ACTS 2
That first Pentecost the earliest Christians received quite a lesson on the power of God’s Spirit. Confused and let-down – with so many broken dreams and hopes, the disciples questioned the future. Huddled in an upper room in prayer and in fellowship they waited for the great Jewish festival to be over, and for Jerusalem to return to normal. Then suddenly, out of no where, an incredible surprise. A rush of wind, a warm glow like fire, and the room was different, the people were different. Some said they were drunk, they were so filled with joy, so animated, but soon it became clear that this scared cloistered people were empowered to tell the Good News about Jesus Christ – to everyone who would listen, in whatever tongue they understood. And the church was born!
For 2,000 years the church has continued to depend upon and to lean upon and to thirst for the God’s Spirit. When God’s Spirit is present, the church is a beautiful place, of love and acceptance, and warmth and caring – a place that is making a difference in the world. And when God’s Spirit is not present? Well the church may be comfortable, it may be pleasant, it may be interesting, but it will not change lives, and it will not make a difference. In such situations the church can even become a destructive and hateful place. Why? Why does God’s spirit seem to be present in the church sometimes, and not others? Why does God’s spirit seem to be present in some churches and not others? I don’t know. The Gospel of John quotes Jesus as saying the wind blows where it will. You hear the sound, but you do not know where it comes from, or where it is going. So it is with God’s Spirit.
What I do know is that when the Spirit is present, people boldly serve Jesus Christ, people find healing and nurture and a ready welcome, people are challenged and changed. When the Spirit is present a delightful chaos appears as the Spirit shakes us up, makes us try new things, and brings into our midst new ways of being the church, and reaching out in Christ’s name.
We each need Pentecost. Each one of us needs God’s Spirit of power and of strength and of courage and love to blow through our lives. We need God’s Spirit as surely as a child needs love and acceptance, or a plant needs water and sunshine. If life seems stale, or without hope, if concerns or problems weigh you down, if you just can’t seem to get it right, you need Pentecost in your life. You need God’s Spirit in your life. You need the peace and the power that can only come from the true source of peace and power, the God we know in Jesus Christ.
There is a famous story in Texas about a man named Yates. During the Depression, he was a sheep farmer in West Texas. Times were tough and he barely made a living grazing his sheep in what has to be the most God forsaken land in all the Southwest. He had to rely on the kindness of strangers just to keep food on the table it got so bad. Then one day a seismographic crew from an oil company came around and suggested that Mr. Yates might want to drill for oil on his land. 1,000 feet down they tapped into one of the largest oil reserves ever found in Texas, now called Yates Pool. Mr. Yates was rich. He’d been rich all along, he just didn’t know it. He had the oil, but did not possess it. He had never gotten to the source.
Friends, so often Christians have God, but have nothing of God’s peace and power…unless they hook up to the source. Let your life get to the source, because the greatest pool of promise and power is waiting for you in the Holy Spirit. Tap into it. Open your hearts. Let God in today.
