Pentecost, Year C
May 27, 2007

The Power of Pentecost

Every year, our church celebrates three great feasts. Can anyone name them? The first is in December and commemorates the birth of Jesus – Christmas! The second is in the spring and celebrates the resurrection of Jesus – Easter. And the third? The feast of the Holy Spirit: Pentecost!

To understand Pentecost, I want you to repeat one word: POWER. Say it again: POWER. Pentecost is a celebration of God’s power, working in us and working in the world.

Is power good or bad? How many think it is good? How many think it is bad? How many think it depends? This first slide shows a nuclear power plant. Good or bad? Right – good, because it generates electricity. The next slide shows a nuclear bomb exploding – good or bad? Right – bad! It kills and destroys people and cities. Power can be good or bad, depending on how it is used.

This next slide shows good power and bad power – guns, violence, gangs, the bad power; and peace, hope, unity, love, the good power. In the letter to the Romans, Saint Paul tells us: “I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2, NAB) God challenges us to live His way, under His power and control and guidance, and not according to the world. We are living sacrifices, offering ourselves in service to the Lord. We are to discern – seek out, search for – God’s will and purpose for our lives.

We hear about the first Christian Pentecost in today’s first reading, Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2. I say “Christian Pentecost,” because the feast of Pentecost really was a Jewish holiday that dates back long before the time of Jesus. But on this first Christian Pentecost, the apostles are huddled together on the Jewish feast of Pentecost, afraid after their leader, Jesus, has been killed and, now, has ascended into heaven and has left them in charge of watching the shop. When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. – Acts 2:1-4 (NAB)

This Christian Pentecost is about God’s power to change our lives. Let’s look at some of the common symbols used to represent Pentecost for Christians:

• Wind. John’s gospel tells us, The wind blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. -- John 3:8 (NAB) God cannot be confined to a bottle! I remember a funny story of a little boy who asked his mom, “Is God in our house?” She said, “Yes.” The little boy persisted: “Is God in this room?” Mom again replied, “Yes.” The little boy was holding a glass of milk and asked his mom for a third time: “Is God in this glass of milk?” Mom again said, “Yes!” With that – whap! The boy cupped his hand over the glass and said gleefully, “Gottcha!” Unfortunately, I lot of people think they can control and limit God in almost that same way. But God is like the wind – He will not be confined or limited or controlled.

• Fire. Another symbol of God’s power. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. – Matthew 3:11 (NAB) Fire reminds us that we are to be fervent and on fire for God, open to allowing God to really change and transform us. I remember a funny story of a couple, married 50 years, who every night for their entire married life, followed the exact same boring routine of watching television together at night. He sat in his chair. She sat in her chair. They began with black and white TV, then moved to color TV, then to cable and satellite – but it still was the very exact same routine, night after night, for 50 years. Then one day, the husband suggested to his wife, “Tomorrow, let’s do something different.” Her eyes lit up. She thought: Maybe a second honeymoon to Hawaii; maybe a moonlit stroll on the beach or a fancy, candlelight dinner. “What do you have in mind?” she asked. “Tomorrow,” he said, “let’s switch chairs.” We Catholics are sometimes like that couple – we’re too set in our ways, God’s frozen chosen, comfortable with our routines – but our comfort zone blocks us from growing and maturing and experiencing the fullness of what God has planned for us.

• The dove: Symbol of peace. Inner peace and outer peace. First, God wants to give us inner stillness. This doesn’t mean a life without problems. But God will give us the inner strength and inner calm to make it through the storms of life. And second, outer peace. God sends us into the world to be peace makers and to extend His kingdom of love, not war and violence and hatred. Jesus said to them, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.” – John 20:21-22 (NAB)

• This next symbol is a birthday cake. Anyone know why? Because Pentecost is the birthday of the church. It’s when the timid disciples suddenly received power and courage from the Spirit of God to go out and become missionaries and to start the spread of the church throughout the world. It’s when the disciples began living out the last words of Jesus to them at the end of Matthew’s gospel, Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit… And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." – Matthew 28:19-20 (NAB)

• Finally, the image of a courtroom, of lawyers. The Spirit is our Advocate, our Defender, our Defense Attorney, interceding for us and connecting us to the Father in heaven. In John’s gospel, Jesus talks about the Spirit living in Him and connecting Him to His Father in heaven: Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on my own. The Father who dwells in me is doing his works. – John 14:10 (NAB) But the same Spirit of God that dwelt in Jesus also dwells in us!

Page Two on your handout: Pentecost reverses Babel. Remember in the Old Testament when people tried to build a tower reaching into the heavens, a tower to touch God. But God confused their speech, made them speak different languages. Pentecost is the reversal of Babel. Here’s how:

1. At Babel human beings decided to build a tower to God by their own effort. At Pentecost. God decides to build a bridge to us by sending the Holy Spirit.
2. Babel was noisy confusion. Pentecost is a chorus of mutual understanding.
3. Babel divided the human family into different races and nationalities. Pentecost brings all peoples together and reunifies them into one universal family.

Finally, and most importantly for us, Pentecost is about God giving us power for our own lives, here and now, in the 21st century. In our second reading today, Paul tells us in his letter to the Romans: Brothers and sisters: Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.… Those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God…– Romans 8:8-9, 14 (NAB)

That’s great news! We are children of God! We walk by faith. Someone once told me that faith – F.A.I.T.H. – stands for “Fantastic Adventure in Trusting Him.” Life in the Spirit is a fantastic adventure – God energizing our life with energy and joy – and it is based on trusting God, not ourselves.

Two secrets for experiencing God’s power in our lives: First, let God LEAD. Where? At home, in your marriage, with your kids. At work or school. At play. Here at church. And out in the community and in the world. In other words, in all and every arena of your life!

Last week, on the Feast of the Ascension, Deacon Wayne preached about how too many times, we allow ourselves to look up at the dark clouds of gloom that cause rain to fall on our lives, instead of out at the many blessings and the many opportunities that God is giving to us. Often, what causes us to feel so much pressure and stress and anxiety is that we are trying to be in control of everything, so that the weight of the world is on our shoulders and is weighing us down – instead of living in faith, in the power of the Spirit, allowing God to carry our burdens and turning over control to the Lord. When God is in control, that frees and liberates us!

Too often, people mistakenly think that to really follow the Lord faithfully, you need to come to church every day, pray at all times, be on your knees and – quite frankly – living a boring life. Wrong! Allowing the Spirit to lead our lives means changing our attitude more than changing our activities. We still go to work – but we dedicate our work to the Lord and trust God to provide for our necessities. We play sports – but our attitude is one that honors God. We dedicate our marriages and our children to the Lord, and honor the Lord in our household by creating homes of prayer. The Lord is in control of our lives, not us!

Second: Stay plugged in to God’s power. With so much busyness in our lives, it’s easy to get distracted and disconnected from the Lord. On the screen is the image of a gas pump. Nowadays, with the high price of gas, it’s tough filling up the car, right? But we do it nonetheless, because without gas, our car isn’t going anywhere. Likewise, we fill ourselves up physically and emotionally and intellectually – we eat, we exercise, we read, we take time to rest and to do fun activities. But do we feed ourselves spiritually? It can’t just be once in a while, or when we can squeeze it in and get around to it. We need to feed ourselves spiritually on a regular basis, or our spiritual life will begin to wither and fade. It may cost us, just like keeping our cars running requires an expenditure of money, but it is worth it.

Here’s how – four simple steps (repeat after me): STOP. BE QUIET. CONNECT. GO.

STOP. Slow down. Refill the tank. Recharge the battery. Rejuvenate. Refocus – don’t keep going down the same dead-end street, but reevaluate your priorities. Maybe drop some things that aren’t so important, to free up time for God and family and things that are more important in life.

BE QUIET. We live in a noisy world. Go, go, go, talk, talk, talk. The radio is on. The TV is blaring. Cell phones are ringing. Get quiet – even if it is just for two minutes a day – so that you can hear the still quiet, silent voice of God. Listen to where God is leading you!

CONNECT. We never grow or mature spiritually, all by ourselves. We need the help of others. That’s why Jesus founded the church. It’s our spiritual family, our brothers and sisters, here to help us, and we to help them. So make sure you are connected to the power source of God, through prayer and time with God, and through time with other Christians, maybe in a Bible Study Group or Small Faith Community or Prayer Group of some sort. I’m from Kentucky and I love the joke about the Kentuckian who lived out in the woods and bought a brand new gas powered saw to cut wood. After a few days, he returned the new saw to the store and said, “This thing is no good. It doesn’t work. My old hand saw was faster at cutting wood. I want my money back.” The store owner looked at the gas powered saw, but couldn’t see anything wrong with it. He pulled on the starter cord, and the gas powered saw roared to life. But the Kentuckian jumped back in shock and asked, “What’s that noise?” If we are disconnected spiritually, we will not have the strength and power of the Spirit at our side!

GO. This is maybe the hardest step. After we’ve stopped or slowed down, after we’ve been quiet and listened, after we’ve connected with the Lord and with other Christians – it’s time to obey. Go, do what God tells you to do, in faith, with joy and excitement, in the power of the Spirit.

This last slide, before we conclude in prayer, says, “Don’t be stupid.” Remember Forest Gump? “Stupid is as stupid does.” Lots of people are living foolishly, because they are depending on themselves alone, instead of trusting in God. They are allowing the noisy falsehoods of the world to lead them, not the voice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, and now allowing the power of God’s Spirit to really control their lives.

I love movies, as you know, and last week, the following preview was being shown – Note: Children – do NOT try this at home! – [show clip from upcoming movie, “Hot Rod,” about a failed attempt to jump over a car on a motorcycle]. Really stupid, right?

Don’t be stupid. Don’t be foolish. Live on God’s power – the power of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s conclude with the following prayer litany:

ALL: I am on fire – with the fire of the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of me.

CHILDREN: I promise to live as a child filled with the Holy Spirit by respecting and loving my parents and my brothers and sisters. I will try to live in peace with everyone.

TEENS: I promise to invite the power of the Holy Spirit to invade my heart and to transform my mind, to help me NOT be conformed to the pattern of this world. With the help of the Spirit, I will always seek to care for my body because it is God’s Temple, to exercise my mind by showing dedication to my schoolwork and my studies, and to care for my soul by praying and seeking to know God.

PARENTS: I promise to create space in my home and in my life for God, in order to help my children know and love God through my good and faithful example. I will seek to understand my children, talk to them and hug them and show them my love and affection. With the help of the Spirit, I will seek to be patient, so that I can love my children unconditionally and not demean them or lead them to lose hope. I AM ON FIRE . . .

ALL: When God sends forth the Spirit amazing things happen: barriers are broken, communities are formed, opposites are reconciled, unity is established, disease is cured, addiction is broken, cities are renewed, races are reconciled, hope is established, people are blessed, and church happens. Today the Spirit of God is present here in this church. Wake us up, Lord, with the fire of your Spirit. We no longer want to live without your power, your force in our lives. We no longer want to miss your blessings. Rid us of being cold or lukewarm. Help us to serve with our gifts and talents, which we have received by your Spirit. Help us become flaming sacrifices of love and service on your altar. Plant your Spirit firmly in our hearts.

CONCLUDING SONG

Father, I adore you. Lay my life before you. How I love you.
Jesus, I adore you. Lay my life before you. How I love you.
Spirit, I adore you. Lay my life before you. How I love you.