Sunday, May 31, 2009

Pentecost Sermon

B-Pentecost Rev. Laurie Furr-Vancini
Psalm 104:24-34; 35b Westminster Woods
Romans 8:22-27 May 31, 2009


The Poetry of Pentecost

Today is one of the most important days of the Christian year.
Today is Pentecost.

Our best-known Pentecost story comes from the book of Acts.
It is the tongues of fire story…..
The disciples turned apostles are standing around as part of a crowd and suddenly there is a rush of a mighty wind.
The apostles receive the gift of the spirit that blows on them and begin
speaking in different languages.
Someone in the crowd asks if the apostles have already been drinking at 10:00 in the morning.
Peter stands up and says, no----these are not drunk.
And he quotes the prophet Joel, saying:
‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.”
Peter turns to the poetic language of the prophet
To explain the unexplainable.
When regular words cannot describe the indescribable, we turn to poetry.

Columbia Seminary Professor Dr. Walter Brueggemann says this:
“The holiness of God is stirring beneath and is named and pointed to by poets where we can scarcely see it.” (lecture at St. Simon’s Island in January 2008)

The Holy Spirit calls for poetry.
There is mystery involved.
There is yearning involved.
There is calling involved.
There is hope and new life and crazy unexpected things.
Pentecost calls for poetry.


In our Psalm for today, I picture the psalmist almost dancing around
on a big mountain or field.
The psalmist begins,
bless the Lord, O my soul,
o Lord, my God, you are very great,.
You are clothed with honor and majesty…

The psalmist poet writes a love song to God, our creator---:
You stretch out the heavens,
You set the water,
You make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind.
You make the winds your messengers, fire and flame your ministers.
You set the earth. It will ever be shaken.
The mountains, the valleys, springs gushing forth,
Giving drink to every wild animal.
The birds sing in the branches of trees that You made.
And they sing.
And they sing.
And they sing.
Even the sea monster looks to you.

When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.

The Holy Spirit is the creative force of God.
How better to praise creation than poetry?
Spirit filled, spirit moved. The spirit creates and makes things happen.
When times are good, the spirit calls us to praise.
When times are not so good, the spirit intercedes.

We know the whole creation is groaning….
We also groan.
In our groaning we hope.
We hope for what we do not see and we wait for it with patience.

In these words from Romans,
Paul speaks poetically about the groaning of the Spirit.
Paul speaks in a voice we all understand.
Paul speaks in a voice of pain and suffering.
Paul speaks in a voice of groaning.
And we are not the only ones groaning.
The trees, the water, the animals, we all groan together in our pain,
In our sadness,
In our lack of understanding,
in our mourning,
in our despair.
All of creation groaning with us…..
And the Spirit helps us---
The Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
When the words of a poet fail, the Spirit picks it up and intercedes:
With sighs to deep for words.

The Holy Spirit is the creative force of God.
How better to groan than through poetry?
Spirit filled, spirit moved. The spirit groans and things happen.
When times are good, the spirit calls us to praise.
When times are not so good, the spirit intercedes.

I have a friend who is going through a very dark valley of groaning,
we’ll call her Delores.
Delores and her husband lost their business before Christmas
because a competitor opened up two miles down the road
in a great location and they could just not stay open.
They owe money from that.
They are two months behind on their mortgage.
They have two teenagers who do not quite understand the new reality.
And….3 weeks ago, Delores had a double mastectomy
because she had spots that kept reappearing.
She can’t work for another couple of months..
Her husband can’t find work except for waiting tables.
Things are bad….truly a time in the valley.
And the spirit interceded.
This past week, Delores was driving (which she is not supposed to be doing
because of the surgery) down in Jacksonville Beach.
She came across an elderly woman who was standing outside of her car,
looking lost and perplexed.
Delores stopped the car and asked if she could help
because that is the kind of person she is.
It turned out that the elderly woman was very turned around.
The woman had a mammogram appointment
behind Beaches Baptist Hospital.
She had gotten lost, missed the appointment and
just wanted to get back to her home in Arlington.
But she didn’t know how to get back on track.
Delores assured her that the roads at the beaches were very confusing
and it was easy to get turned around.
They both got into their cars and Delores lead the woman
about 5 miles to the edge of the Atlantic Boulevard bridge
where they pulled over to talk again.

The woman shared that she had had a mastectomy 30 years ago
and was supposed to get regular mammograms.
Delores shared that just 3 weeks prior she had had a double mastectomy.
This led to more conversation.
They talked about the woman’s time following her mastectomy
and some things Delores might face.

They talked of the woman missing the beach and how she and late husband
used to drive down from Arlington to walk on the beach.

They talked about Delores’ difficult time.

They talked about the woman’s fear that her son would use her getting lost
as a reason for her to no longer drive.

As their conversation came to a close, the woman turned to Delores and said,
“we were brought together today.”

The Holy Spirit interceded where two strangers needed each other.
From another Pentecost poet:
From the book of John (3:8):
"The wind blows where it wills and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

Why are two people who need each other brought together for an afternoon?
How is it that people end up in specific churches together?
How do we explain the paths our lives take and the way they criss-cross with others?

The Holy Spirit is the creative force of God.
How better to explain spirit crossings than poetry?
Spirit filled, spirit moved. The spirit brings people together
and makes things happen.
When times are good, the spirit calls us to praise.
When times are not so good, the spirit intercedes.

A little under 3 months ago I was on a boat on the sea of Galilee
with 19 other mid-career pastors.
We had all been chosen to be a part of a pilgrimage
that was paid for by a grant.
We came from all over the United States,
From all different kinds of churches and denominations.
We were Baptist, Quaker, Mennonite, Presbyterian, Methodist…
We were men and women from 35 years old to 55 years old.
One was pregnant, one was to leave for a tour in Afghanistan when returned.
We were white, black and Hispanic.
And here we were on a boat together on the Sea of Galilee.
Only the Spirit could have created this/
We were crossing the Sea (which is really a lake),
just like Jesus and Peter would have.
It was a grey day and the winds began to rise.
And as the winds blew, it began to get cold.
We put on hats and scarves and put our heads down and the boat got quiet.

After a few minutes with only the sound of the boat and the wind,
One of the African American pastors began singing….

“I’ve got a feelin’, everything will be allright…..
I’ve got a feelin’, everything will be allright….
I’ve got a feelin’, everything will be allright…
Be allright, be allright, be allright.
The first time around only the other black preachers joined in,
but soon we were all singing and swaying and raising our faces to the wind.

The wind whipped in and around and among us with the spirited message,
“Everything will be allright.”
You are away from your family, your church, your comfort, your home.
You are being challenged in new ways.
You are in a time of unknown.
You are with folks very different from you….
other people are calling the shots.
But, I have a feeling, everything will be allright.

And how is it so different for you?
You are away from your family, your church, your comfort, your home.
You are being challenged in new ways.
You are in a time of unknown.
You are with folks very different from you…..
other people are calling the shots.
But, I have a feeling, everything will be allright.

"The wind blows where it wills and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit."

That crazy holy spirit, picking us up and plopping us down.
The Holy Spirit is the creative force of God.
How better to explain spirit crossings than poetry?
Spirit filled, spirit moved.
The spirit brings breaths life where there is no life.

Another poet for today has to do with this very kind of plopping down.
From the book of Ezekiel we get a vision of a valley of dry bones.
The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry.
Dry, dry, dry.

You probably know this story, you probably know the song!
And did the bones live?
Was there life still in them?
Did the bones begin to shake and rattle?
Did bone come to bone?
And did the muscles grow back on them?
Was there life in that place of no hope?
Was the creative spirit there?
Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you,
and you shall live.

The promise of God is the promise of the Spirit:
I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act,” says the LORD.
The promise is newness;
Creativity;
Vitality.
The promise of the Pentecost poets.

What might the hope of the spirit look like for you?
Well, I have no idea.
I can conjecture.
Maybe comfort and peace.
Maybe excitement and travel.
Maybe a new computer that opens the world to you.
Maybe a new thought or a new way of thinking.
Maybe a still, small voice that comes to you just when you need it.
Maybe a child or a grandchild who overcomes difficulty.
Maybe classical music on a grey, rainy day.
Maybe an uplifting meeting or appointment.
Maybe a lost, sweet memory, remembered once again,
Maybe
A hug from a friend, your favorite dessert or a bit of red lipstick.


O One Who Brings Bones Back Together,
Holy Wind that Blows,
O Comforter, Guide and Stay,
Renewer of the Ground,
O Creator of Creatures,
Joy Maker,
O Sender of Flames and Tongues,
Hope Instiller,
O Creator of Wisdom,
In Your Wisdom,
Plopper Downer,
Gatherer of Strangers,
Friend Maker
Groaner,
Sigher,
Interceder,
O mighty rushing wind
O still small voice.
Spirit us. Amen.