PENTECOST — AFFIRMATION OF BAPTISM
Acts 2:1-21; John 20:19-23
Pentecost, Sunday May 28, 2023
Pastor Ritva H Williams
This morning we have two scripture readings about the the Holy Spirit. One tells of rushing wind and flames of fire. The other talks about words of peace, and Christ breathing the Holy Spirit into fearful disciples. To confuse you all, we read what happened first last, and what happened later first. Let’s put these readings in the correct order and see what happens.
Our gospel reading occurs on “the evening of that day” — Easter Sunday. The family of Jesus, the disciples and their families (about 120 people in total) are gathered in a house in Jerusalem. The doors are locked because they are afraid that they will be arrested and kill like Jesus was. They are physically distanced and socially isolated from the community which they experience as intensely hostile. Their minds are fogged in and their hearts frozen in fear until the resurrected Christ appears does three things.
Christ says twice, “Peace be with you.” n Peace — shalom in Hebrew — means to be restored, to be made whole and well in body, mind and spirit. I imagine that when Christ speaks “shalom” it is like when God says “let there be light” — and it was so.
Christ says, “As the Father sent me, so I send you.” Disciples and followers now become apostles — ambassadors of the risen Christ. Each of them and all together are sent out into the community to do what Christ does — speak peace and healing into a fearful and troubled world.
Christ breathes on them, saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The sentence uses exactly the same words that are in Genesis 2:7,, “the Lord God … breathed into [the] nostrils the breath/spirit of life, and the adam — the earthling — became a living being.” Every human is made alive by the breath and spirit of God. Fear, terror, grief, trauma stifle and suffocate the spirit of within us. Christ’s breath God’s Holy Spirit into us to bring us back to life emotionally and spiritually. Christ’s breath gives us a new day, a new opportunity.
Our reading from Acts jumps ahead by 50 days. Why 50 days? Jews, both ancient and modern, celebrate the festival of Shavuot (Weeks) on the 50th day (Pentecost) after Passover. Passover celebrates the liberation of Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Shavuot/Pentecost celebrates God’s gift of the Commandments to Moses at Mt Sinai. It is remembered as the day when the liberated Israelite slaves became a community committed to serving God. So back to our reading from Acts.
The family of Jesus, the disciples and their families (about 120 people in all) had spent the 50 after Passover grieving, praying, and reflecting on their experience of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection. On Pentecost morning, as they are gathered in one place, they hear the rush of a violent wind and see tongues of fire resting on each other. They are all filled with the Holy Spirit and begin to speak in other languages. For them this experience must have evoked a popular Aramaic retelling of how God gave the commandments at Mt Sinai:
When a word had issued from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be His Name, in the form of sparks or thunderbolts or flames like torches of fire … then a flame on the right and a tongue of fire on the left would fly through the air and return and hover over the heads of the Israelites, and then return and incise itself into the tablets.
Wow! it was as if God was giving the Torah again now expanded with the Good News of Christ Jesus, and simultaneously translated it into all human languages. This Pentecost will go down in history as the birth of the church.
At that Pentecost the disciples experienced a huge “AHA” moment. God’s Spirit had always been present gave life to all of creation and was breathed into every human being. Ancient Hebrew sages wrote poetry celebrating the work of God’s Spirit, but somewhere along the line someone decided the Holy Spirit had stopped talking to God’s people, and they stopped looking for her. At Pentecost the disciples were dramatically reminded that God’s Spirit was and is still present in heaven and on earth, and most importantly in “all flesh” — in persons from all parts of the world, in persons of all ages, all skin colors, all gender identities and gender expressions, all sexual orientations, all abilities and all challenges. The Spirit’s mission was and is to ensure that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Being saved is experiencing peace and wholeness, new purpose, and new life here and now in the midst of all of life’s ups and downs.
This is good news for all of us, but especially for the 4 young people who will be affirming their baptism in a few minutes. Christopher, Alanna, Maya and Lilly, you have all been named and claimed by Christ in your baptism. You are all beautiful and beloved children of God. You bear the image of God within your DNA. God has given each of you strengths and talents, maybe even a super power, so you can help make the world a better place.
This morning you will affirm the promises your parents made on your behalf when you were baptized. Specifically, you will make five promises:
to live among God’s faithful people;
to hear the word of God and share in the Lord’s supper;
proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed;
serve all people following the example of Jesus;
and strive for justice and peace in all the earth.
The first two promises are the easiest — just show for church regularly. The promise to serve all people following the example of Jesus is also easy — do no harm but in very situation be as kind and helpful to the people around you as possible. The promise to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed is about your calling and career. It might mean becoming an ordained pastor, but more than likely it will be about finding a calling or a career where you can help other people. The promise to strive for justice and peace in all the earth calls each of us to care for the earth and its creatures, and to help build communities where all people can experience the peace and wholeness that Christ brings.
The good news is that you do not have to carry out these promises alone. Christ walks alongside you disguised in the people who love you — parents and grandparents, siblings and cousins, classmates and friends, and your neighbors and your church. No matter what happens, Christ promises to be with you, as close as your own breath, bringing peace and comfort, healing and wholeness when you need it most. Christ promises to send the Holy Spirit to open your eyes, ears, hearts and minds to truth, ignite passion in your soul, and energize you to make a difference in this world.
I offer you this blessing from Jan Richardson:
Look — your life a candle,
this day a match.
Strike it and see what blazes,
what fire comes to sing in you.
