Don't Sell the Cow

Sermon-Pentecost Sunday-May 23, 2010
The Cloud of Unknowing, "O God, our great companion, lead us ever more deeply into the mystery of your life and ours, that we may be faithful interpreters of Life to each other, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
In Israel the grain crops were planted immediately following the Passover. And 7 weeks later they would be harvested. They celebrated this harvest with a great celebration, and because it took place on the 50th day they called it, Pentecost. It was the Feast of Weeks-7 days times 7 weeks. And it became the tradition that Jews that were scattered around the Mediterranean would try to come home to Israel for the harvest festival, Pentecost. That is the story that we hear today.
It intersects with the story of Jesus. He was killed on Good Friday, rose on Easter-just as the grain crops were being planted. After his resurrection, he appeared to his disciples numerous times-ate with them, talked with them, and finally on the 40th day after his resurrection-he left them for good. For the last seven weeks you have listened to real preachers talk about what it means to live in the resurrection-how we are witnesses of it. It was an exciting time for the disciples. They realized that life was changed and that Jesus was the cause of that change. It was thrilling and inspiring and uplifting. They felt wonderful, but there was a nagging question bothering them. There was something was eating at them, that kept coming up. It was this question, “what’s next?” “What are we supposed to do now?”
I don’t know if this has ever been your question, but when I look back at my life, I’ve felt that way whenever I’ve been through an intense event-graduation, a new job, marriage, a child. You have all this build up and excitement-and then, IT HAPPENS. And you start looking around going, “now what?”. All of our attention, all of our preparation was building up to that BIG EVENT. And then it happens, and you start thinking-wait a second-“I don’t know what to do next, I don’t know what I’m supposed to do AFTER.”
That’s where the disciples were at. Everything we heard during the Easter season was that they were happy about Jesus being raised-but they still went back to work, they had their meals, they did all their normal everyday habits. Things were different, but they didn’t know what to do.
And then it was Pentecost-the 50th day. The 50th day after the crops were planted, the 50th day after Jesus rose. And they were gathered in an upper room, having a big meal-it would have been something like our Thanksgiving-only without the football. It was early, 9 o’clock in the morning. When they heard a sound like a tornado, “the rush of a violent wind” it said. They must have been terrified. Then “tongues of fire” seemed to rest on each of them. If they weren’t scared before that would have done it. So they started yelling and screaming, wondering what was going on-just like you or I would have. Only something very weird happened. Even though they were from dozens of different countries-they could understand each other. I always describe it like Star Trek where they’re all wearing these universal translators. The story says, “All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” A fair question-what does all this mean? And what does it mean for us? What’s next?
For the disciples it meant that they had to live a new life. They never saw it coming, they didn’t expect it, and they weren’t always sure where they were going. That’s an important piece of this. They knew something huge had happened to them-but they weren’t clear on where it was leading them. When I look back on those big moments in my life, I wasn’t always clear or aware of where I was going next, either. But I knew that I was on a new road. It’s scary because you don’t know what’s next. Things are different. The disciples, the word that means followers, were never called disciples after that experience. From then on they were called apostles-which means-ones who are sent out. From the day of Pentecost on, all those who were gathered in that upper room, those 120 or so disciples, changed the world. They didn’t mean to. They didn’t have a plan, they didn’t have a clue what they were supposed to do. They just knew that they were supposed to go into the world bravely-and to spread the good news about Jesus. It wasn’t clear how-or even exactly what they were to say. But they knew that they had been given a gift-that’s what the wind and the fire had showed them.
Today we baptize a mother and daughter, Brittany and Marla. What would you say to them about what to expect-after their baptism? Don’t worry this won’t make a difference? Don’t be afraid, it’s no big deal? What should we say to them about what’s coming-next? Marla is brand new, ___ months old. What would you tell Brittany about having a baby, about being a new mom? It will be hard some days, and there will be lots of days that will be incredibly joyful. There will be times when you really don’t know what to do, and there will be times when you really mess up. There will be days of failure, and there will be moments of real triumph. There will be lots of times when you are unsure and lost. But you are Marla’s mom, and you will do the best that you can do, and you will love her and support her, and nurture her, and encourage her every day of her life-even when you are unsure or lost or feeling defeated. And the Pentecost story, our story, is that the might wind is till rushing, the tongues of fire are still touching. Seven weeks ago on Easter Sunday I told you the story of the US submarine Squalus, the sank in 1939 off the east coast. No sailor had ever been rescued from a sunken submarine before. And when the men in the submarine heard the feet of divers on the hull of the ship they tapped out this message, “is there any still hope?”.
It’s 50 days later, and we have a different question today, Is God still speaking to us?, is God still sending us, is God still loving us and supporting us, and nurturing us, encouraging us every day of our lives? Is the wind still coming into our lives? Is the fire still resting upon us. Is the Spirit still driving us?
It’s Pentecost, the 50th day, the day of harvest and of baptism. It’s known as the birthday of the church. It’s the day we ask, “is God still speaking?”