Pentecost Sermon: The movement of the Spirit, then and now (June 8, 2014)

Pentecost

June 8, 2014

Acts 2:1-21

            The disciples were feeling, once again, abandoned. Apprehensive. Uncertain about their future. They believed in new life – Jesus had shown them the power of that when he rose from the dead, now some two months ago. They knew that God could do great things, bringing newness and growth out of deaths and dead ends. They believed in this Risen Lord, Jesus, and in his power, even if he did not look much like the Messiah they had expected. But now this Messiah had departed from them once again – had left earth on a cloud, before their very eyes, and ascended into heaven. He had promised them that he would not leave them orphaned and alone, and in fact promised specifically that he would send them a Holy Spirit, an Advocate, who would instill power in them, and make them witnesses. They had left that strange encounter confused, but hopeful, and they went straight away to a find a place to pray, along with several others, including certain women. For ten days now, they had prayed fervently, prayed that this promised Holy Spirit would come, and they wouldn’t feel orphaned any longer.

* * *

There is nothing quite like sitting with 500 people in silent prayer together, knowing that every person there is praying for the same thing: for the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of discernment and power and activity and gifts, to move among us and lift up a leader, a bishop, for the Church. This sort of silence is not passive; indeed there is no stillness that is more active. As I sat with over 400 voting members plus visitors at our Synod Assembly this week, the presence of the Holy Spirit was palpable in a

way I have rarely experienced. Having never participated in a bishop election, I admit this surprised me, though perhaps it shouldn’t have. After all, our synod

mission statement says that, “We are a resurrection people who pray first…” and so of course we prayed before, during and after each of the five ballots cast for bishop. The way such an election works, at least for our synod, is that a number of candidates – in our case, six – were nominated several months ago, and at Synod Assembly there are five ballots cast, each one eliminating one or more candidates until we have a bishop. Before each vote, we heard each candidate answer a question – about their personal faith, about their vision for the Church and the synod, etc. – and then we took time in silent prayer, and then cast our vote, and then we prayed some more. With six excellent candidates, each ballot we cast caused me much anxiety, as I listened fervently for the Spirit to tell me which would be the man or woman to lead this Synod, this Church, into the future.

* * *

After ten days of fervent prayer with others in the community, the disciples found themselves, on the day of Pentecost, all together in one place. And suddenly there was this sound, like strong, forceful gale of wind – no one could tell where it was from, but it seemed to come from heaven. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through the entire group, and they started speaking in a number of different languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Jesus had promised them the power of the Holy Spirit, and finally, after much prayer, it had come – and what an entrance!

* * *

By Tuesday morning, we had whittled down our pool of bishop candidates from six to two: the current bishop, Marie Jerge, and Pastor John Macholz, who is the pastor of Atonement Lutheran Church in Brighton and has served for many years as the dean of our Rochester area conference. Both were excellent options – Bishop Jerge has served the synod faithfully for 12 years and navigated it with grace through 

some very tough times. She is a deeply faithful person with a strong prayer life, and is well loved and respected among the other bishops in the ELCA. Pastor Macholz is a man of deep faith and good humor, a wise and capable leader with an exciting and realistic vision for the future of the synod. Even though I know Pastor Macholz both as a friend and a colleague, as I watched and listened to him during the 30-minute question and answer time we had with the two candidates, I found myself stunned. But it wasn’t by his eloquent articulation of his faith and the faith of the church, nor his inspiring words about our future – though both were stunning. I was stunned because it was so abundantly clear to me that while he was the instrument, the breath that caused such an inspired thread to come out of his mouth was something that was other than him. It was a Sacred Breath, a Divine Wind… a Holy Spirit that was speaking through him. He was the instrument, and the Holy Spirit provided the power behind the words. I couldn’t recall witnessing something quite like this before.

* * *

When the Divine Wind came sweeping through that place on that Pentecost morning, people didn’t know what to make of it. What was this thing? They had not experienced something like this before! Finally, Peter stood up, and reminded them what the prophet Joel had said: “I will give my Spirit to everyone. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams. In those days I will give my Spirit to my servants, both men and women, and they will prophesy. I will work miracles in the sky above and wonders on the earth below.” And then Peter urged them to be baptized in this Spirit. So began the Church.

* * *

When it came time to cast that last ballot for who would be the next bishop of our Church, I knew with certainty that Pastor Macholz was our next bishop. While I had cast votes for other candidates on earlier ballots with anxiety and uncertainty, this one I knew was right. And though I checked the box with sadness, because a vote for John meant a vote to send my friend to live in a different city, I also checked it with gratitude that the Spirit had spoken so clearly and powerfully to me through this man. I checked it with excitement about how God would use him to bring about God’s mission. I checked it with hope for the future of our Church.

I was not at all surprised, then, when the results came back and Pastor John Macholz was elected by a significant margin as our next bishop. I was, however, completely surprised and overwhelmed by the immense variety of emotions going on in and around me. As a brief escape, I pulled out my phone, like any good

Otillia Gracia, born June 1, 2014

millennial, and opened Facebook. The first post that appeared was from one of my dearest friends, who posted the birth announcement and picture of her first daughter, Ottilia Gracia. She was born last Sunday morning. It was not lost on me that my first look at the world outside of this assembly was of a new birth, a new life, whose middle name means Grace.

The theme of this year’s Synod Assembly was “Going Public: Poured Out for the World.” Truly we experienced how God makes that happen. We celebrated baptism, and reflected on how those baptismal waters prepare us to be poured out for the world, serving others and being witnesses to God’s love and grace. We learned about how our synod is poured out for the world through the many missions and ministries going on around upstate NY, from hunger appeals, to youth ministry, to camps, to Disaster Relief, to the Malaria Campaign. And we experienced the Holy Spirit being poured out on us and on our leaders – not in quite the same way as Pentecost some 2000 years ago, but in a way that was meaningful to this Church today.

Bishop Elect John Macholz and his wonderful wife, Lin.

I won’t remember everything that our new bishop said that day, but I will not soon forget the power behind his speech. He said himself that this whole experience was a lesson in getting out of the way and letting the Spirit do the work. In fact, he confessed to me later that his prayer each time he was asked a question during the public Q&A time was, “I hope you have something to say through me, because at this moment, I’ve got nothing.” He left it completely to the Spirit. And that is what we are to remember this Pentecost: that when we were baptized, the power of the Holy Spirit came on us, and when we are willing to get out of the way and let that Spirit be poured through us out onto the world, we might just be surprised. Newness can come. Growth can come. Transformation can come. And we may find ourselves in a new and unexpected position to be poured out for the world.

Let us pray. Holy Spirit, we give you thanks for how you have moved through the world, and through us. Make us always open to your movement and the newness that you bring. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.