
of a clear, blue sky, with no warning whatsoever: a gusty wind that sends your paper,
your pencil, and your plans flying into next week. This wind isn’t just a summer
breeze that fans your cheek, gently rustling the leaves on the trees. Oh, no –
this wind is powerful! That’s the kind of wind that blew in on that first
Pentecost.
We know that wind! We’ve seen it
before. That same wind blew over the waters of chaos when the cosmos was
formless and void, and God called creation into being. That wind blew into the
dry bones that Ezekiel saw in a vision, and all those bones came rattling to
life. Many years later, that wind blew into the womb of a young girl in
Nazareth, and the Messiah was conceived. This wind is the wind of God’s Spirit;
and it blows away old things and creates new ones! When it gusted into the
house where Jesus’ disciples were gathered, it blew away all their expectations
that Jesus would set up any kind of political kingdom. Instead, it created a
new kind of community that was based not on the power of oppression and fear,
but on the power of love.
That community is still with us. It
includes people of every race, gender, language, and culture. Its people care
not only about themselves, but about every other human being. And the only
power that counts in this kingdom is the power to help others to become who God
intended them to be! We call it the Church of Jesus Christ: created by God, redeemed
by Jesus Christ, and re-created through the power of the Holy Spirit. And
thanks be to God! The wind of the Spirit that blew the Church into existence is
still blowing! It blows into old, stale congregations and breathes new life
into them. It blows people out of established careers into the ministry of
Jesus Christ. It blows the love of others into hearts that have cared only for
themselves, and sets those hearts on fire for mission. The Church is a brand new
kind of community based on love: God loves us, and through the Spirit, God has
given us the ability to love one another. What a miracle this day has brought! Let’s
all celebrate that miracle on this day of Pentecost!
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