Sermon for the Episcopal Church of St John the Baptist, Capitola,
given by Rev. Stu Fitch, May 27, 2007
The Episcopal Church of Saint John the Baptist welcomes all to worship God and to share
Christ's love in the world. We are a parish family committed to provide liturgy, Bible study, music, counseling, and Christian education for children, youth, and adults, and to equip all our members for life and for service to other
Sermon
Day of Pentecost
Pentecost is to the Church what the Big Bang is to our evolving world. In both instances God is in charge with a will and a way. At Pentecost the gathered followers experienced tongues of fire and a rushing mighty wind. God was present in the tongues of fire as God was present in that initial firey burst of the Big Bang Fire inflames enthusiasm. a new creation and it purifies, refining as in a crucible. Wind blows away the dross. A clean beginning for an evolving Church.
Another Pentecost happening was the people spoke in various tongues and all understood each other. This speaking in tongues, called Glossolalia ,was a break through experience, Tongues can be a prayer language or a known language like on the Day of Pentecost. This manifestation to the followers, along with the tongues of fire and rushing mighty wind, was a sign of the awakening Holy Spirit within. They knew the power of God was in them, a power expressed by Love.
Through the ages, individuals and groups have relived this Pentecost experience. In 1959 this happened to me at a School of Pastoral Care with the late Agnes Sanford, an Episcopalian noted for her healing ministry . As she and others laid hands on me, I felt like I was going down and coming up, like a baptism. and wlheln I cam up I was sspeaking in tongues. I had seen the word "tongues" in Scripture, now I experienced them. Which reminds me of how often we say words but do not know them until we have expereienced them. I was filled with joy and can see why they accused those first disciples of being drunk at 9 o¹clock in the morning! The world seemed brighter. Passages of Scripture became clearer and there was an opening up to whatever new truth God might reveal.. All of us present knew God loves us just as we are, and we were filled with an overwhelming love and connection with all others. I won¹t forget that experience. I still speak in tongues, sometimes just to center in, sometimes to pray for another when I don¹t know words to say--and they often verify that whatever was spoken brought change. Sometimes I speak in tongues when I am filled with thankfulness and joy
I like Paul "wish ye all spoke in tongues" it opens to a great experience, but also like him I warn that it is just a jump start gift to greater ones. I feel those who insist that speaking in tongues is neccesary to prove one has been blessed by the Spirit are in error. I witnessed tongue speaking become an ego thing, with more emphasis on that particular manifestation than on the Giver of the Gift. I was fortunate to have old timers in the Pentecostal Movement in my parish as mentors who knew and warned me of all the pitfalls. Added to that, I was in a parish heavy into Jungian psychology, which stresses introspection and inner growth. and individuation (becomng whole) and that¹s the path on which the Spirit has takien me...
Of all the gifts it is better to be wise, to be patient and kind, to be One with the Power that heals to become aware of the blocks in our relationship to God which prevent us from our inheritance as God¹s daughters and sons, to see the world as it is and speak out of how God would have it be, to be generous and joyous in giving. We have found that in times when money seemed tight, if we gladly gave more as a sign of faith and gratitude, we received many blessings in return and we always made it!!!
The main point of Pentecost is to know the Spirit of God is in you, whatever gift or experience verifies that presence for you. Remenber God speaks in the silence and with a still small voice,. All the gifts are for all and like a mosaic fit together as one to make a picture of the nature of God. We are to be like an aspen grove, The roots of all the trees in the grove are connected and give and receive life from each other.
The Day of Pentecost calls our attention to more than just the outer manifestations .. Note, they were all in one place, of one accord. They were on the same page with no expectations but rather Abundent Expectancy to experience what Jesus meant when he told them to tarry in Jerusalem to receive "the power from on high." the power of Love. The lesson here for us is that we are called at this moment to be not just in this place together, but to come to one mind, open to God¹s will for us as God¹s people and as God¹s parish, havng Abundent Expectancy as we progress forward with our move. May we let the Holy Spirit¹s tongues of fire purge us of the sapping energy it takes to hold old ideas, stuck positions, judgments , and negativity. There is more than enough of that kind of energy in the world today that we don¹t want to add to it!! Rather let¹s make space for the Holy Spirit¹s surprises and positive energy, which then together as a clean and open page we take the next step into the mystery of being one in the One, .sharing the very Being of God.
The inner importance of tongues is to listen to each other , to hear, communicate and understand each other, even if we come from different points of view.. In our Compassionate Communication class we are learning to get aware of our own needs and feelings in order to put them aside. To be quick to listen, slow to speak. Then not to listen just to the words of the other, but to move deeper in order to percieve the feelings and needs behind their words. .This leads not necessarily to agreement but to empathy and understanding, and respect for each other. Seeing not issues but persons who at the very depths want the same things we want -peace, love, acceptance. and the fullness of life promised by Jesus.. .No more right-wrong arguing. No more correction or conversion. Listening to make a connection. Listening in order to love one another. It¹s a whole new way, counter to our ingrained patterns. of communicating. This opens us to have words, attitudes and actions reflective of our Oneness in God and God¹s Love. We can open to let the Holy Spirit speak through us and to us, To check to make sure of what we have heard or what we say isn¹t just another ego trip. we need to ask ourselves---Is it toving? Is it life serving? Does it unite and connect.? Is it consistent to the life and attitudes of Jesus? The Holy Spirit brings forth the hidden things of darkness, those things which hinder and those which nurture our relationship to God and all others.
This process of becoming Love involves our participation in the Pascal Rhythm of death and resurrection which preceed the up surge of Spirit which clarifies purpose and direction. Good Friday and Easter preceed Pentecost, and all three open us to the on-going life of Jesus ,who indwells us with his Spirit and bids us to be Christ to all An Alter Christus,. a beneficial presence in our world and The World. As One in Christ we are called to continue the creation of the new and compassionate world Jesus began as he experienced the Pascal Rhythm which began the unfolding of a world guided by Love.
Back in the 60¹s there was a movie put out by a Church fiim company called "Jesus B.C," In heaven were three ---the father, the son Chris and the daughter Grace. Disappointing news keeps arriving from the prophets on earth and so the father decides to send Chris down to earth to get things started on the right track. Grace complains that the father is being chauvinistic in his choice. He replies "No, Grace, after Christ's work is done, the rest will be up to you."
Let us now, in this place, open ourselves to be of one accord, letting the power of God fill us with that grace and love which opens us to our True Being and Life. As Temples of the Holy Spirit we can accept the fact that with Grace , the Holy Spirit, "the rest is up to us." In the companionship of the God presence within and without ,we can continue the work of God¹s evolving Church.
Let us pray:
Come O Holy Spirit comeCome as Holy Fire and burn in us Come as Holy Wind and cleanse us
Come as Holy Light and lead us
Come as Holy Truth and teach us
Come as Holy Life and indwell us,
Come as Holy Power and enable us
Convict us , convert us, consecrate us
Until we are wholly thine for thy using..
Amen
