Pentecost 2010: John 4:8-17
Two thousand years ago, Pentecost was a very important event
on the Jewish Calendar. Every male Jew who lived within twenty miles of
Jerusalem was legally bound to attend. Imagine being legally bound to attend a
worship service. Some of us might call that the good old days! Pentecost was
celebrated fifty days after Passover, at a time of year when traveling
conditions were at their best, when a large, international, crowd would make
their way to Jerusalem, to celebrate God’s giving the Law to Moses. And that
Law stated that no work was to be done in that day, none at all, by anyone. The
crowd was large and diverse. Jewish pilgrims from far and wide would be there
to celebrate. And in and amongst this large gathering on that Holy Day of
Pentecost in the first century, were the disciples of Jesus. They lived in
Jerusalem, but like many of those in attendance, they too, had been on a
journey, but a journey unlike any other. They had been on a journey with Jesus. For Peter, the journey with
Jesus began on that day, that day of fishing on the Sea of Galilee. It continued
with Jesus as he proclaimed his message. It continued as Peter saw Jesus
arrested and crucified. But the journey did not end there. Peter saw Jesus
resurrected, spoke with Jesus, and ate with Jesus, and saw Jesus ascend into
heaven. This was a remarkable incredible journey which defies human logic, and boggles the mind. But this was
the journey—a journey not made without purpose or direction or aim or goal. It
was a journey made with the express purpose of establishing God’s everlasting
and eternal kingdom.
The coming of this kingdom was
the promise of Jesus, who spoke to his disciples many times and in many ways
about the kingdom coming. So it was natural that before Jesus had ascended into
heaven, the gathered disciples had a very important question to ask Jesus about
the coming kingdom. Was this the time? Was this the time when Jesus would
restore the kingdom to Israel. Was this the time when all that Jesus had spoken
about would be fulfilled? This was the burning question which was on their hearts and minds. Awakening
on that Pentecost morning, none of the disciples would have imagined that this
would be the day—this would be the day that the kingdom which their hearts ached for would be
established. But this was the day.
This would be the day that the
Kingdom of God, ruled by Jesus, would be established on earth. And spite of
what ideas the disciples and others may have had about what the kingdom would
be like, Jesus had been clear about what the kingdom would be. Surely many were
expecting and hoping for a visible, external, kingdom, of the kind King David
ruled. It would be like folks today hoping for the perfect government, ruled by
perfect justice and love. But Jesus told them that kingdom not be physical and
outward, but would be inward, invisible, and spiritual.
Membership into the spiritual
kingdom cannot be obtained but human effort but can only bestowed by its
leader. It is a kingdom of astounding vitality, and the Word of God is the seed
from which it develops. It is a kingdom where God will have His dwelling place
in the heart of each of its members. The mission of this kingdom is to be the
salt of the earth and a light to the world. The members of this kingdom will
carry good tidings into all of the world and testify to their Lord. This
Kingdom is the ECCLESSIA; this kingdom is the church. And on the Holy Day of
Pentecost the ascended Christ had
sent the Holy Spirit upon his disciples, and when that happened the Church was
established, and the kingdom of God became a reality.
This raises a question. It’s a
good question and it needs to be answered. Some would look back across the vast
span of history and see all of the bad things, the evil things, done in the
name of Christ—the wars, the persecutions. Some would point out contemporary
scandals which has inflicted many denominations. Some would point out the evil people who have claimed membership
in churches. Is this the kingdom of God on earth? Is this the ECCLESSIA?
We must remember that the
definition of what the True Church is very simple. What makes one a member of
the Christian Church is an inward fellowship with Christ. Membership is a
matter of the heart. It is a spiritual connection, and only a spiritual
connection which makes one a Christian. And this spiritual connection comes
about and only comes about through the work of the Holy Spirit; for it is only
through the Holy Spirit that anyone can claim Jesus Christ as Lord. Some in the
church today look back to the 1950’s as the glory days, the days when full pews
and high memberships and many, many congregations were the norm right across
this country. Many want to see a return to those days. But please keep this in
mind. Many who attended church in those days did so because they felt they had
to, because it was the socially prescribed thing to do. As soon as the social pressure was off,
they left. The seed which was planted did not take root in the heart.
Many, many people have sat in
churches for years, have been members of Church organizations, but have not had
faith, have not been connected inwardly. The heart membership was not there.
Despite any outward appearance, they were not true members of the Church of
Christ.
Martin Luther spoke of the visible and hidden church. The
visible church is the physically assembled group. The invisible church consists
of those who truly believe, who truly confess Christ as Lord. The reason it is
invisible, is because only God can see it. Only God can judge what is in a
person’s heart. It is not up to any human to judge the faith of another, to
judge whether another person is truly a Christian, truly a member of that great
and glorious kingdom. But know this.
If you confess Jesus as Lord, and believe this in your heart, then you are a
member of the Body of Christ. And this body of Christ exists across, and
includes all assemblies which confess
faith in the triune God.
Only God makes His church, only
Jesus forms his ecclesia. Before he ascended into heaven, the disciples could
come to Christ directly. They could speak with Him, eat with Him, and through
that contact He was present with them directly. After he ascended that kind of
contact was no longer possible.
But on the Holy Day of Pentecost,
on that Holy Day, the ascended Christ made direct
contact. The Holy Spirit came down from heaven, and when we read the text
from Acts we read how this happened. A sound came from heaven, like a rush of
violent wind and it filled the house where the disciples of Jesus were sitting.
Tongues of fire rested on each of them. They were then filled with Holy Spirit.
Being filled with the Spirit, they began to speak in languages they had not
known. Visitors to Jerusalem were astonished and amazed when they heard their
own languages being spoken by these Galileans. Some dismissed the disciples,
saying that they were drunk on new wine. But Peter, knew. He knew what was
really happening. He declared, and declared boldly that the prophecy of Joel
had been fulfilled. God had poured his Spirit upon all flesh, and great signs
and wonders were made manifest. The day of the Lord had arrived, the kingdom
had been established on earth, had been established to declare the end of the
last days and the dawn of God’s new and glorious age which was yet to come.
Just as Jesus promised, the advocate had come. The Holy Spirit filled the disciples and enlightened
and purified them. Their faith was made perfect as they were brought into close
fellowship with the exalted Saviour and also with one another. On that Holy Day
of Pentecost the Church was born, and today we celebrate that birthday,
celebrate the day Christ’s ecclesia was established through the work of the
Holy Spirit.
But know this. The Holy Spirit
continues to work. And the work of the Holy Spirit has been a hot topic of
debate amongst Christians. Some have argued that the Holy Spirit is only
present in someone if they manifest a spiritual gift such a speaking in tongues
or prophecy. But this isn’t true. The work of the Holy Spirit is to create
faith in Jesus, and sustain faith in Jesus, to strengthen and to maintain the
work of the church. The Holy Spirit works in all Christians, not only those who
are given special spiritual gifts.
Today’s reading in acts ends with
Peter affirming what was happening on that Holy day. It was the fulfillment of
prophecy. As the chapter continues we read about why it was happening—we read
about Peter confessing Christ as Lord.. We read about people being cut to the
heart by this proclamation. We read about people asking, crying out, from the
very depth of their being, “ What must we do?” What is his answer? Well, his
answer does not include speaking in tongues; it does not include having visions
or prophesying. He tells them to repent and be baptized, and to break bread
together, and to pray. Peter directs them to what are called the means of
grace. For it is through these means of Grace that Jesus is made present to the
community of believers. Jesus himself instituted these means of grace, these
sacraments of baptism and holy communion, so that through them people could
receive him in faith and love. The
sacraments may not be spectacular, but they are no less powerful, and no less
filled with the Holy Spirit then the events which we read about today. They are the means by which Jesus makes
direct physical and spiritual contact with you. They are the gifts of God
intended to build the community of
God, a community whose purpose aim and intention is perhaps nowhere better
described than in Acts 2: 43-47. It is a life of fellowship. It is a life of
community. It is a life of generosity. It is a life of love. These are the
marks of the kingdom of God. Any
spiritual gift given by God has one intention, and one intention only, and that
is to build and strengthen the body of Christ. As the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians: “ If I speak
in tongues of mortals and of angels, but not have love, I am a noisy gong or
clanging cymbal.”
So Today we celebrate. We
celebrate the Work of the Holy Spirit, and that great and glorious day which
Christ sent the Spirit to form his church. We celebrate our being gathered here
today. We celebrate the Spirit working to change and transform our hearts. We
celebrate being bound together as one in the Body of Christ. Amen.
