Pentecost May 20, 2018 by Chelsea Page

“2:1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” “When” is an interesting word. It is a noncommittal word. It’s like saying, when you ask me, Hey Chelsea, Pastor Aart is away, how are you taking care of the people at church? – “WHEN they call me.” Or, “What are you going to say on Pentecost?” “Ask me again when it’s Sunday.” Or if you’re Rola, when you’re asked what new item of clothing you could possibly need at the boutique – “I’ll know it WHEN I see it.” WHEN is a word for procrastinators.

And that is just what the disciples are doing on the Day of Pentecost. They are procrastinating. Jesus has commanded them to spread the gospel, to share the good news with others. They even say to themselves, “we must become witnesses of his resurrection” (1:14), and yet all they are doing is sitting around together in prayer.

The Day of Pentecost comes seven weeks, or 50 days after Passover and Easter. It is known as the Jewish festival of Shavuot, which commemorates Moses bringing the Ten Commandments from God down the mountain to be received by God’s people. On this day Jerusalem was filled with Jewish pilgrims from all over the world. And yet the disciples are literally upstairs, in their upper room, far from the madding crowd. Until the Spirit of God finds them and sends them rushing out to raise their voices, proclaiming the glory of God to all who would listen.

One of my favorite kids songs from my childhood is Gotta sing when the Spirit says sing, by Raffi. The key word in that sentence is when. Do we ever know WHEN the Spirit is going to come? No. But does that mean we can’t get ready for it? Of course not. God provides us the extra rush of Spirit and energy, a boost when we need to get going. But in the meantime we have plenty of opportunities to practice reaching out in the name of Jesus.

Friends, how well are we taking advantage of these opportunities to share our faith? How often do we just sit back and wait, commit ourselves to simply see what happens? As Easter people, is it really possible that we sometimes find ourselves still back in the garden of Gethsemane, content to simply watch and pray? This week, as we have witnessed absolute carnage in Palestine, and another school shooting at home, yes, let us long for the day when God’s Ten Commandments will be fully accepted by God’s people. But in the meantime let us not hesitate to raise our voices to demand the world we need.

Finding New Meaning

Earlier I criticized the disciples for procrastinating, for not immediately rushing out to proclaim the good news and needing a kick in the pants from the Spirit on Pentecost. But let’s play devil’s advocate. Imagine if the disciples had tried themselves to arrange the amazing miracle that happened on Pentecost. Imagine if they had organized for it. On that day we read in Acts that the numbers of Jesus followers jumped from 120 to 3,000, of all different languages and nationalities! That’s a 25-fold increase of staggering complexity. It would have been a mess if they had tried it on their own.

But much more likely they would have never imagined it being possible; they would have put their energy campaigning for results much smaller, and probably gotten them. Can’t you just hear their objections? “How are we going to reach THOSE people? We can’t even talk to them. Come on, you know what Parthians are like. I know, let’s talk to the people who already like us.”

Now think about Ezekiel, who God told him to reach. A bunch of dry bones! Talk about an unlikely audience. God, this doesn’t seem like a good plan. But God’s plans are far greater than what we could ever imagine doing. The launching of the church on Pentecost was far bigger than what anyone could have planned. But it wasn’t a one-time event. Mortal, prophesy to these bones! That is still our call today. After all Peter proclaims to the crowd of many nations on Pentecost, “39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” And how will the Lord call, if not through us?

You know, I was thinking a lot about this number 120, twelve times 10. Is that really enough people to start a whole new religion? I was thinking about how it would probably be just right the number of people to fill up the pews at Parkview. So I’d like you to imagine a few more people here with us today….

Now I want you to think about the people outside our doors. We’ve gotten access to the Mission Insite tool to study the demographics of the neighborhoods from here all the way down to the Pocket. There are 70,000 people in that area. That’s a lot more than 3,000. I want to read to you some of the most common demographic profiles living in our area.

Autumn Years – Middle-class seniors living solid suburban lifestyles

Silver Sophisticates – Mature white couples and singles living in upscale homes

Progressive Potpourri – Multi-ethnic couples with comfortable and active lives in middle-class suburbs

Flourishing Families – Affluent Asian couples and families with dynamic lifestyles in metro areas

Significant Singles Bohemian Groove – Older divorced and widowed individuals with settled urban lives

Singles and Starters Striving Single Scene – Young, multi-ethnic singles living in city centers

Aspirational Fusion Hope for Tomorrow – Young, lower-income African-American single parents in city apartments.

What do these people care about? What do they need? Only God knows if Parkview would have any relevance or any role to play in their lives. But in the meantime we can do our part by having an Orientation toward Outsiders, by being curious about those who are not yet in the church but who are in reaching distance. I’m not saying we have to be like the disciples on Pentecost, rushing out to tell our faith story and invite others to church. But we have a remarkable opportunity with Rev. Grace Suwabe’s upcoming study of Parkview members to begin reflecting on how we would tell our faith stories to ourselves. What do we love about Parkview? Why do we come to church? What does our life here witness to? These are big questions but I hope you will have fun with them if you are one of the ten selected to be interviewed by Grace.

I’m always open to finding ways we can share our stories with each other. Because Pentecost was a miracle of the ears – of those God made ready to receive the good news. But it was also a miracle of the tongue – of those who found the courage to go out and tell their faith story. Amen.