“All In”
May 28th, 2023
Henry Norkplim Anyomi
Opening Prayer
All Powerful God, thanks for the Body of Christ; thanks for the gift of the Holy Spirit. We’ve come with different concerns and expectations. We ask, in Jesus’ name, that You would help us to focus on You alone as we listen for Your word. Touch our hearts, heal our spirits, and wherever we may be hurting, soothe our pain. And by Your Spirit, do something new in our lives. Amen!
Message
“… they were all together in one place
And suddenly from heaven there came a sound
Like the rush of a violent wind,
And filled the entire house
Where they were sitting.”
– Acts 2:1-2 NRSV
Two dimensions come to mind, at the opening of Acts 2: humanity and divinity. Yes, humanity, because as we saw in the lead up to Pentecost, the disciples’ human weaknesses reared their heads on countless occasions. Denial, doubt, unbelief, fear, confusion, and cluelessness are but few of the negative moods we saw in the disciples’ lives from about Easter through Ascension. At times, we’ve, perhaps, got so bemused at their behaviour that we couldn’t help but scoff at them, thinking we are probably better – and maybe would have demonstrated better judgement had we been there.
That’s a conversation for another day, but suffice it to say that the shortcomings of Christ’s followers at the time reveals one thing about our human condition – imperfection. But as we may have realised from Easter up until now, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Indeed, there were moments the Lord’s followers were spot on in their conduct and today’s story from Acts 2 presents us with a couple of them. Indeed, right at the beginning of the chapter, we find an attention-grabbing clause: “all together in one place.” Bingo, they got that right, at least!
You see, post-resurrection, one important instruction of Jesus was for the disciples to “wait for God’s promise” (Luke 24:19, Acts 1:4-5). So, learning that there was a gathering when the day of Pentecost came is heartwarming. Notice that Jesus didn’t give details beyond asking them to “wait” for God’s promise. When? How? Particular location? We aren’t told these. So it, therefore, took some good effort to be “all together” on Pentecost Day. As a matter of fact, not only were they together, but they were praying together, exhorting one another, and electing leadership, as Acts 1 reports. They didn’t know when and how, but they would at least be ready for God’s promised Holy Spirit.
Friends, notice, however, that their obedience and right positioning, though significant conduits, weren’t what brought in God’s Spirit (and we are looking at the divine dimension now). To me, God’s Spirit came, first, because the outpouring of the Spirit was God’s promise, and, second, because of Easter and its aftermath (i.e. the death, the resurrection, and the ascension of Jesus). Yes, Easter and its aftermath paved the way for God’s Spirit to come and dwell with the church and in the hearts of God’s people. In John’s gospel, we learn from Jesus that God gives the Spirit who stays with and in us (John 14:16). So, yes, the readiness and preparedness of the church mattered, but it was God’s prerogative to offer the Spirit at the place and time God chose.
Friends, this is just a reminder that God is sovereign and it is God’s presence and agency that make all the difference in the life of the church.
Also worthy of our attention this morning, friends, is the grace with which God’s Spirit operates. An agent of grace, the Spirit descended upon all, without exception. The very people who had a history of unfaithfulness, confusion, to mention a few, became points of the Spirit’s action. We are not told of any prerequisites – holy water, anointing oil, etc (not to downplay their importance). All we know is that the Spirit came unexpectedly (“all of a sudden”). In fact, so unexpected was the Spirit’s entry that words failed Luke in his attempt to explain what they saw and heard. The narrator, Luke, resorts to simile markers, notably, “as” or “like” and uses “other” or “whatever” to refer to the languages spoken on the day which he either didn’t know or perhaps was constrained by space to write.
Enigmatic – God’s work through the Spirit is simply past finding out! And that includes who God chooses to use. This gathering which obviously had many timid and imperfect souls would receive the confidence to step out and boldly witness about the resurrected Christ, their Lord. That was, all of them, without exception! Dear friends, the good news is that these gracious workings of the Spirit are applicable to today’s church. God hasn’t got favourites among us – we all have this same Spirit of God at work within us!
This point about the Spirit being an enigma extends beyond the church. Onlookers and passers-by didn’t know what to make of the influx of the Spirit at Pentecost. The disciples and the gathering had been prepared and conditioned, if you like, for the coming of the Spirit, but the outside world hadn’t. The crowd’s reaction, therefore, though surprising, was unsurprising. The blend of emotions of surprise and scorn among them refer us back to the incomprehensible ways of the Spirit.
You see, what the crowd in Jerusalem heard (notice that I said, heard and not saw – and we will come back to this) – people (Galilean Jews) speaking native languages from across the world – was astonishing! Take it as Rev. Becca went home this afternoon and started testifying about God’s wonders in Asante Twi (the native language of the Ashantis in Ghana). What would her Ghanaian neighbours think? Knowing that Rev. Becca has never travelled to Ghana, nor has she taken courses in Asante Twi, that would be shocking! So, that was what happened and much more – because the notion of speaking in other tongues was unheard of then! Here’s the catch: the Spirit’s work in the church is a wonder to bystanders. And I’ve seen cancers heal; lost ones come home; so-called poor students excel … because of this Spirit of God. I know you can share your own testimonies too. Such happenings, friends, to bystanders may be a wonder and a mystery, but to us they are the power of God!
Now let’s return to the “heard” matter. Dear Ones, the Bible clearly distinguishes between what happened within the room from what happened outside of it. Those within “saw” the Spirit work; those without “heard” the Spirit work. Those within felt the Spirit move, those without “heard” what happened when the Spirit moved. I don’t know if you agree that these are different levels of witness? At Pentecost, would it not have been sufficient to have only eye- and not ear-witnesses? Why did God choose to involve people who had so little to do with Jesus’ charge to “wait” for the Spirit? Honestly, I don’t know. But I think, like the empty tomb and Jesus’ appearance to Mary and those on the road to Emmaus, God needed others other than the twelve to witness the giving of the Spirit at Pentecost. (Just as an aside, you may know that eye- and ear-witnesses come in under different circumstances. Whereas eyewitnesses give testimony from an incident they have witnessed, earwitnesses testify about something they didn’t see, but heard. Earwitnesses only come to play where vocal or sound evidence is involved). Again, why both eye- and ear-witnesses at Pentecost? Perhaps, God intended to prove beyond doubt the Spirit’s coming – to wit, if one disbelieved the testimony of the eyewitnesses, they may believe that of the earwitnesses. Plus, the crowd (outside the room), had come from all over the world, we are told. This meant that God’s incomprehensible work on the Day of Pentecost would quickly make its way to the ends of the earth! How amazing!
But friends, the fact that the crowd “heard” and not “saw” made them liable to misrepresenting the Pentecost story. And, indeed, right before the church, some started to cast insinuations about drunkenness. As a site of the Spirit’s work, the church is susceptible to being misunderstood and misrepresented – and we mustn’t be shocked when those times come. But beyond expecting instances of misunderstanding and misrepresentation, we mustn’t shirk our witness about the Cross and the Spirit when under provocation. And I acknowledge that it’s not always an easy thing to do, especially when we are outnumbered or among non-Christians. It can be very hard. From Peter's example, however, we see a witness who understood both his audience (mostly Jews and converts to Judaism) and the Pentecost experience. By sharing Prophet Joel’s words, Peter gave the crowd the opportunity to decode the so-called mysterious experience among the church with him. And as we see in verse 17, Peter had only to step up and the rest was history – he spoke with such boldness, as the Spirit gave him utterance, that three thousand others were won to live the Pentecost experience with them!
Friends, UPC as a wing of the modern church, won’t be spared misrepresentation from onlookers who may be confused at the Spirit’s work amongst us. Our social and eco-justice mission may be attacked, our style of worship mocked, but we ought to be convicted, not confused. Like John the Apostle encourages, as a church, we must testify about what our ears have heard, our eyes have seen, and our hands have touched (1 John 1). And as we boldly step forward, the Spirit will help us share the reason for our beliefs.
Dear Friends, as we come to the end of our time in the word, please ponder with me, for a moment, Peter’s address.
From Prophet Joel’s words, we understand best why things unravelled the way they did on the Day of Pentecost – the Spirit’s descent on all, the speaking of each one in other tongues, among others. Joel’s prophecy underlined the giving of the Spirit to all – sons and daughters, men and women, young and old, slave and free. The universality of the Spirit’s touch among the gathered at Pentecost, therefore, was the unfolding of God’s promise to the letter (as earlier indicated). On Pentecost Day, the Spirit came to permanently dwell with the church and in the hearts of all of God’s people. The Seasons of the Spirit Commentary hints that “the conclusion of the Pentecost is yet to be written.”
This can’t be emphasized enough: The Pentecost story is unfolding even today, right here, right now among the gathered and in the hearts and lives of God’s people. All of us, without exception, are carriers of the Spirit of God. And oh what jaw-dropping things we will do if we allow this Spirit (the very same Spirit that moved among the early apostles and was heard by the onlookers) to find full expression in our lives!
To close, this morning we’ve been reminded of how the Spirit was first given to the church at Pentecost. The past failings of the apostles didn’t stop God’s giving of the Spirit who is an agent of grace. We’ve been told that the workings of the Spirit, both then and now, defy human understanding – at times too deep for words, among the faithful, and confusing to onlookers. And as we are all sites of the Spirit’s action, we need not shirk our witness, but step forward to explain the reason for our faith, especially when asked or provoked. Friends, don’t forget that God’s Spirit is at work in each of our lives and we need not undervalue how much God can do by us.
Activity
This morning, to remind us that we all are in God’s church where the Holy Spirit is endlessly working, I brought some stickers. They will be brought to you during Offering Time. If you would pick any that speak to you then and attach them where you can easily see (your phone, fridge, Bible cover, etc) to remind you of the Spirit’s work in and through your life … Remember, no matter where you are, you are in God’s Pentecost promise. I hope these stickers encourage us and remind us of how God sees us.
Closing Prayer
Spirit of the Living God, thanks for Your work in this place. We thank You indeed for Your agency in each of our lives. There are new paths to tread and new lives to touch. Would You do Your wondrous work in, through, and by us again? Move in our world, touching the hurting, healing the sick, and restoring the lost. We need You, Spirit of God. Thanks for all that You have done and will do. In Jesus name. Amen!
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