“THERE CAME A SOUND”
Text: Acts 2:1-21
Faith United
Confirmation Sunday
June 3, 2007
I am not, nor have I ever been
a big sports fan
I mean, I don’t hate sports, I enjoy local sports
especially when I know the team members
or back East I enjoyed going to minor league baseball games
But I’m not one to keep up with a certain team
and get excited about who wins or loses --
with one exception
In 1992, we were living in Ceresco, Nebraska
and some members of the church there
offered to take us to the Nebraska football game
against Kansas State
Being a good seminary student at the time,
I knew it’s good to get the know the culture you’re living
and working in, and I knew already
that Husker football was important
So we went
We had great seats behind one of the field goals
but I do remember walking toward the stadium
wearing my obligatory red shirt
and seeing this mass of people
that would gather in one place and make up
the third largest city in Nebraska, as I was told
This mass of people, all wearing red
all gathering from different corners of the state
for this event
It was really cool
but being in the stadium, amidst a sea of red
cheering, feeling the tension building
as the game was close right down to the wire
and then experiencing the thrill of that last field goal
in the last seconds of the game
that won it for Nebraska
I was converted.
I felt like I was a part of something bigger than myself
because I was there, I was wearing red
I was cheering with thousands of other people
and celebrating the victory
After that I dutifully watched all the Husker games on TV
celebrated the National Championships they won
proudly wore my Nebraska shirts and sweatshirts
mourned with the little old ladies I visited
the year that Tom Osborne retired
When we lived in Pennsylvania for 6 years,
we still wore our Husker red
iIn Penn State territory
to mark ourselves as different
plus it helped me feel connected to Nebraska
We were stupid enough, however, to go to the Nebraska- Penn State game
the year that Penn State crushed Nebraska
That day, I was comforted by the patches of red
across the stadium
amidst the blue
And when we had to leave because of a real threat
to anyone wearing red,
I was comforted to see others in red,
leaving for safety reasons
We were connected by the colors we wore
The red sweater I wore that day
still reminds me of the very real fear I had
for our safety that day
Red is risky
Red is the highest alert for our Homeland Security System
Picking up my parents at the airport last week,
we were reminded periodically by an automated voice
that the current threat level is orange
as it has been for some time
So we don’t even pay attention to it most of the time
But we know if it ever moves up to Red
It’s time to be on the alert
to know that there is severe risk
There was an incredible tension in the air
the place was buzzing
It was like United Nations Day In Jerusalem
People from all over the known world
gathering for the annual Festival of Weeks
the time when all good Jews gathered
traveled to the temple to celebrate the harvest
to give back to God in proportion to God’s great blessings
in their lives
It was also a time to celebrate the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai
when God appeared to Moses to give him the Ten Commandments
the laws that are the foundation of the faith
The Romans hated it when the Jews partied in the city
there was threat of riots and chaos
there was very real danger
getting that many people together in one place
emotions got stirred up
and people do crazy things when that happens
So the Romans increased security during the Festival Days
put out more armed guards
who were hypersensitive to any threat of danger
or revolt
You just never know about these religious people
and what they’ll do
so the city was on high alert
The followers of Jesus were laying low
They probably had plans to go to the Temple later
for the celebrations,
but they planned on being low key about it
they couldn’t draw attention to themselves
as followers of Jesus
because a lot of people hated them
So they were gathered in one place
A familiar place, perhaps the room where they’d gathered with Jesus
a pace that felt safe
where they were all together with people who loved Jesus too
They felt the tension of the city permeate the room
They felt the tension of not knowing where their lives were headed
What was that promise that Jesus made?
What were they waiting for exactly??
Would they know it when they saw it?
What would it do to their lives?
How would they have to adjust??
Were they up to it?
And then suddenly in the midst of them
there was roar
that filled the place where they were sitting
They looked around in panic
to each other, to make sure they all heard it
A deafening roar
that resounded in their chests
that sounded like the roar of a mighty wind
and yet they were inside, away from the wind
They heard it, but couldn’t SEE any evidence of it
They were scared to death, all of them,
and yet they weren’t alone, they had each other
And that’s when the fire started….
tongues of fire danced among them, it was really bizarre
And they they all started talking at once,
like they’d all had several cans of Mountain Dew
But they didn’t know what they were saying
they couldn’t understand the words that came out of their mouths
and that really scared them
The roar was increased by the growing volume of voices
of all of them, speaking, non-stop, in foreign languages
Something inside of them made them move
get up, go outside, and they poured out into the streets
as one body, one mass of confusion
like a modern day Tower of Babel
And the people in the streets turned to listen to the roar of voices
people who couldn’t speak the local language
heard their own language coming out of these locals
these farmers and fishermen and tax collectors
and women
Suddenly a great buzz swept across the masses in the streets
and the tension built
There were no translaters
no multi-lingual people – at least until that moment
yevery person—every foreigner, immigrant
and local person heard the messages
and every person understood what was being said
It was weird.
Really weird.
Some were blown away,
some said, augh, they’re drunk…
But I don’t know, I’ve been around drunk people
and I never heard them start speaking languages
that they didn’t know before….
Then Peter got up
in the midst of the mayhem
grabbed a microphone and said, “hey, guys, listen up!
EVERYONE! ALL OF YOU! LISTEN!!
We’re not drunk!
Something crazy is going on,
and it’s what God promised….”
And he quoted the ancient scriptures from the Prophet Joel
everybody who was anybody religious
knew those scriptures
but TODAY, in the midst of the babble of voices
the scriptures took on new meaning
And Peter, not one previously known as an eloquent speaker
preached a sermon that blew them all away
“This, “ he said, “this is what God promised us..
this is what the prophet was talking about… the miracle
when all God’s people would be blown away
by the very spirit of God…”
Everybody.
Doesn’t matter how much money you make
Doesn’t matter what you do for a living
or how much or how little education you’ve had
It doesn’t matter if you have a disability
mental, physical, emotional or spiritual
It doesn’t matter if you are big or small
male or female,
rich or poor,
clean or dirty,
talented or not so much
awkward or elegant,
It doesn’t matter…
The gift of this day is for all God’s people
ALL of God’s people
everyone that God has made …
We live in confusing times
times where we argue
about what to do with people
who come into our country from other places
to look for a better life
Legal immigrants are struggling to become citizens
against great odds
iIllegal immigrants are trying to find a life
natural born citizens don’t want to be separated
from their parents
It’s crazy.
There’s a lot of tension
As Americans, we live amidst great diversity
We sometimes celebrate that diversity
We argue about whether or not everyone should speak one language
or whether it’s our responsibility to learn other languages
and other cultures, so that we can communicate
to those who are different among us
But the tension of diversity is not a new thing
certainly not a 21st century ideal
It goes way back, to the day of Pentecost
God wanted EVERYONE to understand what God had to say
so the great miracle, the greatest miracle of Pentecost
is simply that everybody understood each other
no one was left out
no one
God accommodated everyone, so that everyone could share in the gift
Not just white people
Not just middle class people
Not just English speaking people
but all God’s children were invited to the party that day
Toni Morrison,
an African American writer
once said, “If you surrender to the air,
you could ride it.”
Pentecost is about surrendering to the air,
to the mighty wind of God’s Spirit
“Surrender” sounds negative to us
it sounds like giving up
But to surrender means to surrender CONTROL
to give that control of our lives, of our world,
of everything, to God
And we have to do that every day – sometimes many times!--
because we don’t like letting go of the wheel
The color of Pentecost is RED
It’s the only day of the year that we have red
on the altar, on this pulpit
because red symbolizes the fire of Pentecost, the flames
that danced amidst the confused disciples
the fire that gave them power, gave them life and passion
to surrender to God’s power, to let God do amazing things among them
But Red also symbolizes severe risk
and that’s very appropriate
Surrendering your life to God is a severe risk
You don’t know what God is going to do with you
Confirmands,
I don’t know what’s going through your heads and hearts
I don’t what this day means to you
or what it will mean to you as you remember it
I can only tell you that today, you are being offered
an awesome gift
the chance to be a part of something bigger than yourself
Today you are marked as God’s people, God’s children
God’s Spirit has been working in your lives
since the day you were born,
even when you weren’t aware of it
God has given you this community of faith
to love you, to celebrate you, to nurture you
to bring you to this moment
You may not feel all that impressive
You may not even think that God has anything special for you to do
and to be
When I was your age, I was such a dork
I was so painfully shy and awkward
I didn’t think I had anything special to offer
But I had the Church, I had my church family
who welcomed me as one of them, dork as I was
they let me be myself
they let me know that God loved me
that God wanted me
that God had special plans for me
as crazy and as far-fetched as that sounded at the time
Peter was a dork
He was always a troublemaker, always giving Jesus headaches
Peter was awkward, he didn’t have great social skills
he was a diamond in the rough
and he was very rough!
But when the Holy Spirit got a hold of him
He blew everybody away
they didn’t recognize him
as he took the pulpit and preached a sermon
that stirred up the hearts of thousands of people
That crazy dork Peter became the pillar, the rock
of Jesus’ new church
Who da thunk??
Go figure.
That crazy God does amazing work
It’s risky… severely risky
agreeing to surrender to God’s holy spirit in your life
it’s sometimes terrifyingly risky
because you give up the control
you let God take you where God wants
you let God make you into the people that God wants you to be
And to live by the Spirit
is often to live at odds with the rest of the world
People may think you’re drunk or crazy or a dork
but today, you are marked
with the color of red
you are marked as God’s chosen people
chosen to spread the word, to live lives
that reflect the grace and transforming love of God
in Jesus Christ
If you choose to accept this assignment
you will be blown away many times
but you will belong to the most powerful movement on earth
empowered by the holy spirit of God
who makes all things new
Peter got up and interpreted the ancient words of Scripture
and in light of Pentecost, those ancient words became new
God’s Word is new every day
because God’s holy spirit is still very much alive
and working among us and in us, here and now
Old things will be made new, old words will be refreshed
old rituals come to life again in a new way
through new people, new faces,
in brand new ways
It can be terrifying
but it is also exhilarating
and you get to share it with very precious holy people
of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds, languages,
of all amazing varieties of God’s creative work in creation
You are invited today
No one is left out
and it is up to you whether or not you want the gift
If you choose to accept this assignment
you will be changed
you will see miracles, big and small
you will taste the sweet, delicious flavor of a life
touched by the holy spirit of God
We are all guests at God’s party
where God’s outlandish and wildly generous love is unleashed
on all humankind
Do not be afraid
You are being invited to Life--
abundant and delicious and eternal
life in God
Welcome
