Acts 2:1-21

Two weeks ago yesterday, I was sitting on a bench in front of our hotel in Waikiki, waiting for Delight, when I had a most unusual experience. It was a typical day on vacation in Hawaii. We were waiting to catch a van that would take us on a tour of the eastern two-thirds of Oahu. Delight had run upstairs to grab something and I was just sitting there, taking in the comings of going of the various tourists. Who would have guessed that I would encounter God there?

The entire time I sat on that bench, an expensive rental van was parked some 10 feet to my left. Inside was a family of four - mom, dad, a daughter who was about 15 or 16 and a son who was about 12 or 13. There was nothing particularly unusual about them.

As they sat there, they did the typical things: Dad looked over a map and drummed on the steering wheel as if his rhythm would speed up the family up so they could get going; Mom went into hotel and back to the van several times, occasionally accompanied by the daughter; the son sat in the back, listening to his iPod. Nothing to in any way to indicate what was to come.

And when it came, it all happened in a flash. The son stepped out of the van and walked past me on the way to the hotel. There was just something about him - the arrogant swagger, the condescending smirk on his face - that drew an immediate and irrational dislike out of me. I don't even know why. I can't even remember having felt such an immediate negative reaction to anyone before, ever.

He hadn't said or done anything wrong. It was just an instantaneous and probably undeserved reaction. It's hard to admit that I could feel that way about an unknown kid for no particular reason, but that reaction was very real at the time. And that's when it happened.

I heard a very real - very literal - voice out of nowhere saying, "Bless him." And suddenly I was sitting on holy ground. So I obeyed and pronounced the best blessing I could come up with on this kid for a long and fruitful and happy and helpful life. And anything else I could come up with on the spot.

I did so, knowing that I would never find out if any of those things would ever come true, but that the one who had called for that blessing would know. And also knowing that the sheer act of pronouncing that blessing had, in fact, gotten rid of those odd negative feelings I had for that boy and left me with a blessing as well.

Today is Pentecost Sunday, the birthday of the church. This is the day when we remember how the Holy Spirit - in an equally sudden and unexpected action - came down on the disciples and compelled them to step out from behind their locked doors and into the streets, so they could share the good news of God's love and forgiveness with a world that desperately needed that good news.

Two thousand years after that event, the world still desperately needs God's good news. Because we are Christ's modern day disciples, that task is now ours to shoulder.

The book of Acts tells us that on the first Christian Pentecost, 3,000 people were added to the church. Given that, it's very appropriate that we spend a little time this morning thinking about what it means to be a member of the Christian church.

I'd like to begin doing that indirectly - by telling you about a medieval Pentecost tradition. In the middle ages very few people were able to read, partly because most people were so busy trying to find ways to survive that they simply didn't have any spare time to devote to learning the meaning of letters.

So medieval Christians learned about the Bible by hearing the stories read to them in the church and by seeing those stories portrayed in the paintings, icons, stained-glass windows, and in the drama and pageantry of the church service.

Even the architecture of the large cathedrals helped remind worshippers about the Christian message - with their frequently cross-shaped floor plans and their high-vaulted domes designed to lead the eyes and thoughts of believers upward toward heaven. Usually the inside of these domes were decorated with scenes from the Bible.

One church historian notes, "The custom of painting heavenly scenes on the great domed and vaulted ceilings of cathedrals served not only to inspire the devout with blessed visions. It also disguised some discreet trap doors. These small openings were drilled through the cathedral ceiling to the rooftop. During the Pentecost worship service, some hapless servants would be drafted to [climb] up on the roof. At the appropriate moment during the [service], they would release live doves through these holes. From out of the painted skies and clouds on the cathedral ceiling, swooping, diving symbols of a vitally present Holy Spirit would descend to the people below.

"At the same moment, the choirboys would break into the whooshing and drumming sound of a holy windstorm. Finally, as the doves were flying and the winds were rushing, the ceiling holes would once again be utilized - as bushels upon bushels of rose petals were showered down upon the congregation. These red, flickering bits of flowers symbolized tongues of flame falling upon all who waited below in faith."

Because of that custom, those openings in the domes of medieval churches were called "Holy Spirit holes." The point of all this is that as church members, we are called to serve as "Holy Spirit holes" for the modern world. We're expected to let God's love shine through our lives to those who don't know God and who may have no other way to approach God except through us. We're called to bless them and not judge them.

Several years back, The Florida Christian ran an article which said: "Until fairly recently, persons both [inside and outside] the community of faith... had a tendency to relate their needs to God. Many prayed about their problems, took their problems to clergy, or lit a candle in church. Though people did not understand their world they often believed that God controlled everything, particularly in times of crisis. Witnessing was relatively easy.

"Since that time humankind has become more oriented toward science and technology, believing that scientists and technologists can handle any situation. Rather than faith and prayer, the answers are seen to lie in knowledge and money. Fewer and fewer problems therefore are seen to be God-related, and humankind thinks less in theological terms.

"Despite this, the rates of suicide and divorce rise, institutions for the physically and emotionally crippled are overloaded and society's problems seem to intensify and increase. Those outside the community of faith are asking theological questions even though [they are] not identified as such. [Questions like] "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" "What is the purpose of all of this?" "Why can't I cope?" "Why am I lonely and unhappy?"

"...The people of our time have a renewed interest in the... mysteries of life for which science and technology have no ready answers. As we witness to people about our faith, we should respond to this interest. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a great gift to give these people."

In the story of Acts, the Holy Spirit comes with the rush of winds and with fire and causes a dramatic change in the disciples. They had been fearful refugees, hiding from the religious authorities, but they became powerful public speakers who could sway the lives of thousands with their Spirit-filled words. The presence of the Holy Spirit isn't always that dramatic, however. The Spirit lives just as surely in the lives of faithful people who live quiet Christian lives.

Take a look around you right now and you can see the evidence of that in the lives of the people sitting in the pews next to you. You'll see people who have bravely faced life-shattering tragedies by relying on the Lord. People who donate their time and/or money to support the church and various mission causes in the name of Christ.

People who would be surprised to think of themselves as being the saints of the church, even though that's what they are. As Christians, all of us witness to our faith by our lives as well as by our words.

Let me give you a dramatic example. In 1996, a gunman went on a rampage in Port Arthur, Australia, and killed some 35 people. One of the first to be shot was a man named Tony Kistan, who was a member of the Salvation Army.

Tony was a 51 year-old man from Sydney, Australia, who just happened to be in a cafe at Port Arthur with his wife Sarah when the shooting began. As soon as he saw the gunman. Tony stood in front of his wife to protect her and was mortally wounded as a result. His wife held him as he died and his last words were "I'm going to be with the Lord."

According to Ramon Williams of the Australian Christian Communications Network, those simple words, which were published throughout Australia, shocked the journalists who quoted them almost as much as the gunman's random violence had shocked them earlier. The reporters wanted to know how anyone could possibly have such assurance.

In that context, Tony's memorial service became as much an evangelistic event as it was a celebration of his life. The service presented those in attendance with a sense of a loving, caring family man, a Christian who was said to have "witnessed... about his Lord to strangers and friends alike."

His simple statement of faith at the end of his life was simply a continuation of that pattern of witnessing. During the memorial service, Tony's brother said that Tony's life had touched "many thousands," but in his death he has spoken to "hundreds of thousands."

Although few of us will have such a dramatic opportunity to speak about our faith to large numbers of people, all of us will have the opportunity to demonstrate that our lives are consistent with our faith, and all of us will have a chance to tell others about our faith.

But, as important as it is to win people to a life-saving faith, evangelism isn't the only responsibility of a good church member. Paul notes in 1 Corinthians, "There are different kinds of gifts, but [it is] the same Spirit [who gives them]... for the common good."

Whatever gifts you may have been given by God, all of you will have the opportunity to use your gifts on behalf of the community of faith - the church - much as Tony did both in life and in death. And when you use your gifts for Christ, you will strengthen not only our congregation, but also your own faith.

L.W. Warren says, "Back when the West was being settled the major means of transportation was the stagecoach. You've seen persons riding in stagecoaches in western movies. What you might not know is that the stagecoach had three different kinds of tickets - first class, second class, and third class.

"If you had a first class ticket, that meant you could remain seated during the entire trip no matter what happened. If the stagecoach got stuck in the mud, or had trouble making it up a steep hill, or even if a wheel fell off, you could remain seated because you had a first class ticket.

"If you had a second class ticket you also could remain seated - until there was a problem. In case of a problem, second-class ticket holders would have to get off until the problem was resolved. You could stand off to the side and watch as other people worked.

"You didn't have to get your hands dirty. But second-class ticket holders were not allowed to stay on board. When the stagecoach was unstuck you would get back on and take your seat.

"If you had a third-class ticket, you would definitely have to get off if there was a problem. Why? Because it was your responsibility to help solve the problem. You had to get out and push or help lift to fix a broken wheel or whatever was needed because you only had a third class ticket."

As baptized members of the church of Jesus Christ, each of us is the proud owner of a third-class season ticket. When there's a problem, it's up to all of us to work together to fix it. That's what you said yes to when you joined the church. At times it may seem like an impossible task, and perhaps it would be impossible, it were strictly up to us.

But God promises that it is not strictly up to us. God's gift of the Holy Spirit is available to us at all times to lead us, guide us, inspire us and empower us. It's a gift that God gave the early church on that first Christian Pentecost and a gift that remains ours today.

"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit." That is a gift we can rely on. Amen.