While the ascension of the Lord is the moment when the church is called, and charged, by Jesus to begin their work, Pentecost is recognized as the day when we are empowered to take our first steps as the Church. Now as the story of the tongues of fire is told, we understand that the work begins.
But I wonder, what does that mean?
What does it mean that today we are Empowered to Be the Church?
A simple search of the term “empowerment” yields a variety of definitions to help us to understand the term. That search yields phrases like: “having the authority, the confidence, or the strength to act, or make decisions.” And while that sound about right, that is what ‘to be empowered means in a secular sense,’ I further wonder, is that what spiritual empowerment, empowerment in Christ, empowerment as the Church, truly is about?
On Pentecost are we confessing to having the authority, the confidence, the strength to act, and make all the decisions because of what is taking place as we think about Acts 2 and the miracle of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit? I don’t think so . . . Is that actually what happened as the tongues of fire fell and the disciples spoke in other languages as the Spirit gave them the ability to do so to the great crowd assembled in Jerusalem?
Is that what Peter did when he stood before the assembled mass and preached the first post-resurrection and ascension sermon and nearly 3000 were brought to into the church an act of secular empowerment?
Or is it possible that something different is happening, something more mysterious, something more holy took place on that day?
Today I want to think about how the out-pouring of the Holy Spirit, as it is recorded in Acts 2, because what took place in that moment, on that day, how it empowered the church. And while we cannot recreate that moment today at Bethesda on this Pentecost Sunday, we are Empowered to Be the Church—make no mistake about that. So, as we think back upon what happened on that first Pentecost, can we see how that empowerment is lived out now moving forward?
As we prepare to come to the Table of the Lord, let us take a moment and consider this story and learn what God intends for us.
Move 1- brings us together.
Considering Pentecost and the movement of the Holy Spirit, there are a few things to notice.
First off, the empowerment of the church is the act that brings the church and the community together—in Christ. It is the first lesson of Acts 2. When we are empowered the Be the Church, we are drawn together by the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Illustratively this moment is the reverse of Genesis 11—the Tower of Babel—where humanity, who were once together in one language was driven apart by the movement of God’s Spirit.
In Genesis 11, the people have come together, but they did so with human motivations—not together because they felt called by Christ to come together. In fact, our text says that they gathered and began this work of building their tower so that they would be remembered for all of time. Not so they would serve the Lord faithfully.
They did not build that tower so that they could come close to God. Or serve God. Or love God more deeply or fully.
Admirably as it might be to build as one people. They only wanted to be remembered.
Now here in Acts 2, as the languages are confusingly-spoken in Jerusalem, the people are united by the name of Jesus. While the scene could feel, or sound of it could feel, like a confusing cacophony of noise as the larger narrative was read, I suspect that underneath it all was almost a tone of unity. For when the gospel’s message is faithfully present, and it is preached, God is there bringing the people together.
Further, Peter’s preaching in the remainder of Acts 2, reminds the people of their history and the message of the prophet Joel that the Day of the Lord would come, and God would be at the center of their lives. Dreams. Vision. It did not matter; God would be with these people because God brought them together—even if they were in exile once. And God would do it again. Throughout the Old Testament, God sought to bring the people back to unity with God as the center of their lives and relationship.
And yes, this seems to contradict expectation, but God often does it. God often seem to contradict the expectations of his people to show us that in Him alone, a miracle is possible. On Pentecost a division in language should separate us, but in Jesus, and his message, we are brought together and empowered.
Move 2- miracle of hearing
A second miracle that takes place is that act of hearing itself.
When Acts 2 is read, the church focuses so much of our time and our reflection on the miracle of the languages that are recorded and the act of proclamation. We think about the testimony of the great noise that takes place when the wind of the Holy Spirit blows through the area and those languages are spoken and the gospel is proclaimed in the way that it was. Even now I imagine that your imagination is filling in the gaps of the story with color and details.
But do not forget that they people in Jerusalem that day, they had to hear it. They had to be open and that takes a movement of the Holy Spirit as well.
This is worldwide proclamation of God’s word in an unexpected way. First step of the empowerment in Christ was that the people come together to witness the event, then they hear what was happening.
This also reflects back onto what happened in Genesis 11. For when the people heard the languages back in Genesis, it drove them apart. Now when they hear; they linger. Perhaps they are curious. Perhaps their hearts are quickened by the movement of the Holy Spirit to listen to the gospel that is about to be shared. They are gathered—and ultimately, they are sent out with the full gospel in their hearts.
What does it take to make you linger around God and his word when you hear it? You see, I could stand here all day and read God’s word out loud, but would that make the healing nature of the gospel sink deeply into your hearts and lives? Or into the lives of the people of this community?
It has to be heard. . . internalized.
This is the act of hearing that took place in Acts 2, and in our text today that act is just as important to as the message being shared. Peter’s preaching is important but so are the empowered hearts of God’s people who hear the message.
The ‘frank’ proclamation—and open and public proclamation, unafraid and borne by joyful confidence—of God’s ‘deeds of power’ is just as much the result of the pouring out of God’s Spirit as is a new community of diverse persons and groups of people—such as the Church who gathers together around this table.[1]
Conclusion
So now we turn to the Table which sits before us.
Communion is the act where we remember that on Jesus’ last night with us, he empowered us to be the church. For as we are gathered together, as we are drawn to this table and remember what takes place here, we are also reminded how those first disciples of the Lord gathered around and heard the message of the Lord.
So let us take that same gospel with us from this Table and faithfully share it as it has been shared with us.
DM
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