Pentecost
A
Acts
2:1-21; John 20:19-23
A NEW
PENTECOST
In April
of 2004 my wife Donna and I visited our daughter Matia in
We were
invited up front by Padre Daniel, a retired priest originally from
Padre
Daniel ate lunch each day at the
house of Matia’s host family. He
made a point of inviting us to sit up front with him for “The Grand Celebration”
so we could see everything.
Padre
Daniel described what had happened at La Mansión as a new Pentecost. When he arrived on the scene in the
1960’s, not much was happening at La Mansión. Virtually no one was attending worship. He was joined by Padre Cris from
rural
According
to Luke in Acts 2, nothing less than the work of the Holy Spirit could explain
what happened on the day of Pentecost when Peter and the apostles and devout
Jews from every nation gathered in
What
happened at La Mansión cannot be copied here at St. Andrew, nor can we
simply reproduce what happened on the first Pentecost. The Spirit blows when and where it will,
and we have to discern which way the Spirit is blowing in our own time and
place. Nevertheless, we can still
gain insights from La Mansión and from Acts 2 about the ways the Holy
Spirit is at work among us. One of
the theological principles at La Mansión was that every day is a new
Pentecost. If we believe the Holy
Spirit is at work among us, then it is appropriate to affirm that every day is a
new Pentecost here at St. Andrew.
What are the key elements in this new Pentecost? What are the primary ways in which the
work of the Holy Spirit is manifested?
First of
all, the primary way the work of the Holy Spirit is manifested is through the
proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ. When Peter, standing with the eleven,
preaches to the crowd, he focuses on the basic gospel message concerning the
life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
When the crowd, inspired by his message, asks how they should respond,
Peter tells them, “Repent, and be
baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ.” In Acts
During
worship in Spanish at La Mansión we understood very little. Nonetheless, it was abundantly clear
that worship focused on the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of
Jesucristo. The music, the
testimonials, the prayers, the preaching, the reading of the gospel, the banners
and artwork, and the celebration of Holy Communion shared this
focus.
We were
especially moved by the children’s sermon.
Hundreds of children came forward.
We understood very little of what he said to them. However, we had no trouble understanding
when he had them make the sign of the cross on each other and then sent them out
to make the sign of the cross on the rest of the congregation. Several of the children made a point of
coming to us. We had tears in our
eyes.
In their
statements of faith both Sara and Theresa speak of their belief in the
unconditional love of God for them.
Their life among the people of St. Andrew has helped them become aware of
that love. Evan in his statement of
faith stresses that the Lord shows us how much he loves us in baptism. Indeed, in baptism God declares his
unconditional love for each one of us.
Our awareness of God’s gracious love for us is a sign that the Spirit of
God is at work among us. Any new
Pentecost at St. Andrew will be rooted in the good news of God’s unconditional
love for us in Jesus Christ. This
good news is first and foremost what makes St. Andrew a “Place of Grace”. It is the focus of our worship
life. It is the focus of Bible
study and daily devotions. It is
the basis for living our lives as faithful followers of
Jesus.
A second
element in any new Pentecost at St. Andrew is to be simultaneously rooted in our
tradition and open to new promptings of the Spirit. In Matthew 13:52 Jesus tells his
disciples: “Therefore every scribe who
has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who
brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” Pentecost people are masters of
utilizing the best of the new and the old.
Guided by the Spirit, they draw on the tradition and incorporate the new
treasures the Spirit provides.
At La
Mansión the first half of the service was what we would call contemporary
worship. The music was led by a
worship team. Several lay people
gave brief testimonials. The
children came up for the children’s sermon. Free form prayers were offered. It had a more informal feel to it. There was a brief time for speaking in
tongues, but it was not a major part of the service. Even though we did not know the words to
the songs, we enjoyed humming the tunes and clapping. During the singing one of the priests
stood at the center microphone. I
am not exactly sure why he was there.
Let’s just say it would have been better for him to let the worship team
lead the music and the clapping.
The
second half of the service was a very traditional Catholic service, led by the
Monsignor, the head priest. The
only traditional thing he did not do was speak in Latin.
I do not
anticipate a major push at St. Andrew to develop a 2 ˝ hour worship service that
is half very contemporary and half very traditional. Nevertheless, worship at La
Mansión was a reminder that we are not to make an idol out of the
contemporary or the traditional.
Both have their place in our worship life.
It is
striking in Acts 2 that when Peter preaches he begins by appealing to what was
spoken through the prophet Joel.
Peter interprets the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as the fulfillment of
the promise of God: “In the last days it
will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your
sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and
your old men shall dream dreams.”
Thus, the impulse to be open to the new is imbedded deeply in the
tradition of the people of God.
Digging for treasure in the past opens us up to what God has in store for
us in the future.
Here at
St. Andrew the ministry and mission ideas shared on the “Reach for the Stars”
poster in the narthex are a sign that our young men and women are seeing visions
and our old men and women are dreaming dreams. With the Spirit at work among us, our
future is bright.
A third
element in the new Pentecost is the ministry of the laity. When I pressed Padre Daniel on the key
to what had happened at La Mansión, he gave me a two word answer: lay
ministry. He was not trying to
minimize the leadership that he and Padre Cris had provided or that the other
priests were now providing. But in
fact the Spirit working in and through the laity had triggered a new Pentecost
and revitalized the congregation.
Lay ministry begins with active participation in worship; it continues in
the variety of ministries people get involved. What begins in worship is incarnated in
daily life.
Here at
St. Andrew we too encourage participatory worship and active involvement in
ministry. What happens when we
gather at St. Andrew is to be incarnated in our daily lives. We also emphasize collegial leadership
and want people to utilize their spiritual gifts and to pursue their passions
for ministry.
Monica
compared the Holy Spirit to a park ranger.
The Holy Spirit guides us in utilizing our spiritual gifts and pursuing
our passions for ministry so that we can follow the path God has set before
us. We do not have to fear going
down that path, since we know we are guided by the Spirit on our “hikes” with
God.
A fourth
element in this new Pentecost is the amazing diversity of people that the Spirit
of God can gather together. In one
sense, at La Mansión Donna and I were totally out of place. We were not charismatic Catholics. We could not speak Spanish well. Very little of the music was familiar to
us. It was our first time
there. We were uncomfortable
sitting in front of everyone. Yet
we felt a part of the congregation.
Technically
the priest was not supposed to serve us communion. If he had not offered, we would not have
been offended. When he did offer,
we were glad to receive it, even if it was only communion in one kind. Receiving communion seemed liked the
fitting conclusion to what we had experienced in that community of faith that
day. There was a place for
literally anyone at La Mansión.
On the
day of Pentecost in
Obviously
in the history of the church unity has often been an allusive goal. That is why we continue to need new
Pentecosts in the church. I believe
that God’s vision for St. Andrew is that we be a place of grace where anyone
feels welcome. The presence of our
Taiwan Lutheran brothers and sisters in Christ in our facility is a sign that we
have begun to fulfill this vision.
But obviously we need to continue to grow in this respect, especially
given the increasing diversity in our neighborhoods and
communities.
Kevin
and Travis in their statements of faith both express a desire to be involved in
mission trips. Many at St. Andrew
seem to have a heart for mission projects and trips. This is a sign that the Spirit is
prompting us to connect more closely with people of other cultures and life
contexts.
We may
not fulfill perfectly the Pentecost vision of a diverse gathering of God’s
people. Yet inasmuch as we stay
focused on the good news of Jesus Christ, inasmuch as we utilize the best of the
old and the new, inasmuch as we cultivate active, participatory lay ministry,
inasmuch as we seek to connect with people who are very different than us,
surely God will gather together in this place of grace an amazing array of
people to experience a new Pentecost.
In
Jesus’ name, AMEN.