Wind and Fire: Or, Dude, What Have You Done
With My Church?
Acts 2: 37-47
Last Monday
evening I found myself, through curious but grace-filled happenstance,
processing down the center aisle of the National Cathedral with the Dean of the
Cathedral, Jim Wallis of Sojourners,
the Rev. James Forbes of the Riverside Church in New York, National Council of
Churches General Secretary Bob Edgar, and other leaders from such organizations
as the National Association of Evangelicals and the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops.
We were
gathered for the worship service of the Call to Renewal Pentecost Gathering. I
had been invited to join the procession along with other local pastors, and I
had understood that all I would be doing is showing up in clerical garb to be
part of the procession ñ to look good and sit down. I had thought there would
be a fair number of local clergy. It turned out that there were three of us.
And it turned
out that we were asked to join in the liturgical act of signing Call to Renewalís
Isaiah Platform during worship. So I found myself standing in the great nave of
the cathedral surrounded by all of these nationally known church leaders,
walking up to the microphone to identify myself and sign this statement.
I could think
of only two things: first, what am I doing here? And second, as I looked at the
cross inlaid on the floor, isnít that where President Bartlett put out his
cigarette in that episode of The West
Wing?
I thought I was
coming to church to sit and listen to some great preaching. I did not think I
was going to be called on to do
anything. But Pentecost is like that.
The great
theologian, Flip Wilson, was once asked if he was religious. He replied, ìyes,
Iím a J.O.î
ìWhatís that?î
the interviewer asked.
ìItís a
Jehovahís Observer,î Flip said. ìThey wanted me to be a Jehovahís Witness, but
it required too much commitment.î
Well, on
Pentecost the Spirit makes witnesses out of observers; it makes actors out of
audience; it makes prophets out of a bunch of fearful disciples; it makes a
church out of those who were huddled and hidden in a room too afraid to give
witness to what they had seen and experienced in Jesus. And, on Pentecost, that
same Spirit swirls among us yet again, pushing us out of our own upper rooms
and into the world to witness.
Now it feels
like a long time since I last preached with you. I have heard a lot of great
preaching in the past few weeks, and so I know that the Spirit is alive and
well in the church. Not only did I get to enjoy the preaching of Wes and John
here at Clarendon on the past couple of Sundays, but I have heard our General
Assembly Moderator Susan Andrews preach at Presbytery last week, and, prior to
that I was privileged to listen to Jim Wallis, Bill Moyers,
and James Forbes during the Call to
Renewal Pentecost gathering last weekend.
Listening to
all that great preaching has lifted my soul, and reminded me that there are
many gifted and prophetic voices across the broader church. What a gift to
celebrate on Pentecost, and I say ìthanks be to God for it.î
At the same
time, hearing all that great preaching is a bit intimidating. I feel a bit like
the young preacher who came to substitute for the regular pastor one Sunday. He
told the congregation, ìyour pastor is such an illuminating preacher ñ heís
like a pane of pure, clear, clean glass through whom Godís light shines so
clearly. Next to him, I feel like a boarded up old window.î After the service,
one sweet older member of the congregation came up to the young preacher and
said, ìson, donít you worry about not being like pastor; youíre a real pane in
your own right.î
Having spent a
good deal of time in the last week with folks who are urging the church to
agitate more forcefully for justice for those left out of the church and left
behind by the economy, I will do my best this morning to be a real pain!
Iíve always
liked the irreverent bumper sticker that says, ìJesus is coming! Look busy.î
But even as I laugh at its whimsy, I sometimes think that bumper sticker
reflects the ecclesiology of many of our churches. Look busy! Even if we donít
know precisely what it is that we are to be busy about.
That
observation led to my own irreverent sermon title, for this is what I imagine
Jesus ñ returned as a
On the front
steps of the mega church, Jesus might say, ìYou all look so busy ñ but what are
you doing? Where is the spirit of justice in the midst of this busyness?î On
the front steps of the mainline church, Jesus might say, ìYou all look so busy
ñ but where is the passion of spirituality in the midst of this busyness? Dude,
what have you done with my church?î
Of course,
sometimes I think the whole notion of church would surprise Jesus. For the
entire ministry of the son of man was spent on the move, with no secure place
to rest his head and certainly no extensive institutions, grand cathedrals or
even small churches.
His early
followers were called ìthe people of the way,î implying something alive with
movement.
The Pentecost
story extends this experience even as it inaugurates all of the rest that has
come to be called the church. From a fearful group of confused disciples
huddling in an upper room ñ fearing the authorities who have put their leader
to death, and wondering about their continued experiences of that leaderís
presence among them ñ from that rather pitiful picture springs forth the church
of Jesus Christ.
So, what
happened there? How did it happen? Whatís up with the rush of a mighty wind and
tongues of fire? Well, as scripture tells us, the Spirit blows where it will,
and it will not be pinned down to our narrow understandings of it. The best, or
at least the most honest response to the ìwhatî and ìhowî questions is
probably, ìI donít know.î
What is the Spirit
of God? Well, I cannot describe it as such, but I can tell you how it feels.
That is the brilliance of the Pentecost story. It wastes no breath on defining
the Spirit. Playing off the Hebrew word ruah, Spirit is wind and fire. Itís hot. Itís alive. Itís
moving. Itís powerful.
Itís enough to
move a comfortable, moving-into-middle-age, home-owning, minivan driving,
state-government policy analyst and father of, at the time, two, out of the
upper room of personal, professional and economic security into the midst of
ministry in a chaotic church lurching its way through what some call a second
reformation.
Last week I
watched as the Spirit moved Evangelical,
Catholic, Mainline Protestant, Pentecostal, Black, Latino and Asian national
church leaders and heads of faith-based organizations to come together and
commit to work together to move the issue of poverty back onto the American
political agenda and to move policy in a direction that ìcan significantly
reduce the number of people worldwide who experience extreme poverty Ö through
a foreign policy that sees just trade, effective international aid, and
reducing the debt of impoverished nations as central to our national and global
security.î[1] Only
the Spirit of God could move the leaders of the Evangelical Association of
America to sign the same statement as the head of the National Council of
Churches!
Last week I spent three hours on a conference
call with overture advocates who will be working to push the Presbyterian
Church to live out its true calling and become an open, welcoming church that
ordains spirit-filled, spirit-led, out and open gay and lesbian candidates for
ministry. Only the Spirit of God keeps us coming back, year after year, knowing
that anything that is worth having is worth the risk of losing some battles.
Spirit is wind
and fire: itís enough to fill up your life even as it burns away old
assumptions, old securities, old idols and moves you into new life, new communities,
new commitments in places where you never imagined yourself being with people
whom you may have thought of before as opponents.
Spirit is wind
and fire: itís hot; itís alive; itís moving; itís powerful. And in the story
from Acts it moves an entire community.
The direction
of this movement tells us some crucial things about the life of Spirit. The
disciples move ñ at the Spiritís inspiration ñ into the street. From huddling
in fear in an upper room, they move into the center of the public square where
they make bold to witness ñ to proclaim the gospel in every tongue for everyone.
Last week, when
Wes spoke of
Indeed, the
Spirit drives them directly into the street, where Peter delivers the first
great sermon of the Christian era. Quoting the prophet Joel, Peter says,
ìIn the last
days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall dream
dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out
my Spirit and they shall prophecy (Acts
Now surely this
is a proclamation of transformation, a message of the saving grace of Jesus
Christ. It reminds us of the utter necessity of sharing this good news ñ of
being witnesses and not merely observers ñ of allowing the present reality of
Jesus to transform our own lives and of sharing our own stories with others. To
that demand of this text, I say, in complete ñ if rare ñ agreement with my
conservative evangelical sisters and brothers, ìyes, yes, let it be so.î
But
conservative evangelicals too often stop at the experience of personal
transformation and miss entirely the radical nature of the Spiritís demands on
our common life. This is why I know the Spirit was burning and blowing last
week at the Call to Renewal ñ evangelicals were calling for social justice!
And well they
should, for the story in Acts paints an image of a world whose recognized order
of power arrangements ñ in other words, its politics ñ has been turned upside
down.
After all, upon
whom is the spirit poured out? Does God pour out the Spirit upon Pharoah? Does God pour out the Spirit upon the president?
Does God pour out the Spirit upon the Supreme Court? Does God pour out the
Spirit upon the Secretary of Defense?
No! God pours
out the Spirit upon the sons and daughters, upon the old, upon the slaves.
The daughters
and the young shall take prophetic roles; even the slaves ñ even the women
slaves ñ will be honored as prophets. The outcasts shall speak to the center
rings of power.
And they do
speak. Hear the words of Chris Glaser, a wonderful spiritual leader who would
be a Presbyterian pastor if not for our churchís position on the ordination of
gays and lesbians: ìInertia,î Glaser says, ìis the greatest contributor to
injustice. Ö If we donít play a part in shifting societyís (or the churchís)
direction, then we share responsibility for its misdirection.î[2]
Locked out by his church, Glaser could have remained an observer, but the
Spirit poured upon him created a bold witness.
Hear the words of James Forbes,
a man who grew up way on the wrong side of the tracks, a dirt poor African-American
Pentecostal, who is a prophet to the nations: ìthe real issue that's facing the
nation now is how do we justify a corporate officer making through his stock
and his options and his salary a thousand times more as head of the corporation
than the lowest paid member? How do you deal with that?
And when you look at the
consequences of this disproportion, that means that poverty is a weapon of mass
destruction, and yet in our capitalist society to raise questions about the
freedom of some to enjoy an inordinate proportion of the resources while others
die for lack of basic subsistence necessities, that's gonna
be a hard conversation to have.
If God were our consultant
about economic reality, would God say, "Well, all I can say, it's just a
free enterprise system. Let it work and everything is gonna
be all right"? No. God would say, ëyou gotta
look at that again.íî[3]
Burdened by deep poverty and
racism, Forbes could have remained an observer, but the Spirit poured out upon
him created a bold and prophetic witness.
Hear the words
of Bill Moyers, born in
ìItís fine,î Moyers says, ìfor the rich to buy more cars and to buy more
vacations and to buy more houses and to buy more stocks and to buy more bonds
and to buy more of all the finer things. But itís not fine for the rich to buy
more democracy and itís not fine for the rich to buy more justice.î[4]
Moyers, who rose to the inner rings of power, could have
used his position for private gain and remained an observer of the scene, but
the Spirit poured out upon him created a bold witness.
ìGod has
brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly,î says
the young, unmarried girl who would give birth to the Christ. ìGod has filled
the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty,î she sings.
The last shall
be first, and the least of these shall be empowered. ìThe spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent
me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to
let the oppressed go free.î This is a vision of a radically reoriented
community, and it is an inherently political vision.
Peter wasnít
crucified because he told stories about gentle Jesus, meek and mild. Peter
wasnít crucified because he was trying to look busy when Jesus returned. No,
Peterís life took its radical turn because the Holy Spirit drove him into the
streets to preach the good news of liberation to the poor, the good news of new
vision to those blinded by the status quo, the good news of radical welcome to
those cast out beyond the margins of society.
Peterís life
took a radical turn because he took seriously what Jesus took seriously ñ the
prophetic vision of a just society. He took seriously what Joel took seriously
when he said, ìthe day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.î He took
seriously what Amos took seriously when he said, ìLet justice roll down like
water and righteousness like an everflowing stream.î
He took seriously what Isaiah took seriously when he said, ìif you offer your
food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light
shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday. Your ancient
ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of streets to live
in.î
And, in
response to Peterís faithful witness, the scripture tells us, people found
salvation: they found health, wholeness and community. Their lives were
transformed: individually and collectively. They gathered together around the
preaching and teaching and breaking of bread. They turned away from selfish
consumption and materialism and shared what they had with each other, so that
those without could have what they needed. That might sound like creeping
socialism, but itís all right there in the Book!
Ultimately,
what the story of Pentecost, what the story of the early church in Acts is all
about is pretty simple: the Spirit moves the church to public proclamation, it
moves individuals to personal transformation, it moves observers to become
witnesses, and it moves us all closer to understanding with utter clarity what
we are called to be and to become.
And what is
that? Well, itís certainly not a call to look busy because Jesus is coming, but
it may be a call to get busy, to move from being observers to witnesses and
even to disciples, because Jesus does
want to know what we have done and are doing with his church.
So, what is it
that we are called to be and become? Well, as the prophet Micah poses the
question, what does the Lord require of us? Itís simple: to do justice, to love
with exuberant compassion, to walk humbly with our God.
For when we follow where the wind of the Spirit carries us and when we go into the darkness guided by the light of the Spiritís flame, then we shall be the city on the hill that cannot be hid. Then we shall be like salt and light. Then our light shall shine in the darkness and there shall be light and more light until the darkness of hatred and bigotry and discrimination and poverty and injustice shall be no more. Let it be so. Amen.
Rev. Dr. David E.
Ensign
[1] From
Call to Renewalís Isaiah Platform. See http://www.calltorenewal.org/events/index.cfm/action/pentecost_event/item/pentecost_2004_platform.html
[2] Chris Glaser, Henriís Mantle, (Cleveland, Ohio: Pilgrim Press, 2002) 194.
[3] James
Forbes, from
[4] Bill Moyers, speech to the Call to Renewal Pentecost Gathering, Washington, DC, May 24, 2004.