BEING THE CHURCH
Acts
2:1-21 Psalm 104:25-35
Romans 8:14-17
John 14:8-17
Are
you in a celebrating mood? Well, catch the vibe, as the kids say,
because today marks a festive occasion—the birthday of the capital “C”
Church!
After Jesus' crucifixion and
ascension, his followers were aimless, disorganized, and, above
all, terrified. What were they to do? Where were they
to go? Without this Day of Pentecost, it all could've ended right
there. But it didn't.
This morning’s reading from Acts
gives a first-hand account of the day everything changed for the
disciples, the day the Church was born. With a mighty rush of
wind and divided tongues of fire, the faithful followers of Jesus were
filled with the Holy Spirit and thus enabled to communicate with people
of differing backgrounds and languages. What Jesus had promised
them, an Advocate, was fulfilled.
Even the usually inarticulate Peter
was empowered to stand and proclaim salvation to any who would call
upon the name of the Lord.
Indeed, Jesus did not leave these
early disciples comfortless, nor were they left purposeless.
Although they had already been baptized by water, their marching orders
came in this baptism by fire and the call to proclaim Christ and
witness for him throughout the world.
Essentially, Pentecost is about
breaking down the barriers that separate people and nations. The
Holy Spirit didn't come merely to comfort those huddled in that one
place, but to ignite a fire so powerful that others might be
brought to Christ.
As the psalmist says of God: “You send forth your Spirit, and they are created, and so you renew the face of the earth.”
Does this mean that we, too, are being created? That we are renewing the face of the earth?
The truth is, this birthday of the
Church is not merely a nice story about people who lived long ago and
roamed the New Testament world. The book of Acts chronicles
common every day folks willing to risk the unknown and the
unpredictable to spread their excitement about the risen Christ.
In a real sense, the future of the Church rested directly on their
shoulders.
But this cannot be just their
story. It is also our story ... and our challenge. For a
moment, consider this question: What if the future of Christianity
depends on us?
Well, my friends, in point of fact,
it very well may depend on us. You are probably aware that this
present time in history is being characterized as the “Post Christian
Era.” Statistics documenting church attendance support what we
see in microcosm here at St. James’—more gray headed souls than young
parents and giggly children.
According to the Pew Research Center,
Americans ages 18-29 are considerably less religious than older
Americans. Among the Millennial generation—those coming of age
around the year 2000—one in four members are unaffiliated with any
particular faith. This demographic group may espouse a belief in
God, but organized religion holds less meaning for them than it did for
people fifty years ago.
It might startle you to hear that the
recent preaching workshop your clergy and I attended was centered
around the theme “Preaching to the Uninterested, the Unconvinced, and
the Unimpressed.” And that's a reference to folks who have
at least made it into a church building. What about the others?
In today’s society, we can no longer
assume regular church attendance as a given or even as a significant
cultural value. So what has happened?
First of all, in the interest of
fairness, I would submit that even in earlier generations, there may
have been other motives besides the desire for a relationship with
Christ responsible for filling churches on Sunday mornings.
Surely some were there primarily for the social or business networking
possibilities or because church was traditionally what a family did
with itself on Sunday morning. Besides, the potlucks provided
fine fare.
But many were there out of genuine spiritual need and Christian conviction.
Times have changed. Now Sunday
Little League games provide ample opportunities for networking, and
hours spent in church are hours taken away from catching up on chores
in a home where both parents work.
Then, too, there are those who have
been driven from organized religion by abuses of power and
personhood. Throughout my life, my church experience has largely
been positive and affirming. But is that true for everyone?
Suppose we were to ask a cross-section of people what memories or experiences they associate with “church.”
We can hope that the popular answer
would be “Church is a place where I feel included, comforted, embraced,
and loved. A place concerned about the human condition, both
within and without the church doors.”
But others might well offer this
disturbing response. “Church is a place where I am made to feel
ashamed, guilty, controlled, excluded, unworthy.”
And sadly there would be a
significant number answering in this manner: “I've already 'graduated'
from Church and all its talk of God. Church may be okay for you,
but it’s irrelevant in my life. I am indifferent to the whole
religion thing.”
Wow. Do we begin to see the parallels between what faces us and what those early Christians were charged to do?
For us, the pivotal question becomes
“What does it mean in this day and time to be the Church?” One
could even argue that “being” is a passive verb. Perhaps the
better question is “How can we do the Church?”
We could begin by acknowledging that
the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost came not to an individual but
to a group. Likewise, we, as a church, are not isolated
individuals, but a community of souls united by a common
experience with and belief in the redeeming love of Christ.
According to The Message translation
of today’s passage from Romans, “This resurrection life you received
from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously
expectant, greeting God with a childlike, `What’s next, Papa?’”
Adventurously expectant. As
noted preacher Barbara Brown Taylor suggests, the Holy Spirit working
in our lives can “set us on fire, transform our lives, turn the world
upside down.” All action verbs! Set us on fire, transform our lives, turn the world
upside down!
For a moment, imagine what being set
on fire with the Holy Spirit might feel like. Could we get as
excited about communicating our experience with the living Christ as we
are about such temporal things as Razorback football, a passion for
collecting, a milestone family event, or winning the lottery?
What is it in your life that makes you want to shout from the
rooftops? To tell everyone you know?
It is that kind of excitement that
God has in mind for his Church as we work for the spread of his
kingdom. God wants us to share the Christian adventure in all its
richness.
Let’s face it, we can get pretty cozy
here within the embracing walls of St. James' Church. Because we
contribute generously to many good works in the community and beyond,
it’s tempting to assume we’re doing our part. To become
smugly self-congratulatory.
But it takes only one visitor walking
through our doors who goes away unwelcomed to restore us to
reality. Our work as God’s people, as a church, is never
finished.
It isn't sufficient merely to open
the doors of the church, not when we are called to take Christ into the
world. Nor is it enough to wait for others to wander into our
midst. In the same manner that Our Lord sought out the lost
sheep, we are to seek out and welcome into the Body of Christ the
uninterested, the uncommitted, the unconvinced, and the just plain
needy.
We cannot do this work by
ourselves. We need community and the help of the Holy Spirit,
just as the people of old did. To be and do the Church, we must
rely on the Holy Spirit as we go out from this place, witnessing and
proclaiming the word. If we are faithful to this mission, others
will, most certainly, “know we are Christians by our love.”
Last week Fr. Ben invited us to pray
for the power of the Holy Spirit to come more into this church and into
each of our lives so that we may be comforted, strengthened and
affirmed for the work of spreading the Good News.
And so, yielding to the Holy Spirit, let us ask, “'What's next, Papa?' What if the future of Christianity depends on us?”
Amen.
Laura Shoffner
St. James' Episcopal Church
Eureka Springs. ARDay of Pentecost
May 23, 2010
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