It's A Gift

Written by Bill Weisenbach

Saturday, 03 May 2008

It’s a Gift Text: Act 2 selected verses Today is a very special day as we mark major progress toward creating a 21st century church for a 21st century congregation, but it can’t compete with next Sunday.    Next Sunday is Mother’s Day, on top of that, it is Celebrating the Gifts of Women Sunday.   But for us in the church, next Sunday is something even more special, it is Pentecost, the birthday of the church.  On that day nearly 2000 years ago the disciples gathered.  They were a small, select inner group at that point.  They began with just 12, grew to more than 70, but they were still a small group movement.       They gathered for worship in a rather ordinary room that easily held all of the known followers of Jesus.     And then without warning or invitation, the Holy Spirit descended like tongues of fire resting on each person’s head.  And people spoke in unusual ways, and heard in unusual ways.     The church was surprised when a crowd gathered in the street outside.  The crowd mocked what they heard inside.     “They’re drunk,” mocked the crowd.     Peter faced down the mocking, divisive crowd and preached to them.  In less than three minutes Peter summarized the story of Jesus for them in a thumbnail sketch of a sermon with no illustrations, no snappy one-liners.  In fact, his remarks could hardly be called a “sermon,” so short, lean, and bare were his comments.       But Luke, writer of Acts, says that the crowd was “cut to the heart,” deeply moved, so much so that 3000 people were converted, believed, and baptized right there.       Luke says that’s the sort of unmanageable miracle that began the church.  The church gathered, closed its doors, had a service, a mocking mob gathered, and their mocking disbelief was transformed into belief – and the church had a problem on its hands.   The Greek word for church is ecclesia – it means literally “the called out.”  To be in the church is to be called out of the world into the community we call church.  This is, perhaps, the real miracle of Pentecost.  This is the divine intervention that gives birth to the church, not just on Pentecost but always.  You can’t be Christian without being called, called out, and called in.  That’s how you got here.  You were put here.  It’s an act of God.  Born again, saved, converted, dying and rising – Christians have a host of images to describe this miracle.  This miraculous growth was not something that the church programmed, prayed for, asked for, or planned.  It was an amazing act of God’s grace.     And the church had a problem on its hands.  They had planned a nice gathering up there, in the room with closed doors.  A visitor who managed to get in said, “This is the friendliest church in town, they are just like a family!” We had enough hymnals, an attractive and adequate facility, and we were thoroughly enjoying the good fellowship among themselves.     And then God moved, acted, and 3000 folk whom they hardly knew demanded entrance, 3000 people who a moment before had been mocking and making fun of them, wanted in!  And they had a problem.  These new comers started asking questions like, “Why do you do it this way?  This is boring!”  They demanded new programs.   They knew nothing of the Bible, or church tradition and demanded some continuing education.  They asked upstart questions.  Wanted reasons for why things were done the way they were done.  And in response they had to knock down walls, open doors, and in short, had be converted themselves because God had converted all these people!       Now, just imagine that we, like that first church, have gathered for worship and a mocking mob has gathered outside.  The crowd in the street has overheard the ruckus inside the church (I know, it’s not likely, we’re Presbyterians after all, God’s frozen chosen, a shouted AMEN in a Presbyterian Church raises more eyebrows that hands, but we are just imagining, remember)  and crowd shouts, “They’re drunk!”  After all, the crowd can’t be blamed for their misinterpretation of Christian worship.  They have never heard singing like this – except in a bar.  The crowd has not seen fellowship and community like this – except when it is chemically induced.  And even though the crowd has the wrong idea about church and is there for all the wrong reasons (“Let’s go see the show at First Presbyterian”), by a miraculous act of God they are cut to the heart and they ask, “What do we need to do to get in on this?”  Their mocking disbelief is transformed into belief.      And 3000 people come through the door?  What would we do with them?  Where would we put them?  Where will get enough hymnals and who would be willing to do the coffee hour?     God’s grace is often amazing and sometimes it is a problem.  But sometimes, by the grace of God, God’s grace can be a gift.  It’s a gift, just when the church gets all settled in and settled down, to have the church get opened up, opened out, and be transformed.     Pentecost was the day when the gift of God to the church became a problem for the church; became the birth of the church.  And I think behind all of this are some questions for us: Are we willing to forsake our settled, comfortable arrangements and follow the leading of the lively Holy Spirit?  Are we willing to dig deeper into our personnel resources than we may have ever done before, are we willing to really commit to the VISION? Are we willing to let the living, active Spirit grow our church, not on the basis of our plans and designs, but on the basis of a living God’s constant call to the whole world?   As we share in communion on this Sunday before Pentecost, we celebrate how God has reached out and brought us in.  But at the same time, we remember that the work of Pentecost is not yet over.  Because even though we may be in, there are still people outside, in the streets, who are waiting.  Because the good news that God has shared with us is not just for us, but is for every person in all the world.

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