PENTECOST: THE NEXT SUPPER
Acts 2:1-18
Rev. Gary Paterson
May 27, 2012
Some of you might remember how, a few weeks ago, I described my
visit to the Upper Room in Jerusalem, where Jesus celebrated his last supper
with his disciples, breaking the bread, and filling the cup… this is my body,
my blood; take, eat; do this in remembrance of me. I went there with such expectation, hoping
for a deep spiritual experience; but when I walked into a plain, ordinary room,
bland, unremarkable; where the smell of cat droppings hung heavy in the
afternoon air; well, I was sorely disappointed.
And then, when the room was
invaded by a busload of tourists, all chattering away and a-snapping their
cameras – well, I fled. However, remember
I described how just minutes later that crowd of tacky tourists burst into
song….
We
are standing on holy ground.
And
I know that there are angels all around;
Let
us praise God, forever now,
We
are standing in God’s presence on holy ground.
And suddenly the
room was transformed, filled with harmony and beauty, changed by the devotion
and prayer of pilgrims who became conduits of grace, who in their singing
channeled the Holy Spirit into space and time, into that Upper Room… and truly,
it was holy ground.
Which, in truth, is not all that
surprising an experience. Because you
see, I had forgotten that the upper room where Jesus said goodbye to his
disciples was also, according to tradition, the place where they gathered
post-Easter, where they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Upper Room is Pentecost ground zero.
Which makes some sense, when you
think about it. Of course the disciples
were going to go back to the last place where they had shared a last meal with
the man they had so deeply loved, the last place they had felt safe, before all
hell had broken loose; where memory was
thick and comforting; where they had felt strengthened by the deep presence of
Jesus. But clearly, the linking of these
two events, the Last Supper and Pentecost, is a theological statement as well… here
are two central though different ways of encountering Jesus: in communion, in
the bread and the cup; and then, in the coming of the Holy Spirit; so why not
have link them by establishing a shared location?
Some years ago I came across a
painting by Bill Dixon… an artist from Sooke, a United Church Sea of
Galilee and invited them to join him round the campfire for a meal
of fish and bread. But the Next Supper? Well, if you look carefully at this painting,
you can see the table, the cup, the bread… and look, there’s Jesus at the very
centre, once again the host. But this
time the scene is alive with light; the flames of the Spirit are curving round,
filling the disciples with yellow and gold energy, sending them dancing in
delight and even ecstasy, as if… surprise, surprise… as if they were at a
Pentecostal worship service. The next
supper -- the resurrected Jesus present
once again, from above, in their midst, in their very core, filling them to
overflowing with life and joy.
Pentecost… the coming of the Holy Spirit is nothing less than the
unleashing of the resurrected Christ into the world. I’ve often wondered why Jesus didn’t stick
around for longer, why he disappeared after forty days. Surely we could have benefitted from several
more appearances; further instruction; a bit more proof, evidence and
encouragement. But with Pentecost,
something quite extraordinary happens… resurrection energy suddenly becomes
available in a completely new way.
Did you ever notice how the Easter appearances always seem to happen
one-on-one… Jesus and Mary; Jesus and the beloved disciple; Jesus and Thomas;
Jesus and Peter; Jesus and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. But now… we’re talking about Jesus coming to 120 disciples… 120 you
say? Like, where did they come from? Sure, there were the twelve… well, eleven
with Judas gone… though he was replaced with Matthias… and there were a handful
of women… but how did we get so quickly up to a three digit figure?
Well, it’s clear
that we’re starting to talk about a movement… and the intimacy of the Upper Room
and the Last Supper now moves to the wild exuberance of the Upper Room and the
Next Supper, of Pentecost. What’s
happening here is a fusion of symbols: the most personal of images for God --
Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, in whom God was pleased to dwell -- is now
joined with the most impersonal of images – the energy symbols of fire and wind. If Luke had been writing in modern scientific
times, he might have described Pentecost as the “big bang” of the Spirit, an explosion
of Being that sent waves of energy out to every soul in the world. Just as the waves of energy from the sun
enliven every green leaf around the globe, sparking chlorophyll cells into
action, so does the Christ fire send waves of spirit love, sparking hearts into
new life. Pentecost is a declaration of
the possibility of a Baptism in the Holy Spirit; water now becomes wind,
becomes fire, and transcends the bodily limits of Jesus of Nazareth, free now
to blow throughout the world.
God as energy…. but not impersonal, as if we were talking about “the
Force” from Star Wars; nor simply the indifferent energy of the universe,
where, as the poet Dylan Thomas says, “the force that through the green fuse
drives the flower, drives my red blood.”
No, the power of Pentecost comes from this deliberate linking of the
energy with Jesus. It is more than
impersonal fire and wind; it carries the imprint of Jesus, wears a Jesus
face. You want to know what this Spirit
energy is truly like, then you turn to the Jesus story -- the teachings,
healings, prophetic challenge, the crucifixion and resurrection -- and you
discover that the Holy Spirit of Pentecost is the Spirit of Love.
And… this is important… the Spirit comes to us with purpose -- to
change us, to transform us. It is not an
end in itself, as if having a spiritual high was what our lives were all
about. No, we are caught up by the fire
and energy, so filled with this spirit power, that we cannot help but release
this energy into the world. We become
witnesses… unable to stop ourselves from talking about our experience of such
grace, such love, knowing that it is the deepest truth in the universe, and
that we are called to share this good news.
Because it is good news… not the bad news of “you’d better watch out;
you’d better do it our way; otherwise you’re going to hell”… no, what we are
filled with is the good news of God’s overwhelming love that comes sweeping
over us, the love that can be seen at the heart of Jesus Christ.
Indeed, we are so filled with Spirit that it’s not something we can
just talk about; no, we’re sent out, out of the Upper Room, into the world, to
act -- to bring healing and mending wherever we find ourselves. You’ve only to watch what happens in the Book
of Acts to get a sense of this… there’s Peter -- immediately after being filled
with Spirit, he launches into a grand sermon, preaching his head off, and some
3000 new people are also now filled with the Spirit.. Then, in the very next chapter, there’s Peter
healing a man who could not walk… well, talk about symbolism: whatever prevents
people from standing strong, from moving ahead, from running and leaping, well,
that’s where we need to do our work, loving and caring for everyone who crosses
our paths.
Then watch what happens -- these spirit-filled people are brought
together into a new community that seeks to include everyone; as Peter says,
this Spirit comes to the old and the young, to women and to women, to slave and
to free. It’s a community that seeks to
include, that refuses to accept all the divisions of class, race, gender,
sexual orientation, ethnicity, language; the divisions that create distrust and
enmity, that keep us divided and apart from each other. This is Kingdom talk, the Kingdom of God
Let me tell you, I’m hungry for that Spirit… I want Pentecost in my
heart, in the heart of this congregation, in the United Church United Church
So how to get there; perhaps that’s the real question. How do we recognize the Upper Rooms in our
lives, where the Next Supper will take place?
Surely that’s the question facing any congregation, facing us, facing
each one of us, facing you. At one level
it seems so simple -- just ask, says the Bible.
“Seek and you shall find, ask and it shall be given to you, knock and
the door will be opened.” “Come Holy Spirit, come.” -- is that all we have to say? Ask
quietly, perhaps…. “Veni Sancte Spiritus;” come tonight to the Taize service,
here; in the shadows of evening, with candles, and gently sing, over and over,
“Veni Sancte Spiritus, veni Sancte Spiritus…”
Or maybe ask loudly, shouting from your heart -- imagine being in Nigeria Caribbean , “O
let the power fall on me, my God, let the power fall on me; O let the power of
the spirit fall on me, let the power fall on me.” I had actually wondered about this as one of
our hymns this morning’s worship, dreaming of the entire congregation leaping
to its feet in exuberance, clapping and stomping. But Darryl reminded me that most likely we would
only be able to handle a muted clap, with the occasional sway of the head, and
perhaps it would be a song better suited for a different setting. And he’s right…. but still, “O let the power
of the Spirit fall on me!” sure has a good ring to it. But perhaps we might sing a gentler version:
Breathe
on me breath of God,
Fill
me with life anew,
That
I may love what thou dost love
And
do what thou wouldst do.
I don’t think it
matters what song you sing; just ask…and mean it; let the music open you up,
and yearn for the Spirit to come, and bring a Pentecostal moment.
Which I believe most of us have actually had, even though we may not
have called it that. Because the Spirit never
stops moving; never has. So, for example…. the other day I was walking through the Mary
and Ted Grieg Rhododendron Garden, (just east of the tennis courts in Stanley
Park, west of Lost Lagoon) -- and if you remember nothing else from this
sermon, do remember to go and spend time in this garden … immediately!! This is
the week that the azaleas are in full and glorious bloom. And when you sit on a bench in the middle of
this garden, you will feel that the Holy Spirit is exploding all around you in
wild colours of bright yellow, fluorescent pink, burnt orange, amber, red,
magenta… burning bushes everywhere you look; there is no question that you are
standing on holy ground, and that a feast has been set before you. Usually when I meet other people in this
garden we don’t connect; often they are totally focused on their morning run,
determined to look cool and fit; or huffing and a-puffing, desperate to lose a
few pounds; or lost in a faraway world of earplugs and iPods and music. But this
week, everyone was so caught by wonder that we couldn’t help but grin at each
other, and offer greetings like “Isn’t
it extraordinary… amazing… incredible.”
Enough beauty for everyone’s heart to be filled to overflowing; it
leaves you so glad to be alive, and wanting to reach out to others and share
the good news of such profligate abundance.
Another example … last Friday I spoke to our Seniors’ “Breaking
Bread” gathering, showing pictures and telling stories of my time in Jerusalem Jordan , and of her experience at the Jordan River where Jesus had been baptized. Despite the fact that the river is narrow,
sluggish and muddy… like three day old coffee with curdling cream; and that
soldiers on both sides of this border river are slouching around with their
guns; and that the reality of tacky tourism is difficult to sidestep… despite
all this, she reached down and touched the water… and it happened! Suddenly she was filled with a sense of overwhelming
love … she was beloved; all creation was filled with love. When she put her finger into the water it was
as if she were completing the Spirit circuit, and the memory of Jesus’ baptism
joined with her heart and this world, and the Spirit jumped into the present
moment, surrounding, embracing and filling her up with love.
Or one last experience… earlier this morning we celebrated the 20th
anniversary of Tim Stevenson’s 20th ordination – the first openly
gay person to be ordained in the United
Church United Church gathered in Victoria
I was reading an article (from Edward Hays’ The Pilgrim’s Almanac)
about Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort of the British Nay who in 1806 developed a
schema for describing the strength of the wind, a system that was adopted and
modified for modern times by the US National Weather Service. It starts
with total calm at 0 or less than one mile per hour, then moves to light
breeze, from 1-5, on to gentle breeze, to moderate to fresh to strong breeze,
25 to 31 mph. Me, I rather enjoy a light
breeze, and feel completely at home with a moderate breeze… well, truth be
told, moderate anything. But the wind
keeps blowing, and the scale goes higher; suddenly we’ve left breezes behind
and have moved to moderate gale, 32 to 38 miles per hour, then on to fresh,
strong and whole gale, progressing to storm, at 64 to 72 miles per hour,
finishing with all out hurricane at 73 miles per hour and higher. So where does the Holy Spirit Wind fit in…
well anywhere perhaps, sometimes gentle or fresh… but sometimes like a gale or
a storm… and sometimes right off the scale… well beyond hurricane!! And even if it begins in a gentle way, well
it can pick up speed at any moment – and then maybe it’s too late to run for
cover. Which means that everything gets
turned upside down… including the church; including your life! But still…. when we find ourselves in an
upper room, the doors closed tight, fearful, lonely, wondering what comes next;
an upper room that seems so ordinary, and reeking of cat, crowded with
tourists… well maybe just then we will catch ourselves calling out, “Come, Holy Spirit, come!” “Wa wa wa Emimimo!” “Veni Sancte Spiritus!” “ O let the power fall on me O God!” “Breathe on me breath of God!” And the God
who loves us enough to take us seriously, will send the wind and fire, and all
of a sudden we will find ourselves at the next supper … such a wonderful
life-changing feast!
