May 30, 2004
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The day of Pentecost takes
place 50 days after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It occurred as the
disciples were in Jerusalem waiting, praying, expecting that the promise and
instruction of Jesus would soon be fulfilled. Jesus said to them: “But
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be
my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria; and to the ends of the
earth” (Acts 1.8). Pentecost is called the
birthday of the church. When I was little, I did not understand why it was
called that. But I have come to understand that that it is the birthday of the
church because it was on that day that the Spirit moved among the people and
gave them life in Jesus Christ. It was born in a rush of wind, which was the
breath of God; in tongues of fire, which was the sign of God; and in the ability
to hear other languages, which was the gift of God. The Holy Spirit entered the
hearts of thousands, and it has continued to be so to this day. We are the church, now,
after that burst of fire and wind at that first Pentecost after the
resurrection, and it is our turn, it is our responsibility to find new breath,
new signs, new gifts, new birth, new hope, and new energy in this place. As was
true of that Pentecost past, we are invited to respond to the word we hear and
the momentum we feel. And the question asked then is the question that is asked
now, what must we do to be saved? How can we know the eternal, unconditional
love of God, how can we be saved to wholeness and health and a relationship with
Christ? We can tell the story we
know. We have heard about how Jesus died, how God raised him up, and how he
lives, how he makes a difference in our lives.
What can we do? We can
repent; we can turn around from holding on to old hurts and old slights so
tightly that we cannot make room for new positive experiences. We can offer
ourselves in baptism; those of us who are already baptized can recall the moment
when we were symbolically buried with Christ in order to rise to new life with
him. We can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the forgiveness of our
sins. We can, by the Holy Spirit, be made as new as the infants and children
that make us smile and give us such hope. The people then heard the
word, they got it, they received it, they believed it.
The new movement had so much energy that they found a way to understand
each other even as they spoke different languages. We marvel at them because
sometimes those of us who speak English perfectly well have trouble making sense
of people speaking the same language as we do. We can’t make sense of what
they are saying – the meaning of their familiar words is lost on us. But on that Pentecost day,
people from all over the known world could hear and understand each other
because the Holy Spirit had come upon them in a way that helped them to really
hear, listen, and understand each other as they praised God. Those men and women
who were there teach us that if we will let the Spirit move in us all kinds of
good things can happen. But, the most important
thing that happened on that Pentecost was not the flame, or wind, or the
languages spoken and heard. It was that the church began to grow that day. It
grows still and we can become part of its growth. The church can grow because
we bring our Spirit inspired selves to the task of being the church with a
mission of being the good news of Jesus Christ, of sharing together what we
teach and learn, in fellowship as we worship together, and as we support our
members as they hold events here. We share fellowship when we support Ellen
Moore and the Columbus Chamber Singers when they have their concerts here, and
when we support our organist Marc Peters when he offers another recital in the
fall. We support each other when we support our ministry teams, and when we
gather for fun and friendship. The church can grow when we
pray together and when we share bread together at coffee hours and potlucks, at
lunch after church and at dinner tables, and most especially at the communion
table. Sharing a meal together is, as you know an intimate and communal act. And
for all of those people from all of those places to eat together was a
remarkable testimony to the way the Spirit brings people together. Those early believers, in
all their international and cultural diversity, the ones on whom wind and fire
fell are our models for what it means to be the church that can last for
generations. A few dozen became hundreds, which became thousands and now
millions including those of us in this room believe in Jesus Christ. They began
a church designed to live beyond their lifetimes. They lead me to ask you a
question. By a show of hands, who
here wants Broad Street Christian Church to exist, to survive and thrive beyond
your lifetime? That is what Jesus wanted
too. He wanted his church to live beyond his earthly life, and beyond the lives
of the apostles and the other disciples or the first generation of new
believers. The church of Jesus Christ was built to last beyond any single
generation. We know that it’s true because a previous generation built a
legacy for us to inherit, and here we are. God’s Holy Spirit, has blown
through us, giving us life and hope. That is what Pentecost is about. If this church will survive
into the future, if we are going to build up this church so that we can leave a
strong church to the next generations, let’s start now. Let’s open our
hearts, our minds, our spirit to God’s Holy Spirit. That is what the early
church did, and it is what we are called to do too. Because they were open to
the Holy Spirit, they got busy after the fire. They were filled with reverence
and joy in the presence of God. They expected to see God at work in them and
guess what? God was there with them. We can see God at work in us when we
believe that God’s spirit has come, just as Jesus said it would come to
Jerusalem and Columbus, and wherever else it will. We can believe that God’s
Holy Spirit is in this place and that it is moving among us now. Don’t box the
Spirit in, don’t stifle it; let it have its way. Because they were open to
the Holy Spirit, they acted together. They had a common purpose; they even held
their property and goods in common. We hold in common our desire that this
congregation truly be a church for all people. Can we begin to act together on
that belief and claim a desire to grow and thrive, heal hurts, strengthen
families, advocate for those who need us, grow faith, and to leave a church for
the people who will come to this congregation after us? Because they were open to
the Holy Spirit, they were generous stewards. It was not a matter of giving 1%,
or 2%, 5 or 10%, though that is a good place to start. They brought it all, they
shared it all with those in need, to support the apostles, to help the church
grow, and to bear witness to what the saving grace of Jesus Christ meant to
them. Can we recall the presence
of goodness of God, and the needs of this congregation and the needs of the
world? Search your hearts, consider what you can do to support the church and
give and work accordingly. Because they were open to
the Holy Spirit, they worshiped God. They worshiped in the Temple as we worship
here in the church. They enjoyed fellowship at home, actually sitting down to
eat and talk. As they did, they found their Spirits made strong, and their
hearts made glad. Because they were open to
the Holy Spirit, God was praised, goodwill existed, people were welcomed into
the church, and fed, the good news spread, the band of followers of Jesus talked
the talk and walked the walk, the church was born, and the church thrived and
grew, 3000 on that day and more and more day by day by day. Now is the time for us to open our souls and minds to the Holy Spirit and speak the truth in love to each other (Ephesians 4.15). This Pentecost Sunday is the day to commit ourselves to doing the hard and magnificent work of building up this congregation and of opening ourselves to every possibility God has for us. We can become a congregation where the Spirit of God is alive in us. We can become a congregation concerned not merely with survival, but with how to manage the growth that is happening in us. We can contribute the resources that will support the growth we seek. I trust the Holy Spirit to
work its will in us and to move us from where we are to where we want to be, do
you? I believe that growth and
health are possible here, do you? I believe growth is possible
here because I have seen it happen in other congregations, and you have too. I
believe it can happen in other congregations, including some that are smaller in
membership and budget than this one. I believe that if it can happen there, it
can happen here, do you? Today and every day, let’s
agree to let the Holy Spirit guide the hopes that surround us, disperse into the
mist the fears that paralyze us, help us become people of greater faith and
faithful participation in the congregation and beyond. Let’s plan to grow and
then make haste to put those plans into action. Trust the Holy Spirit and
let this prayer be ours always. “O
God, the Holy Spirit, come to us, and among us: As
the Spirit comes to us, may Jesus Christ be praised, and may the Spirit of
Pentecost be ours this day and every day. Thanks be to God.
Amen. Dr.
LaTaunya M. Bynum |
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Broad
Street Christian Church
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