When Call comes to Shove

Genesis 11:1-9

1All people on the earth had one language and the same words. 2When they traveled east, they found a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3They said to each other, "Come, let's make bricks and bake them hard." They used bricks for stones and asphalt for mortar. 4They said, "Come, let's build for ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and let's make a name for ourselves so that we won't be dispersed over all the earth."

5Then the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the humans built. 6And the LORD said, "There is now one people and they all have one language. This is what they have begun to do, and now all that they plan to do will be possible for them. 7Come, let's go down and mix up their language there so they won't understand each other's language." 8Then the LORD dispersed them from there over all of the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9Therefore, it is named Babel, because there the LORD mixed up the language of all the earth; and from there the LORD dispersed them over all the earth.

This is the Word of the LORD

Thanks be to God

Acts 2:1-21

1When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. 4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

5There were pious Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered. They were mystified because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages. 7They were surprised and amazed, saying, "Look, aren't all the people who are speaking Galileans, every one of them? 8How then can each of us hear them speaking in our native language? 9Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; as well as residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya bordering Cyrene; and visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11Cretans and Arabs--we hear them declaring the mighty works of God in our own languages!" 12They were all surprised and bewildered. Some asked each other, "What does this mean?" 13Others jeered at them, saying, "They're full of new wine!" 

14Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his voice and declared, "Judeans and everyone living in Jerusalem! Know this! Listen carefully to my words! 15These people aren't drunk, as you suspect; after all, it's only nine o'clock in the morning! 16Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 

17In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young will see visions. Your elders will dream dreams. 18Even upon my servants, men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19I will cause wonders to occur in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and a cloud of smoke. 20The sun will be changed into darkness, and the moon will be changed into blood, before the great and spectacular day of the Lord comes. 21And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

This is the Word of the LORD

Thanks be to God.

As I look out over this magnificent vista, I am reminded of how much I love a summer thunderstorm. The tonnage of water that rolls down, the flashes of plasma against the dark clouds, the resounding basso profundo and authoritative cracks of thunder. They inspire awe at the grandness of creation, and point to the greatness of our creator. We are sheltered here, but less so than we might tell ourselves.

The disciples continued to gather together after Jesus ascended into heaven. John’s account suggests that they gathered in fear, sheltering themselves from the storms of public opinion, from what their neighbors might think. They are sheltered in their gathering place, but less so than they tell themselves. “When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting.”

Before Pentecost became the birthday of the Church, it was also known as the “Festival of Booths,” and is well attested in the Old Testament as a celebration of the gifts of God, the harvest, the promised land, and, most importantly, the covenant with the LORD. Pentecost has always been about gratitude for what God has given us. As the acts of Jesus give way to the Acts of the Holy Spirit, we have a new gift to celebrate. “They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.” The Holy Spirit fills the disciples and equips them to be Apostles, sent out to carry the message of the gospel.

The followers of Jesus become the messengers of the kingdom of heaven, and they are empowered to proclaim that good news in every nation under heaven. The Festival of Booths is fully disrupted, upended by the Holy Spirit, such that “When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered. They were mystified because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages. They were surprised and amazed.” This is not only a Spirit of peace and gentleness, there are other passages that support that understanding, but here in Acts, the Holy Spirit giving the Church a loving shove out of its closed doors and into its neighborhood. The Holy Spirit is irreverent and disruptive in all the best ways. It is no wonder that when Christianity came to the Celtic culture, they compared the Spirit to a Wild Goose. A noisy, violent, elusive, untamable bird to contrast the peaceful descending dove we usually picture.

That honking, for the newly empowered Apostolic Church, comes as a rush of violent wind. A thunderstorm or a freight train that shows the wild and awe inspiring powers of God. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit doesn’t bring people into a sheltered chapel. Instead the Spirit shoves the Church out into the world to embody its calling as a prophetic community. God is in the world, in this neighborhood, and we are called to proclaim that message of hope to our neighbors. We will answer that call even if call comes to shove.

When call comes to shove, and we are forced out of our solid walls and comfortable pew cushions, we do not going out alone or comfortless. Christ goes with us, or rather, we are following Christ who is preparing a place for us. We also have one another, the whole multitude of disciples. Whenever we worship, we include a baptismal font to remind us that we are connected to Christ Jesus, and parts of the same body together. That baptism is sufficient for our calling to grow faith together as taught through God’s Word. Whenever we worship, we also have a pulpit or a lectern so that God’s Word read in scripture and proclaimed in the Choir’s Anthem and in the Sermons can teach us to recognize how God is at work in our neighborhood.

We also always, always, have a table when we worship. For it is at this table where we taste and see that the LORD is good. It is at this table where we eat and drink and proclaim the Lord’s saving death until he comes. It is at this table where the Holy Spirit, that violent rushing wind, lifts us up to share a meal with Christ.

We are fearful, that’s natural. And sometimes we need a push to fulfill our calling. But when call comes to shove, we are not alone, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to do every what is pleasing in God’s sight, and we are nourished in our deepest soul by Christ’s real presence among us.