Pentecost - Emmanuel Episcopal Church

Sunday May 19, 2013 Pentecost ( 8 a.m.) Sermon preached at Emmanuel Episcopal Church by The Rev. Martha Wallace Fifty days after Easter, on the day of Pentecost, the followers of Jesus were gathered in a house in Jerusalem, when suddenly there was a sound like the rush of a violent wind and it filled the whole house, and as it swirled about them they saw what looked like tongues of flame among them and over them and then resting on them. I imagine them holding their breath, in amazement, and when they finally remembered to breathe again, they breathed in the breath of God. They breathed in the breath of God! - and they were filled with the Holy Spirit, so that when they exhaled, the breath of God passed over their vocal chords and words tumbled out of their mouths, words they did not recognize at first – but suddenly, they did recognize the words as a language - not their language but the language of others - in fact, they were speaking in the all the languages of the diaspora. Jews from all over the world, who were in town for the festival, heard their own language being spoken, so they ran to push open the doors and windows of the house, expecting to find other Parthians, or Egyptians, or Libyans, or Greeks and so on – and were shocked to find these Galilean fisherfolk and agricultural workers - telling out the glory and wonder of God’s mighty acts - not in Galilean or Aramaic or even in Hebrew but in the languages of the hearers! Amazed and astonished, and more than a little perplexed, the onlookers wondered how this could be. Quoting Hebrew scripture they would all have been familiar with, Peter explained that Joel had prophesied that this would occur. Joel had predicted that everyone would be affected, young and old, men and women, slaves and free, and all people – not just Jews but all people would receive God’s spirit and all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Peter went on to tell them about Jesus and his resurrection, (presumably with all the others translating for him into the various languages) and called them to be baptized so they could receive the Holy Spirit themselves and about 3000 people did - according to the writer of the Acts of the Apostles. Baptism with fire and the Holy Spirit, and baptism with water for the forgiveness of sins: these were among the first symbols of the early church - Spirit and water, wind or breath and water, air and water. Here in one story we have two wonderful symbols of transformation and renewal: water and air, (or wind, or breath - in Hebrew they are the same word.) Air and water are symbols of transformation and renewal not just in the way we use them symbolically in baptism and in talking about the Holy Spirit, but in their actual physical (or perhaps I should say chemical) nature. Among the wonders of world to me should be counted the renewable quality of our air and water. My studies of science are limited but I believe I represent current understanding correctly when I say that we live on earth in a closed system, at least with respect to air and water. Meaning that all the air that ever was, still is. We humans and the other members of the animal world live in a wonderful cycle of renewal with all the green growing things, and in that cycle air is constantly recycled. We breathe out the carbon dioxide and the plants take it in, sending it back to us in the form of oxygen so we can use it again. At least that is how it works if we don’t mess with the balance. The way God designed it to work, the air never gets used up. No one has to drive by our atmosphere every millennium or so with a big tanker ship to pump all the old air out and pump new air in. The same goes for our water. All the water molecules on earth are in a continual cycle of renewal through evaporation and condensation. There is an interaction there with air, with wind, which manages the distribution system, but on the whole, the oceans feed the heavens and the heavens shower us with rain, which makes its way to the oceans to start all over again. So, in some sense, when God’s breath enlivened the world at it dawning, it also became the breath of every living being that ever has been. How about that for amazing!? 12

Take a deep breath. When we breathe in, we are inhaling air that once was breathed by pterodactyls and tyrannosaurus rex. We breathe air once breathed by Michelangelo and Martha Washington, Jesus and Ghandi, by Abraham Lincoln and Lao Tzu. We breathe the breath of God and also the breath of people in Canada and Costa Rica, in Kenya and Korea. In the same way, the water we drink (and cook with and bathe in and swim in and sail on and use to power our hydroelectric plants) once may have touched the lips of Jesus at a Samaritan well, or embraced Peter as he began to sink below the waves of the sea of Galilee before Jesus reached out and lifted him up. Cleopatra’s bath water and the Jordan River water in which Jesus was baptized may now surround the fish in the Potomac or brew up our morning coffee. The water I will use to sprinkle us as a reminder of our baptismal promises may once have rocked Moses in his basket in the Nile before Pharaoh’s daughter pulled him out, or been used by Jesus to wash the feet of his disciples. The wind from God which swept over the waters of the void at creation, is the same wind that rushed into that Jerusalem house on that first birthday of the church, and now may roar around the top of Mt. Everest or caress your check as you do your daily walk, or work in your garden. What better symbols of renewal and transformation could we ask for than water and air - the stuff of life for us, and the symbols of our new life in the Spirit? As we renew our own commitment to live for Christ, and carry his Gospel of forgiveness and reconciliation to all people, we will reaffirm our promise to treat all people with decency and respect, and do all we can to make the world a more just place that reflects the values of the reign of God. Let’s be mindful, too, of all the gifts we have as a community because God values diversity so much that we are not made all alike but with different gifts: which come to us through the one Spirit of God and they enliven our worship and enrich our lives and our community in more ways than we can ever fully comprehend. Finally, let’s be mindful of all the ways our lives are sustained and blessed by God with air and water, breath and spirit. So, let’s take a deep breath. Now, take another. Then, just keep breathing, trying to stay mindful with each breath that breath is God’s gift to us, whether we think of it as life-giving air or lively spirit. Let it fill us up and enliven us. Let it set us on fire with the desire to speak of God’s glorious gifts and acts, which are all around us. The spirit of God is moving in this place. Can you feel it? Breathe deep, open your hearts and prepare to be blown away!

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