SCRIPTURE: Acts 2:1-21
TEXT: 21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. THEME: INTRODUCTION Our experiences with God write our theology. Our experience through prayer becomes a conversation with God that informs our theology. When the Holy Spirit of God moves in our lives, opens opportunities, guides and leads us, these new experience with God are sometimes beyond our theological constructs and expands our boundaries with our relationship with God. Paul had this experience as he sees the vision of the Macedonians calling him to come. Then as he finds a place to pray the Holy Spirit has prepared Lydia and her household to believe in Jesus. Paul and Silas see the same thing happen when the fortune telling spirit is cast out of the slave girl. Then while imprisoned an earthquake fling doors and shackles open. Our experiences with God inform our theology. SCRIPTURE I listened to a podcast conversation of Krista Tippett with physician Rachel Naomi Remen. Dr. Remen counsels’ patients who are vulnerable and weak and listens to their stories for signs of strengths, while so much of our focus is on pain. Her grandfather told her the story of the birthday of the world. It is a creation story where from out of the holy darkness comes rays of light. But as in a Jewish story there was an accident and the vessels that contains the light of the world breaks into a thousand counsels’ fragments that are scattered and fall into all events and all people, where they remain deeply hidden until this very day. An accident where humans are now born with the capacity to find the hidden light in all events and all people, and to lift it up and make it visible once again, returning wholeness to the world. A story to say that inside of each of us is a hidden treasure waiting to be discovered. The Story of Pentecost is about the Spirit of God that rushes in and fills the room, resting on the apostles. It reveals that hidden treasure of light that is imparted in everyone. That strength, that gift, that kindness that adds wholeness to our world. There came a rushing wind, that everybody heard. People ran towards the source of the sound and found those closest to the explosion speaking. One of the commentators from Sermon Brainwave shared about traveling in a foreign country, when all of a sudden, they heard someone speaking English, not just English but American English. Hearing this made them feel at home. Imagine being a pilgrim in Jerusalem and as you heard a loud sound that led you to a gathered crowd where in this circle of men you hear, “An den, had one Iniki kine wind and Wen blow all inside the house and we began to speak like dat! And then all you guys stay hear all your own words like dat too. We stay all part of God's big Ohana.” Pentecost is God’s story proclaiming to us that, there are shards of light for people to discover in every person and every event to lift up for all to see and bring wholeness to the world. APPLICATION Our fully revealing God, creates an opportunity for us to live profoundly in relationship with God and with others. How do our experiences of God change the way we live with others? At Pentecost, the fulness of God; Creator, Incarnate and Spirit, adds important knowledge to the stories of our lives. Dr. Remen talked about how important knowledge is passed on through stories. Dr Remen's grandmother fed the people in her neighborhood. So, you had to be careful when you opened her refrigerator door, that nothing would fall out. It was told that if an egg did fall and break on the floor, her grandmother would say, “Aha, today we make a sponge cake.” As a 15-year-old, Dr. Remen was diagnosed with and incurable disease that would shorten her life, she brought the ‘sponge cake story’ to that news. It took a long time, but she created a recipe that was all her own to this. At the time of this recording that was 63 years ago and this September her new book for children will be released. Her story has outlived the prediction of a shortened life but has informed how she has lived her years. Our salvation, is being able to live in relationship with God and with others. Dr Remen’s occupation evolved into listening to those who needed to talk about their stories and to help them to discover strength and not only see pain or sorrow. Seeing the fallen egg has help them in creating a recipe all their own to make a sponge cake. CONCLUSION We used to think that the Holy Spirit was all about power, healing, miracles and signs. Power can be seductive if we are not grounded in love. It is about God dwelling in us, as part of our story and us being part of God's story. It is relational. One last thing about the story of the Spirit. Stories are not finished. Krista Tippett told the story of the Birthday of the World to her son. Dr. Remen’s Grandfather’s story continues to be written in his life. The story of Pentecost is about God’s Spirit giving to us the ability to discover shards of light in every event and every person so that it can be lifted up to bring wholeness to our world. The Holy Spirit story continues to be written in our lives as we create our own recipe of living in relationship with the fullness of God.
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