Year B Pentecost
John 7: 37-39a & Acts 2: 1-21Rivers of Living Water
37 On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, 38 and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heartshall flow rivers of living water.'” 39 Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive;John 7: 37-39a
© The New Revised Standard Version,
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989The Coming of the Holy Spirit
2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”Acts 2: 1-21
© The New Revised Standard Version,
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 1989In the name of God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
I discovered in the past week, that a few weeks ago I managed to offend someone. Every now and then a Minister will find they offend someone, but generally I get along pretty well with everyone. But this time it is a record, because the person I offended, does not come to this congregation, I don’t known them very well, I hadn’t seen them for at least a few years, I hadn’t phoned them, emailed them, spoken to them, or even really thought about them, but … I had offended them. And so last weekend, they phoned me to tell me.
And the way I had offended them was this.
About once a month, I get a request by some other Christian group who see our church and community centre and find that they have been led here too. The last request was last Wednesday week by phone who asked if they could come and use it on a Sunday morning. The week before that it was another denomination who wanted to talk and share what God had put on their heart. The month before that it was a letter, and it was that letter that eventually led to this person being offended. In that letter, the writer wanted his church to be able to come here too, and they talked about God’s leading and about unity in the church. The interesting thing is that if God is leading all these groups here, then I have no idea how we will all fit, and it is also a curious thing that before we arrived here, when we were squashed in the small childcare room, or freezing in a school hall, no one ever wrote or phoned then to talk about unity. But for me the saddest part of this letter that spoke of unity is that it came from a group that has been very broken and hurtful both towards each other and also the wider church. And so in my reply to this letter, I said that I would not support this space being used by such a broken and hurtful group. It was my reply that was handed on to the person who was offended at my comment.
After their phone call to me, there were two long emails, one from me, one from them, and on Thursday a cup of coffee that was harmonious and had a warm conclusion. But all these letters and phone calls to me by different churches, the phone call to me by the person offended, the long emails, the cup of coffee and conversation have been good, in that I have been forced to think more about my Ministry, how I see the work and the place of the church, and different denominations, ordination, and the place of this congregation in this community.
– All churches see their denomination as being significant, important, even better, or more justified, than some other denominations. But how do you know? I have been in meetings where protestant Pentecostal leaders would reject with disdain the work of the catholic priest and church. But both believe their denomination and work is the true work of God.
– All congregations see their work as being of God, led by the Spirit, and essential to the way of Jesus Christ. But how do you know? When I began my work as a Minister I was in a small country town that was smaller than Yass, and yet there was every denomination except the Baptists, because we all knew, all believed, our work, our mission, was led by God. And sometimes one congregation can see their work as being so essential to the way of Jesus Christ, that they will go and set up right next to another congregation, sometimes another congregation even of the same denomination.
– All Ministers/pastors/priests, believe that their work is also the work of God led by the Spirit. But how do you know? In the Uniting Church when you want to be a Minister, you go through a long long process of meeting with different people to talk about your ‘call’, as it is named; the way God is calling you. I have been on two panels over the past 18 months to listen to people who wanted to be Ministers. Both came with a sense that they were being called by God, but the panel could not hear that call, and neither will be ordained as Ministers.
As I said, it has been good to reflect upon the way I see the church, Ministry, denominationalism, and the presence of God in the midst of it all.
Firstly, I do believe that unity in the church is a mark of the Holy Spirit, but sadly in the church at times it can be disunity that prevails. In our passage today, the early church was gathered together in one place. I love that little line… “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place”. And filled with the Holy Spirit, they all began to speak in other languages, so that those around them could hear in their own native tongue. An amazing event, where by it is almost as if God is calling out, speaking to, all these different peoples from around the world. It mirrors the work of Jesus, who shared with outcasts, women, non-Jews, the message of God. As our passage today reads…
“And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
Unity is not about sharing a building or even just using the name “Uniting”, which comes from the word “unity” and reflected in the merging of a number of different denominations in the 1970’s. There are broken, disunited, Uniting Churches too sadly. Therefore, I do believe, that a mark of God’s Spirit in the life of the church is unity, in which many different people, male and female, young and old, people of different traditions, languages, and even different church backgrounds and theologies can come together to worship and reflect upon the message and way of Jesus Christ. It is a joy, and the work of the Holy Spirit, that this congregation has such diversity and especially on this day of Pentecost we give thanks that we are made up of people who speak Indonesian, Sinhalese, Korean, Mandarin, Oshiwambo, Tongan, English, …really we are made up of people from around the world.
Let us not take this for granted.
A second mark of the Holy Spirit, I believe, is our openness towards other people and the way our life, our presence, offers nourishment to others. In our passage today from John we read… “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ ”
Can anyone come… or only some people?
Do we offer rivers of living water to others… what are those rivers?
Are we even aware that there are ‘thirsty’ people in our community and around us?
I acknowledge that it is not always easy, but it is true, that at times the church does not allow anyone who is thirsty to come, and if they do, they have to drink from the same cup, the same belief, the same way, the same mind, and the water is not as life giving as it should be.
It is the mark of the Spirit, that the church is open towards others, and that the water they offer, is life giving, towards others. Not life limiting. Not life denying. Not life less. But life giving.
It is a mark of the Spirit, that as people gather in this one place, that no matter what your theology, how you understand God, your past denomination or church life, your place in society, your language and skin colour, it is the mark of the Spirit, that from within us, through the presence of the Spirit, there be life giving water for each.
A third mark of the Holy Spirit, is true for congregations, but also more personal too. It is easy to believe that our own plans are those of God, that our own ideas are right, that our own faith is justified, that our own call is true. I have found in life, the best way to ponder God’s Spirit, is not to believe so much in my own thoughts, but to simply be open to the fact that they might not be true, and to consider them with an open mind. This might also include reflection with others, or the wider church. But always within, at the same time, a sense of God’s presence along the way. I would suggest that at times and ways, those congregations and people that discover life in the Spirit, are those that can be vulnerable, empty of their own grandeur and design, and who realise their own need to come and to drink from life giving streams of water.
As we go from here today, we give thanks for the ways amongst us that remind us of the blessing of God’s Holy Spirit, and we continue to pray, with open hearts and minds, that we will offer to whoever comes, life giving streams, and drink from this water ourselves, so as to be a people filled with the Holy Spirit.
Amen.