Acts 2:1-21
Dearly beloved,
The Spirit of Pentecost is a pivot point in the New
Testament. It signals a shift. The shift is going from the earthly
ministry and life of Jesus, to the life of the church in the world. The
church didn’t lose Jesus, though. In fact, the presence of Jesus remains
intact. The Pentecost event is important because it demonstrates what
happens all throughout the Holy Scriptures. God breaks into this world and
communicates His Divine revelation in the midst of people. In fact, God
uses people to accomplish His task.
The Feast of Pentecost signals a shift in the church year, as
well. Our church year is set up with two major divisions. The first half
retells the life of Christ. The second half represents the life of the
church. Pentecost is the life of the church. So, we begin to examine how
Christ lives in the church after His glorious ascension. Jesus goes back to
the heavenly throne with the ascension and then the Pentecost event takes
place. The Holy Spirit does His thing.
You have probably noticed by now that my sermons tend to
really focus in on the gospel lection for the day. My sermons are very
focused on what Jesus is doing in the text. The sermons are examinations on
what is taking place in the gospel. This is very deliberate. The way I
preach has everything to do with the Pentecost event. My preaching is
specifically meant to pull you out of the world. The world is all that you
know six days of the week. You are dealing with rules, regulations,
guidelines, tasks, deadlines and schedules.
What you need is Jesus. The scriptures are prophecies and
accounts of God breaking right into the middle of the lives of people. There
is Moses doing his thing in Exodus and all of a sudden there is a burning
bush that is speaking. God comes in fire and does with fire what fire does
not normally do. It grabs the attention of Moses. It shakes up his world.
The end result is that Moses is never the same, again.
Then take the Pentecost occurrence. There are people
gathering for a Jewish feast. People are coming from all around to attend
the feast. People are doing what they do. It looked like a normal day. Those
people woke up, had breakfast and did what they always do. Then, the
apostles suddenly have tongues of fire landing on them. Again, fire does
what fire is not supposed to do. But, there is more. These apostles begin
preaching the gospel—about the works of God. But these men are doing what
they do not normally do—they are preaching in languages they do not know.
They are preaching the works of Jesus in the languages of
the other people who are attending the feast. The gospel goes out and the
people who hear the preaching take the knowledge they have gained and they
tell people in their own countries. But, look at what is going on in this.
The apostles aren’t preaching cute stories. They are talking about Jesus
and what He has done. Why?
Preaching Christ grants us entrance into the mysterious love
of Christ. This sort of preaching transforms our souls, because the Holy
Spirit attaches Himself to the preached word. This is how the Holy Spirit
works. This is on par with all the other things that happen in the Holy
Scriptures. God uses the preaching of the works of Jesus as His way of
breaking into our lives. You get up in the morning, drink your coffee, eat
your breakfast, and go about your day. You know how the world works. You
live it. What you need is God breaking into your world and teaching you a
different way. You don’t need more world, you need more Jesus. The Holy
Spirit governs the church through the precious blood of Jesus.
I preach Jesus to you, because you need to be transformed. You
need to stop thinking like the world. You need incarnational moments in
your life. You need Theophanies in your world. You need to know over and
over that Jesus Christ is real. He is not only a historical figure. Jesus
governs the church. But what is the church? It is not merely some inanimate
thing that has no life. When you were baptized you entered a living,
breathing body that is totally different from the world.
You entered Christ’s body, the Church. Jesus loves His
body. It is a part of Him. His body, therefore, cannot act independently
from Christ. It cannot live and breathe like the forces of this
world. Worldly
behavior is contrary to the life of Christ and the life in Christ. So, this
gets back to why I was saying that I preach the gospel accounts. It is the
life and work of Jesus that protects you. When the sermon is preached, you
are finding refuge from the world. You need to learn a different way.
We gain a very critical point from the season of Pentecost
and its emphasis on the Holy Spirit’s work in the church. It’s not just
about the doctrine of Justification. That is part of it. But there is
more. The Holy Spirit’s work is also about the doctrine of Sanctification.
How we live our Christian lives day to day in this world. The Holy Spirit
breaking into the world and landing on the apostles as tongues of fire is
meant to teach us that we continually need to have the Holy Trinity break
into our world. We need it.
We need the forgiveness of sins; we need to learn how to
love the way Christ loves; we need to understand what it means when St. Paul
encourages the church to “lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness
and reverence”(1 Timothy 2:2). The life and works of Christ must flow into
our lives and teach us a new way of living and being. This is what Christ
has called you to. You have entered this life through Holy Baptism.
You have entered something mysterious and unseen with the
naked eye. The Holy Spirit has pervaded cultures, time, and space and made
His dwelling in your world. Jesus promises to come to you, still. Your
sins are forgiven. Jesus paid for them on the cross. He may have ascended
into heaven, but the Pentecost event is the signal that Christ is not done
caring for His church. He will continue to come to you and love you. As He
forgives you of your sins, Jesus continues to send the Holy Ghost, the
Comforter to continue to shape your life. He is changing it. Jesus is
slowly transforming you through His Holy Word and the Lord’s Supper.
God entering our world is mysterious and magnificent and
continues to take place in your midst. So let us gather continually around
the Lord’s altar and receive the blessings that flow from Him, as we
continue to listen to the gospel, which proclaims the works and the love of
Christ for you and brings you into this mysterious and wonderful love of
Christ. Amen.
--
Rev. Chad Kendall
www.frchadius.blogspot.com
Trinity Lutheran Church
Lowell, Indiana
www.trinitylowell.org
