Corinthians 12:3b-13
John 7:37-39
Today is Pentecost! And it’s a big day in the Church. Officially known as a Principal Feast Day, it’s more commonly referred to as the birthday of the Church. And if we were all together at church today you know what we would have? Cake! Cake to celebrate the day that is recorded in our reading from the second chapter of Acts where ten days after Jesus ascends into heaven his followers are all gathered together and all of a sudden there comes this sound like the sound of a violent wind. Then flames like tongues of fire appear and rest on them somehow. And they are filled with the Holy Spirit. Everyone begins to speak in other languages spreading the news of God. The ruckus draws others to gather. And then Peter speaks, proclaiming the good news to all. And by the end of that day 3,000 people are added to their numbers. The Church is born.
But when I say the Church is born I don’t mean that we are celebrating the birth of a religious institution. Rather we celebrate the coming alive of the people of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. For the Church, in the truest sense of the word, is the community of believers. On that first day of Pentecost there was no organization. There was no building. What there was was just a whole bunch of people - imperfect people for sure - who were doing their best to say yes to God, put their trust in Christ, and be open to the Spirit. That was the church then. That is the church now. For now is the time where the Spirit is teaching us what it means to be the Church when we can’t actually go to church.
Although the book of Acts records the coming of the Spirit in pretty spectacular ways that’s not to say that that’s the only way, or even the primary way, that the Spirit comes. Actually, more often than not, she comes to us as Jesus came, that is, in the ordinary, the mundane, the daily ways of life. For Pentecost is not a one time event nor a once a year celebration. Pentecost is happening all the time. Anytime we seek to love, to serve or to sacrifice, the Spirit is moving and Pentecost is happening. In times when we operate from a place of compassion, connectedness, courage or calm, that’s the Spirit at work and Pentecost is happening. Whenever we let God’s river of life flow out from our hearts, as Jesus puts it in the gospel of John, that is the Spirit in action and Pentecost is happening.
And when Pentecost is happening it is always for the common good, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians. How can we be the Church when we can’t actually go to church? We can be the Church by letting the Spirit flow in and through us, empowering us to engage in acts of love for the well-being of others - by praying for the world, giving generously, advocating for justice, reaching out to others. Even staying at home, keeping our distance, and wearing masks are ways that the Spirit is moving in us to serve the common good - to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is how we can be the Church in the world of today.
Yet as we celebrate the birthday of the Church in the world of today, sadly, there is no cake, but there still is plenty that is sweet - like gathering together online for this service, hearing the voices of our choir members, seeing pictures of Pentecosts past, listening to Daniel play the organ, and being reminded over and over again of our hope that never fails. God’s Spirit is still moving, still blowing, still lighting us on fire, doing new things in us and through us for the love of God and for the sake of common good. As much as I miss our church buildings - or what I really miss is being with you in those buildings - I thank God that the Church is not a building. We are the Church, born of the Spirit and continually being renewed by the Spirit. So it is in that spirit that I wish you a very happy birthday. And as we celebrate, let us we pray come, Holy Spirit, come!
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