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First
Reading
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Psalm |
Epistle |
Gospel |
Ezekiel 37:1–14 |
Psalm 104:25–35, 37b |
Acts 2:1–21 |
John 15:26–27, 16:4b–15
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People of faith are people who in some sense are continually celebrating birthdays. After all, the Bible is full of birthdays. Genesis tells of the birth of the world and the beginning of God's love for creation; Exodus, the birth of a people set free from the shackles of worldly power and given a future with a high purpose that will influence humanity for the good; the prophets, the birth of renewal and the enlargement of a vision of justice. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus, Epiphany, the beginning of Jesus ministry, and then the greatest Holy Day of all, Easter celebrates the birth of the new life of the resurrection over the forces of death. The continuing story in the Book of Acts records the birth of the mission of the church, with the baptism of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ followers at Pentecost.
The writers of the Biblical literature had in mind specific communities to which they wished to communicate. The first lesson in Ezekiel was written in the mid sixth century before the birth of Jesus, when the people of Israel were still held exile in Babylon. It was not apparent when, if ever, they would be allowed to return to their own land. They realized that their farms and fields had been laid to waste. Their houses and barns had long since been destroyed and none of their flocks of sheep remained. Jerusalem with its Temple had been flattened. It was natural to think that their future identity as a people likely was coming to an end, and the memory of what Israel once was, would fade into oblivion.
Yet the prophet Ezekiel proclaims a different future. In a dream, Ezekiel comes to realize that God is challenging the exiles: Are you willing to be receptive to new possibilities? Are you willing to accept in my spirit a source of a living hope and fresh energy to begin again, to dream together, and to rebuild once more? God was really asking those exiles the question that is asked of all people of faith, “Do you remember that with God so much more is possible than we can ever dare dream of?”
We are far removed from those who spent decades in exile in the foreign kingdom of Babylon. Yet time and time again, the words written for one particular historical situation seem to be pregnant with meaning in another entirely different time and culture. As Mark Twain is credited with saying, “History may not repeat itself, but sometimes history does seem to rhyme.”
Perhaps that is why Ezekiel’s dream read for our feast of Pentecost seems to rhyme. Churches are no longer the center of community life, and even if there are no apparent signs of immediate demise, there is a feeling lurking in many of our minds that the best days for the church are over.
The ancient words of Ezekiel still challenge us: Of course the church of tomorrow and the shape of the community of faith of the future will not be like yesterday but God asks first and foremost, will we remain open to new possibilities. Will we keep our hearts and minds ready for God’s spirit to fill us with new life? Will we still tell our children and grandchildren, “Be watchful, for you never know when and how God’s spirit will energize a new generation and set hearts on fire?”
Pentecost is celebrated as the day the church went public with the Good News of the Gospel. Pentecost is the day when the church was sent forth on its primary mission to be a witness to the resurrection. The power and release of the Gospel came then, as now, as a surprise, both to those who newly received it and those who were communicating it. “Wow!” the latter exclaimed, “We didn’t think we could do it. We are just ordinary folk.” “Oh, yes,” replies the Holy Spirit, “but you can and furthermore don't be timid or fear criticism.” From the first, public proclamation of the Gospel brought confusion, controversy and debate, as well as a genuine welcome.
The church learned that we don’t so much translate God’s deeds of power, as God opens avenues of communication. Pentecost is reminding us, too, that Christianity has neither mother tongue nor culture of preference; God doesn’t give anyone an exclusive franchise on the Gospel. The wise Christian comes to understand that wherever we would go to share the Gospel, God has already set up camp. So don’t worry about being just ordinary folk, nor is there need to be overly aggressive, defensive or anxious. Often if we give God an inch, if we open our hearts just a crack, God slides right in just fine.
For some of us, we are long past the excitement of blowing out candles on a cake. But we may we always see the workings of the Holy Spirit an occasion to be surprised. For the very least, we as a church living in what seems to be very confounding times, also live in the midst of many birthdays that contain the possibility of the renewing and healing winds of God’s life-giving Spirit. So Happy Birthday, dear church.
And I offer this to you in the name of the Living God, Amen.
