Pentecost

Charlotte Collins Reed
Christ Episcopal Church
May 19, 2013

The Feast of Pentecost

*This past Christmas Eve, I had the opportunity to sing with our Christ Church choir-an opportunity that does not happen often due simply to logistics, but one which I enjoy tremendously. The anthem was "What Sweeter Music" by Anglican composer John Rutter, which the rest of the choir may not have found terribly difficult, but I certainly did. The piece has 5 vocal parts, as best as I could tell, a string quartet accompaniment, and some a capella sections. The truth is that, despite the best efforts of a wonderful teacher, the art of reading music utterly escapes me. As much as I love to sing, I cannot read a note of music. When Chris (the choir director) so patiently says, "no, that’s a C," I have no idea what sound he would like me to produce, but apparently not the one I just made. I like the soprano line because most of the time, that is the melody line, perfect for someone who does not read music and needs the accompaniment to know what to sing.

From what I could tell, the Rutter piece had no melody line. There is a brief part that does repeat several times, but in my book that does not count as a melody. For someone who relies on the accompaniment to know where she is supposed to be in the midst of the many notes being sung, a capella is a bit of a challenge. Over and over again, we rehearsed the piece. And over and over again, we rehearsed the individual parts. Much to my great astonishment, the parts did not sound good individually. Because there was no real melody line, even the two soprano parts did not sound all that good alone. But together, all the parts came together in a way that was breathtaking. My brief choir career reminded me of three things. One: We are much better together than we are apart. Two: Together we triumph over the shortcomings of any one person. And three: A lot of work, patience, and deep respect for one another are required to come together well.

Pentecost Sunday reminds me of my Christmas Eve choir experience. This morning, we see the disciples gathered together and we watch the Holy Spirit descend upon them. We ponder what the tongues of fire might have felt like when they landed upon the disciples heads. We listen as the gift of the Holy Spirit gives the disciples the ability to speak in languages they do not know so that everyone can hear the good news in a language they understand. And we might wonder what Pentecost has to do with us.

First, the Holy Spirit came to the disciples when they were gathered together, rather than coming to individual people in separate places all at the same time. The disciples were in Jerusalem for the Jewish feast of Pentecost, which celebrates the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They were gathered together, presumably waiting for the baptism with the Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised them before his ascension. They are waiting expectantly, even though they appear to have no idea what they are waiting for. When the Holy Spirit descended, she descended upon the gathered community and gave the gathered community the ability to make the gospel heard and understood by all people. Secondly, the gift of the Holy Spirit was given, not for any one person’s use or benefit, but so that everyone could hear and understand the good news of Jesus. The disciples did not individually benefit from this gift-in fact, many of them would wind up in jail or worse for their efforts. The gift of the Spirit was to benefit the world as the disciples proclaimed the gospel, healed the sick, and even raised the dead. The gift of the Spirit was not intended to point to the abilities of the individual, but to point to the work of God in the world.

Lastly, as the story unfolds in Acts, and the work is hard, and not everyone agrees or plays fair, and people wind up in jail, or shipwrecked, or martyred, we are reminded of Jesus’ words in John’s gospel. Jesus has commanded the disciples to love one another as he has loved them. Jesus has told the disciples that the world will know they are Jesus’ followers by their love for each other. Now we hear Jesus remind them yet again "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" and Jesus commandment is that they love one another. Love includes respect and patience. The gift of the Holy Spirit is what makes this love possible and creates a community where everyone works together to use their gifts for a common purpose.

In a few moments, we will reaffirm our baptismal covenant. In that covenant, first we proclaim our faith, using the ancient baptismal creed of the church, the Apostles’ Creed. Then we are asked how we will proclaim that faith with our lives. The five questions ask us how we, as a body, will use our gifts to build up the Body of Christ and proclaim the good news to the world. There is no way any one of us can keep those promises alone. In fact, our reply to each question is "I will, with God’s help." We depend on God and each other in order to be the Body of Christ in the world. We affirm our baptismal covenant on Pentecost to recommit ourselves to the promises we made in baptism and to recommit ourselves to living as people who are bound together by the Holy Spirit to be God’s people in the world. As we renew the promises that we made in baptism, Pentecost reminds us that God will take all that we, together, have to offer, send the Spirit to be among us, and turn our offering into more than we could ask or imagine, to make the love of God known in the world.

Amen.

*This story also told at the Installation of Michael Way, January 8, 2013 in Red Wing, Minnesota.