Living with the Spirit of Pentecost

by Charles Love

 

 NB- Obviously, the demographic numbers that I use comparing the conversion/bpatism rate of the Pentecost Church to my town of Bayfield, would have to be re-worked to fit your local context, but, the final result and analysis wold likely be about the same!

 

Acts 2: 1-21

 

Exuberant excitement and joy leaps off the pages as we read the story of the first Pentecost. When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And, suddenly there came the sound of a mighty wind and tongues of fire -the Holy Spirit: and, instantly, the disciples began to speak in other languages. They burst out the door, gathered an enormous crowd, Peter preached his heart out and before the day was ended over 3000 people were baptized! Wow! Hallelujah!

 

In our day and age of church decline, this picture of extraordinary evangelistic success both stirs the flames of our greatest imaginings and leaves us, by comparison, feeling judged- wondering what we’re doing wrong that a day like this is never our day. We read this story and there’s a real danger that we’ll go away thinking ourselves some kind of failure by comparison. All too easily this story, that is given for our inspiration, can knock the winds out of our sails and leave us feeling profoundly discouraged.

 

We mustn’t let that happen this morning! And we can avoid letting that happen if we take a moment to study and realize some things about this story…

 

For example- Although the language of the story speaks in terms of it all taking place “in one day” -on the day of Pentecost, we might better understand that phrase as referring, not to any 24 hour kind of day, but rather to an age- “the early day or days” of the church… Luke, who wrote this story, would, I think, laugh at us for literally imagining that all the events of Acts 2 could ever have happened in any one 24 hour period!

 

The disciples became linguistically competent in foreign languages- instantly… I don’t think so…

 

Peter and the disciples baptized 3000 people in one day- actually less than one day since we know that the first long bit of the day here was taken up with the disciples gathering together in one place, and then their own experience of Pentecost and then them heading outside and gathering a huge crowd and then Peter giving a very long sermon…and then they baptized 3000 in, let’s be generous and allow that they might have had half a day, maybe 6 hours to get it done. Think about that. 12 disciples baptize 3000 in six hours? Do the math. That would mean that each disciple had to baptize 250 people at the rate of 42 people an hour! …I don’t think so!

 

But, even if that was the way of it, the day here is far from over! The story, breathlessly continues to suggest that, virtually by day’s end, all these 3000 devoted themselves to the Apostle’s teaching and prayer and began breaking bread together: and, as the story hastens on, we’re supposed to imagine all these people organized into house church groups, selling all their possessions, initiating new community in which they held all things in common…. I don’t think so! We’re talking WAY more than 24 hours here! …What we’re reading is actually the story of many days which, together, compressed for dramatic story telling purposes, telling the story of the early “day” (or, more accurately, days) of the church.

 

This is not a story about how the church was born and grew “overnight” then, nor is it a story that suggests that, just so, it can or should grow, in any age- including our own. 3000 people in way less than 24 hours? I don’t think so!

 

Still, 3000 people sounds like an awfully big number- doesn’t it! Even if we recognize that that may have been the statistical report for the first, let’s say, year of the church’s life- it still sounds like a HUGE accomplishment- our record pales in comparison to such a standard of accomplishment. Should we be intimidated by such “success?” I don’t think so… Again- we’ve got to look at the numbers…

 

According to Biblical scholars the population of Jerusalem, at the time of our story, was in the neighbourhood of about 80,000 permanent residents. To this number, when there was a Jewish festival going on, it is estimated that one should add anything up to about 250,000 visitors![1] (And we think we get a lot of tourists in Bayfield!) At any rate, these numbers add up to about 310,000 people who, at least on and off, would have been part of the crowd in any one year, to whom the early church made its appeal- out of which 3000 were baptized. 3000 out of 310,000 people gives us a conversion rate of about 1 % of the target audience….Now, let’s bring that success rate number home and, assuming a Bayfield population of about 1000 -and maybe another 1000 who stay overnight or for a few days in the summer- say, 2000 total, if we manage to welcome into the church 1% of these people, that would amount to about 20 people per year- no doubt those converts divided among the 4 churches of Bayfield- say 4-5 new members each per year…. Last year we welcomed, through baptism, profession of faith and/or transfer, 7 people. We should not be intimidated by the success rate of the early church: pro-rated statistical analysis, as we’ve just done, tells us that our rate of new member acquisition exceeds what we read about in Acts!

 

We do not stand judged by, but in the company of the experience of the early church! And, as much as we applaud their success, we really should, equally or more so, give ourselves a pat on the back!

 

Fun with numbers! I sometimes think I should have been an actuarian! But, quickly, now, let’s move on further into the story, because there are other things, here, that can speak an edifying word to us.

 

A few years ago, Jim Callahan, the rector of St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, in Georgia, began an article on today’s scripture, saying, “It was a great day for multiculturalism!”[2] Verse 5 of our reading tell us that, in the audience that Peter appealed to there were “devout Jews from every nation under heaven”- and then we get a long list of countries of origin (that our lay reader today did a find job with -sparing me the joy of trying to read it again…thank you very much!) and, in the midst of that list, at verse 10, Luke, quietly interjects a notation that some of these people were Jews and others were proselytes- that is, people coming out of a variety of faith backgrounds who were thinking, studying and open to the idea of conversion from their old religion, or none at all, to the new faith that Peter was offering….an extraordinarily diverse mix of people- many of whom, prior to this day, in a society that maintained rigid social boundaries between races and religions, would never have considered coming together in any kind of church or social familiarity. From its very beginning, this bit of the story reminds us, the idea of church has been that of a multicultural, ethnically diverse community of all God’s people gathered not just as one- but growing into intimate community of one, marked by equality and respect. Let us never underestimate the enormous significance of the reality that within days or weeks of this community’s formation- Luke portrays these people as sharing economic resources and as breaking every taboo of their day by actually eating together! Goodness knows what they ate. I’d have loved to be there- the range of ethnic cuisine at the first church’s potluck suppers must have been awesome! But culinary delight aside- here were people, who in any other context in their society would never be together, suddenly transcending such racial bias to live as one! Here is an ideal that today’s church strains to emulate….

 

Now, notice one other thing about this diverse community of new Christians… If you were here a few weeks ago, you’ll make connection with something I said about the Ethiopian Eunuch… The total time that Phillip spent with the Ethiopian couldn’t have been more than a few hours: and, then, based on such minimal instruction in the faith and dogma of the emerging church, the Ethiopian went home and ended up establishing the Christian faith in Africa. Inevitably, and as, at the time, the only Christian in Africa, we can imagine the church that this man built would be a very African church! African ways of organizing, African ideas about authority and institutional structures and governance, African mythology and religious practice, the cultural mores of his time and place were the “stuff” out of which the faith in Africa would take form. And that was OK by Phillip. Phillip didn’t insist that the Ethiopian hang around and be enculturated or indoctrinated according to the emerging thought patterns and ways of his own Jewish, Roman culturally influenced faith…. Ditto today’s story! Some of the 3000 people the disciples baptized were visitors to Jerusalem and, very soon after their baptism, we have to imagine that they went home where their faith development and living would be influenced more by their home culture than by any continuing link to Jerusalem or the new Christian church community there. And, again, this was OK with the disciples who, apparently, had every confidence that the Holy Spirit, working in these people, in many and diverse cultures, giving birth to churches of all kinds of shapes and configurations, with diverse liturgies and emerging practices, would lead them to authentic and exciting religious life.

 

If only such confidence had survived in the history of the Christian church, how much richer we would be today! Instead, beginning in later New Testament times and continuing on for years and years, peeking perhaps in the age of Constantine, what we see in the life, discipline and evangelism of the later church is an attempt by the Christian/Jewish Romanized church and its successors to “standardize,” codify, and centralize the faith, dogma and liturgy in ways that undermined the potential diversity of the community we are today. In Canada, we acknowledge this happening as we remember that the cross and European culture invaded our native peoples, hand in hand, almost accomplishing cultural genocide…. >From the story of Phillip and the Ethiopian and from today’s story, we should hear a call to nurture and allow and value the cultural “flavours” that diverse peoples bring to our ever growing faith.

 

One more thought and then we’ll wrap this up… Notice with me that the longest chunk of Peter’s sermon in today’s story is comprised of reference to a writing that he is paraphrasing from the book of Joel- Joel’s imagining, with God, a day on which God will pour out his spirit on all flesh- sons and daughters, young men and old, and even upon slaves: both men and women…such that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved…. God, through Joel, and again through Peter, not only says that he will pour out his spirit and that these people will be saved, but also promises that all of these diverse people will see visions and prophesy in the context of the unique and personal connection that they shall have with God…. No longer, faith by proxy. No more deferring to what the rabbi, priest or minister said… No more cowering under a weight of ancient tradition or teaching as if it was now and forever the final word… Individuals shall be empowered by God to hear a word of the Lord, to puzzle out its meaning, and, to live it out as they, inspired, see fit. The “authority” of the institution of the church, whatever “authority” one might like to lay on tradition excusing themselves because “it’s always been done that way,” can be an informative authority- but the ultimate “authority” in anyone’s life must, by the Christian way, be the Holy Spirit, within them, speaking in and through them.

 

On the one hand, this teaching liberated people- many of whom, felt, in their day, very oppressed by the institutional church and its many laws, norms and expectations, but on the other hand, it also laid on individuals an enormous responsibility and accountability. Henceforth, and in our day, this divine empowerment of individuals, means there can be no lazy, mindless, unthinking, blindly led Christians. Every Christian must work out their faith, as Paul would later say, “With fear and trembling”[3] recognizing, acknowledging and taking in hand the enormous responsibility of meeting and responding to the Holy Spirit faithfully- as they, themselves, inspired, feel called and led to do.

 

As, on this and every Pentecost, we associate ourselves with the people of the early church and the ideas and ideals that they commonly embraced, we find a realistic example of evangelism- that we’re doing a not too bad job of emulating and continuing, we celebrate the enormous diversity and inclusiveness of the first Christian community, we proclaim our faith in the power of the Holy Spirit working through individuals in multicultural contexts, as able nurture all kinds of faith ideas and expressions that are good, and we covenant with God to be active seeing visions, hearing prophesy and responding- working out our faith, as individuals and together, as ever and always emerging, growing and faithful people.

 

Remembering our roots and eager for God’s ever new day, today, we re-commit ourselves to the journey of faith and we celebrate with excitement the wonder and glory of all that, as we are ready and able, God is able to reveal to us and create in, through and with us.

 

Thanks be to God.

Amen

 

Charles Love

St. Andrew’s United Church- Bayfield

rev_love@hotmail.com