Even Greater Things

The Sermon Study Guide is here.

Acts 2:1-4; John 14:8-17

May 19, 2013 (Confirmation) • Portage First UMC

VIDEO INTRO

Last summer, we did the Exodus in reverse. By that I mean, we began one morning at the traditional site of Mount Sinai and made our way across the Sinai Peninsula to Cairo, Egypt. It’s a vast, hot, dry desert. There is not much to see besides sand, sand and more sand. In fact, very early on in the trip, our guide said, “This is about the last place to stop where you can use the restroom and get snacks.” And he wasn’t kidding! By the time we got to Cairo, we were exhausted, hot and tired, ready for a rest. I tried to imagine what it would have been like for those ancient Hebrews to leave the region surrounding the Nile River, the lush green Nile, and head out into the desert. Yes, they were finally free. Yes, they could now make their own decisions. But it was a desert. A dry, hot, vast, barren desert. And for fifty days, they traveled. They walked, and walked, and walked. Nothing to see. Nothing to do but walk. No wonder there are those moments when they want to go back to Egypt! Yes, it was slavery, but they at least had food and water there! And then, fifty days after they left, they arrived at Mount Sinai. If the traditional location of Saint Catherine is the authentic location, it’s a bit higher up and somewhat cooler. It would have been a much nicer place to camp than anywhere they had been before. Fifty days after the first Passover. Fifty days after leaving Egypt, they arrive at a mountain, where Moses goes up (not an easy climb) and then brings down what we call the Ten Commandments—God’s instructions for living life. The fiftieth day after Passover came to be known as Pentecost, and eventually it was celebrated as one of the three great pilgrim festivals in Judaism—meaning it was one of three times in the year you were expected to come and worship in Jerusalem. It became a time when you offered the first of your grain crop to God, an agricultural festival. But it was also a time when the people renewed their commitment to God and remembered how he had given the law at Mount Sinai (Longenecker, “The Acts of the Apostles,” Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 9, pg. 269; Wright, Acts for Everyone, Part One, pg. 21).

Centuries later, on the day of Pentecost, Jesus’ disciples gathered all together in one place (2:1). Where, exactly, we don’t know, but most think it was probably the same Upper Room where they had celebrated the Passover meal, some fifty days ago. Jesus, ten days before this, had ascended into heaven. He was gone. There had been no more appearances since then. And he had told them to wait. “Do not leave Jerusalem,” he had told them, “but wait for the gift my Father promised. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (1:4-5). Since then, they had waited. And waited. And waited. Ten days they’ve waited. Don’t you imagine that some of them began to get discouraged? Maybe Jesus had forgotten. Maybe he had gotten back to heaven and been busy answering his mail or checking his Facebook account. Had it just been some sort of prank? But still they waited. And then, Pentecost came. We read the account of what happened then just a little bit ago, and it’s a hard scene for me to picture. Listen again to how Luke describes it: “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them” (2:2-4). The sound of a violent wind—not necessarily a violent wind, but the sound like it. And something like tongues of fire appearing over their heads—not fire specifically, but something like it. And languages. All of them given different languages to speak. What in the world is going on here?

Perhaps the point is that there is something going on here that is out of this world. Luke uses three symbols to tell us what is happening: wind, fire and speech (Longenecker 270-272). The word for “wind” can also be translated as breath or spirit. From the beginning, “wind” represented God, for it was God’s breath-wind-spirit that brought creation into being, that gave human beings our very life. When the violent wind shakes the place where they are, it’s a message that what’s happening here is going to shake things up and bring new life. God is about to change life as it has been. “Fire” also reminded the Jewish people of God’s presence. Moses was called to serve God when he saw a burning bush. When the people left Egypt, a pillar of fire led them through the wilderness and protected them at night. On the top of Mount Sinai, God’s presence was represented by a consuming fire. Now, fire comes again as a reminder of God’s presence. Even in Jesus’ physical absence, God is with them. And speech. It’s very perplexing what happens here, and many people have interpreted it in different ways. We hear it described as “the gift of tongues,” but if by that you mean (as many do) speaking in an unintelligible language (or a heavenly language, as some say), then that’s not what happens here. We know the disciples go out from this room and are able to speak about Jesus in the languages of the people who have gathered there in Jerusalem. In other words, they speak in actual languages they have never learned. They are given the ability to share the good news. They are given what they need at that moment to tell others about Jesus. There’s no indication they retained that ability. We’re not told elsewhere in the book of Acts that they still spoke in those same languages. For the moment, in the midst of that experience, they are given what they need. Wind, fire, speech. Things are changing, God is with us, and he will give us what we need.

This morning, on this Confirmation Sunday, we are continuing our series of sermons on Connections, asking the question, “How do we connect with God?” We’ve talked about prayer and we’ve talked about what John Wesley called “Christian Conferencing,” and this morning, on this Pentecost Sunday, we come to another important aspect of our connection: the power of the Holy Spirit. To some of us, that sounds scary. We’ve associated the work, even the name of the Holy Spirit with “pentecostals,” which for some of us is a negative word. We picture loud, boisterous worship, speaking in strange languages, and whatever else you might think of. We hear Jesus talk of being “baptized in the Holy Spirit,” and we get kind of nervous. It sounds scary, out of our control. And it is, but not in the way we might think. What happens in that upper room on that first century Pentecost is, in every way that matters, exactly what will happen here today. It’s a renewal of their faith. It’s a new beginning of their commitment to God. Some call Pentecost the birthday of the church, and that’s true on one level, though some would argue the church really began with the coming of Jesus in Bethlehem. But more than anything else, Pentecost is about making sure disciples remember who they are and are given what they need to do ministry in the world. That’s what Confirmation is all about. Today, nine young people will stand before God and the congregation, declare their faith and announce their intention to be “faithful disciples.” They will say they are committing to loving God, loving others and offering Jesus in everything they do. For most of them, it’s a renewal of their baptismal vows, promises that were made on their behalf by their parents long ago. Confirmation is not just about church membership. Sometimes we reduce it to that, but that’s not a good enough reason to celebrate. Confirmation is about renewing our faith, connecting with God and constantly receiving the power we need for living out this faith.

In the Old Testament, having faith meant obeying. Obeying the law. Doing what you were expected to do. Not doing things you were told not to do. A big chunk of the Old Testament is devoted to different laws and instructions, and we sometimes ignore those or we treat them as irrelevant. But all that law was meant to help God’s people be different, live differently. The law set them apart; they weren’t just anyone, they were God’s people. The law was meant to point them toward God, to know how to live as he knew was best for them. Unfortunately, though a series of difficulties, the law became what it was all about. The people came to almost worship the law rather than God. And so Jesus came, and in the New Testament, having faith means following. Now, while that sounds easier, it’s really not. It’s much, much harder. Yes, certainly, there are things we should and should not do. But our faith it not just a list of rules; our faith is a way of life. Our faith is about following Jesus, living as he did and loving as he did. That’s why, on Pentecost, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, because we can’t do it by ourselves. We can’t live this way on our own. We need a helper, which is exactly how Jesus described the Spirit.

On that last night he spent with his disciples, Jesus told them that the way they would show to the world they were his people is to follow his commands. And do you remember what the “new command” he gave to them that night was? “Love one another” (John 13:34). It sounds simple, doesn’t it—until you try to practice it, live it out. Love is hard. Love is work. And we don’t make it easy on each other. These confirmands know that. They live in a world where their beliefs aren’t respected, where there are times they try to live in the way Jesus taught them and they’re made fun of. They live in a world where bullying goes on in ways both subtle and overt. Love is hard work. Loving that other person when they treat you badly is difficult, and there are days, we’ll all have to admit, where we just don’t want to. I don’t want to love that other person, because they’ve hurt me so badly that if I risk loving them again, I risk getting hurt again. Yet, Jesus says, “Love one another.” That’s his command. Above everything else, that’s what he calls us to do. And I’m convinced that if we’re doing what he told us to do, we won’t have time to worry about the things he told us not to do. If we’re busy loving others, we won’t have time to do the things we shouldn’t do. If we’re always seeking the loving response, the loving action, the loving word—we’ll be too busy to do things we ought not to do. That’s why following Jesus is harder than obeying the law, because it’s so easy to stop loving. And that’s why Jesus sent the Spirit.

In John 14, he says, “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth” (14:15-17). Other translations call the Spirit a “counselor,” “comforter,” “friend” or “helper.” The word is “paraklete,” which means “someone who comes alongside.” Someone who comes to help. Someone who pleads our case. Someone who stands up for you. That’s the way Jesus describes the “paraklete,” the Spirit. The Spirit is the one who comes alongside, who gives us what we need to be able to live the life Jesus puts before us. I know in my own life many times the only way I was able to love the other person is because of the Spirit’s work. And I also know that there are times when the only way someone else can love me is because of the Spirit’s work in their life. Jesus sends the Spirit to enable us to do what he said to do, to live this life, to follow him.

Then there’s this other promise Jesus made, just a bit earlier in the text. “Very truly I tell you,” he says, “whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these” (14:12). We know the sorts of things Jesus did, but what does he mean by “greater things”? Can we really do greater things than Jesus did? Scholars and theologians continue to debate, even 2,000 years later, what Jesus meant by that, but I wonder if it isn’t fairly simple. Jesus said his command was to love. But Jesus is God, and God is love, we know (cf. 1 John 4:16). It was and is his nature to love. It is his character to respond to every person and every situation with love. Maybe the “greater things” he saw us doing is loving in spite of our nature, drawing closer to God and to each other despite our tendency to withdraw. Maybe the “greater things” that were to come out of Pentecost are the all the ways we find to love people into the kingdom of God.

The Spirit came in wind, fire and speech—and the Spirit continues to come in wind, fire and speech. When the wind blows through, life is reordered, things are changed. The Spirit shakes the house where the disciples are, and when the Spirit blows through today, he changes our priorities. We live in a changing world, where things are being shaken and priorities are changing. The generation coming up is setting different priorities than my generation or older generations. For one, family is becoming more and more important. Earlier generations, mine and older, have in many ways disappointed our children. Marriages thrown away, lives disrupted, and so there are indications that one of the priorities of the up and coming generation is to keep the family together, to not let little things drive them apart. Family is key; priorities are being reordered. And yet, at the same time, there is a huge challenge in the younger generation, because another priority that is being set is an anti-church priority. Sixty-five percent of the younger generation rarely attend church, and following the truth of the Bible has become less and less important. The Spirit of truth wants to blow into their lives, but they need to see you and I living out what we say we believe—faithfully and consistently. What a great thing this morning to celebrate with these nine confirmands, who are bucking the trend and allowing the wind of the Spirit to blow into their lives. Their Confirmation this morning gives me hope.

The Spirit also comes in fire, and fire is not only representative of the presence of God, it’s also a purifying symbol. Fire separates the gold from the dross, the good stuff from the bad stuff. When the Spirit blows into our lives, he seeks to clean out the bad stuff, the stuff that does not honor God, the sin, the unforgiveness, the times we outright rebel against what God wants. The Spirit comes to make us more and more like Jesus. One of the characteristics we hear over and over describing this younger generation is a longing for authenticity. They want to see if what we say we believe matches the way we live. And there is little patience today for anyone who is inauthentic. The challenge is for us to let the Spirit burn through our lives and get rid of those things, those ways we live that do not honor God. It’s not okay to come to church, worship God and then to go into the week and treat everyone else like they are less than human. Jesus told a story about that once, about a man who was deep in debt to his king, and when he begged for some more time to pay it off, the king did more than that. He forgave the debt. The man was grateful; you might even say he worshipped the king. But then he went out, found another man who owed him a little bit of money, grabbed him by the neck and had him thrown in jail because the second man couldn’t pay his tiny debt. He’d accepted the king’s forgiveness, but he wasn’t living like he had been forgiven. When the Spirit burns through our lives, he will make our Sunday life match our Monday through Saturday life. Authenticity—living what we say we believe. John Wesley was once asked by a preacher what he should do since he found his faith was slipping, and Wesley repeated advice he heard someone else give: preach faith until you have it, and then preach faith. In other words, live faith until it becomes real, an authentic way of life, and then live faith. Let the Spirit burn everything else away.

And then the Spirit comes in speech. There comes a time to give outward evidence of our faith. Sometimes that means we need to speak about our faith, about Jesus. Sometimes it means we need to speak up for the least, the last, and the lost. Sometimes it means we must give a voice for someone who has no voice, to be advocate for someone who is all alone. When the Spirit comes, he will, Acts says, “enable” us to do what we need to do to reach the world for Jesus. And the good news is that the younger generation is much less afraid or timid than we have been about speaking of their faith. They’re not afraid to stand up for what they believe, even if it’s unpopular. And more than that, they’re not content to just talk about it. They want to do something about it. This next generation is and will be the most educated generation in American history, and they are also the largest generation in history, having recently passed the Baby Boomers in size. They want to change the world, and they will speak up and they will act to try to do it. Faith for them is not just about sitting in a chair on Sunday morning; it’s about taking Jesus’ love out into the world to make a difference. And so, look at the marvelous things the youth in our church are about. This past winter, nineteen of them participated in an activity called the 30-Hour Famine where they not only learned about hunger but they allowed themselves to become hungry. They spent the night here, went without food and raised money which will feed children around the world. Our Middle Schoolers have been busy this spring raising money for the Royal Family Kids Camp, making it possible for kids who are abused and neglected to go to camp free of charge and experience the love of Jesus. And our Mission Possible Kids? They gave up a Sunday evening a few weeks back and came in droves here to make sandwiches and meals for the Porter County Homeless Ministry. No one made them come. They came because they are passionate about doing something. We have kids in this congregation who give money from their own allowance every week toward Feed My Lambs so that other kids they go to school with can eat on the weekends. And we have a teen praise team called Ignite that is singing about the love of Jesus in a bold way, proclaiming that God’s not dead. Could these things be among the “greater things” Jesus was talking about?

You see, when I see these things happening and I see pictures and hear stories about the things our youth are doing, I get excited. That’s why I keep saying that, as many great, powerful and wonderful things as God has done in this church throughout the last 177 years, I still believe our best days are still ahead. Jesus said as we connect with the Holy Spirit, as we allow the Spirit to guide us and empower us, we will do even greater things than he did. Now, I know talking about the Spirit is a scary thing to some, and that’s why I want to invite you to come on Wednesday evening and take part in a four-week class called, “The Power of a Whisper.” Through those four weeks, you’re going to learn a lot about the work of the Holy Spirit in this day and time, about how to listen for the whispers of the Spirit, and about how the Spirit can empower and embolden us to proclaim the good news across the world that Jesus Christ is Lord. That starts this Wednesday evening, and you can sign up at the Connection Center as many have already done. What might happen when we allow the Spirit to blow through our lives in wind, fire and speech? Might we be even more empowered to live out this faith?

That’s what happened to those first disciples. As the Spirit empowered them that Pentecost morning, they went out into the street and preached about Jesus. In languages they had not learned, they proclaimed the good news, and Luke says about three thousand people found salvation in Jesus that day. But that wasn’t the end. The Spirit continued to send them out. In fact, some say the book, “The Acts of the Apostles,” really should be called “The Acts of the Holy Spirit,” because without the power of the Spirit, without being connected to God through his spirit, those disciples couldn’t have done any of it. And yet, with the Spirit’s power, they literally went to the ends of the earth. They went to Rome, to India, to Ethiopia and Egypt. Tradition tells us that all but one died as a martyr (a “witness”) because they would not deny Jesus. Only in the power of the Spirit could they live that confidently. And only in the power of the Spirit can we live the way Jesus calls us to live: to love all, to love well, to live out love.

That’s the challenge before us: to do even greater things than those first disciples as we live out the love Jesus told us to. We need the power of the Holy Spirit, and so in just a bit, I will put my hands on the heads of each Confirmand and I will tell them to remember their baptism and be thankful. Now, except for Jessica, none of them will likely remember their actual baptism. But they will remember that they are baptized, that they are counted among God’s people. They are set apart and called to a different life. And then I will pray that the Holy Spirit would work within them, that having been born through water and the Spirit, they may live as a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. But as I pray that for them, I also want to pray that for all of us this morning. Pentecost is not just a time for teenagers to make a new commitment to God; it’s a time for all of us to do that. In the spirit and tradition of our forefathers and foremothers, I invite us all, this morning, to confirm our faith, to renew our commitment and to pledge anew our desire to live out love, to be who Jesus calls us to be. And then, he says, we will do even greater things. What greater things do you suppose we might be able to do, as a church of faithful disciples, in the midst of this community? I can’t wait to find out.

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8:30 Service - “Congregational Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant,” Hymnal 50

10:00 & 11:30 Services - “The Baptismal Covenant I,” Hymnal 33