HIS BODY, THE CHURCH....
The Revd Deacon Polly M. Bowen
The presence of a bishop, three priests and two deacons as well as six lay servers in the chancel testified to the importance of the day, and the choir praised God in song magnificently, but the real celebrities that day were the twelve confirmands and Jacob Lee King, our newest little Christian.
The next day John Whitney emailed us the photos he took on that festive day, and we got to relive it all again. It warmed my heart to see the pictures of the People of God doing what they are called to do – being the Body of Christ.
Pentecost is one of the great celebrations of the Christian year – the day a mighty wind – ruach - and tongues of flame stirred the followers of Jesus to recall the words of the prophet Joel: “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh . . . your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams . . . then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
It’s an exciting story. You can find it in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. Jesus’ followers had already experienced a more private Pentecost (see John 20:23 – the gospel we read that day) when Jesus breathed the breath of God – nephesh ‑ on them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit . . .”
Ever since that day there have been those who insist on a public display of conversion to validate one’s belief, and those who contend that conversion is a quiet, subtle process – perhaps one that is lifelong.
Both are correct. They are extremes in the countless ways God brings his people home, and we aren’t even limited to the New Testament accounts. We have only to look at the multitude of Hebrew prophets who experienced that special moment when God came to them. Recall Moses and the burning bush, (Exodus 3), Elijah’s still, small voice (1 Kings 19:12), Isaiah’s vision of God in the temple (Isaiah 6), Jeremiah’s assurance that he was known by God even before his birth (Jeremiah 1), Ezekiel’s strange vision of the heavenly chariot (Ezekiel 1) and many more. These stories confirm for us that our God lacks nothing in creativity – and we will always be surprised by the diverse techniques that serve to get our attention! Our job is to listen and follow when God calls, not to dictate the methodology of the call.
This is a lesson we have to learn again and again. Our human nature causes us to cherish our own experience so much that we sometimes begin to think it is the only, or at least the best way God acts in the lives of his people. And so we extrapolate from our personal experience the rules and parameters of behavior for others – as if we could force God into giving up all but what has prepared our own way of thinking.
What arrogant creatures we are! How easily we fall into the sin of idolatry – even making an idol of the god we create in our own image. We forget that no matter how long and how hard we study, or how many ancient language lessons we take or how many Bible classes we attend, we will never understand more than a tiny fraction of the depth and breadth and height of God’s greatness. God will be God (I AM that I AM) and he will not dance to our particular tune. It is our great gift and privilege to learn a few wobbly steps to dance to God’s tune.
Sometimes the dance includes steps that are uncomfortable for us. I cherish our liturgical form of worship, but my Baptist friend is not comfortable with it. I am given to long periods of silent contemplation; my friend prefers exuberant, uplifting songs and flamboyant verbosity in prayer. I love our Daily Office; my friend finds it stale and routine, preferring his own unstructured prayer. This does not mean that his style of worship is invalid, or that mine is any better or worse or more honest than his. It simply means that God comes to us where we are, and honors our sincere intentions. And we fall into sin when we label another’s efforts as groundless, illogical or erroneous.
Praise God that our personal Pentecosts come in various and sundry ways. How dull, how limited if we all had to make do with exactly the same experience. And how grace-filled are our lives, when we can recognize the work of the Spirit in someone who disagrees with us on the various particulars, customs and praxis of our belief. When we truly put God first, we find that the one we thought had it all wrong is right there, hand in hand with both of us.
It seems there are no limits to the Power of Pentecost, or to God’s Kingdom. Hallelujah!
