Blowing Where It Will

 

PROPERS:          THE DAY OF PENTECOST

TEXT:                ACTS 2:1-21

PREACHED AT ST. JOHN’S, PASCAGOULA, ON SUNDAY, MAY 28, 2023.

 

ONE SENTENCE:        The Day of Pentecost acknowledges the gift of the Spirit, which we cannot control.

 

            I am not a scholar of the biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek, but there are some original words in the text which are very revealing.

 

            In the original creation story in the first verses of Genesis, we are told that “the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.”

 

            The Hebrew term for Spirit was ruach.

 

            In our first lesson today, from the Book of Acts, we have the authoritative story of that first Christian Pentecost. To set the scene: The Disciples are holed-up in a room, fearful of the world which surrounds them.  They are afraid that they will meet the same fate as their teacher had.

 

            But as they were locked in a room, a mighty wind rushed through the walls and closed doors. Tongues of flame danced on their heads.  They were all moved mightily, boldly, and ventured out into the crowded Jerusalem streets.

 

            The wind which brought the tongues of fire was called, in Greek, pneuma.

 

            Ruach in Hebrew. Pneuma in Greek. They are both the literal breath of God.

 

The breath of God is what was given to the church on the first Christian Pentecost, and it is what animates the church today.

 

Despite what we may want, the Spirit will do what it will do.  We cannot stop it.  We cannot guide it.

 

            In the third chapter of the Gospel of John, a leader of the Sanhedrin, Nicodemus, comes to Jesus under cover of darkness.  He wants to probe the young rabbi about his teachings.

 

            Among other things, Jesus tells Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.”

 

            We need to remember that the ruach, the pneuma, or the Spirit is a gift from God, and cannot be directed by human preferences.  It is God’s gift to each of us, a gift of profound grace, which can only be received.  We cannot determine where or to whom it goes next.

 

            In a little bit, we will baptize the newest Christian, Matthias Lief MacOwen.

 

            People ask, “Why do you baptize young children?  They cannot understand what they are doing.”

 

            Nor do we. No matter what we say. We do not fully understand God’s love for us, or his acceptance of us with our flaws and human frailty.  The rubric on page 298 describes our understanding: “Holy Baptism is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s body the Church.  The bond established by God in baptism is indissoluble.”

 

            In other words, the important movement in baptism is God toward us and not us toward God.  The initiation of the bond is established by God. It originates with God – and it is permanent.

 

            Try as we might, we can seek to place limits or restrictions on God’s movement and love. We may think that we or others are unworthy. 

 

But remember Jesus’ words to Nicodemus, the wind blows where it chooses. Our desire to restrict its generosity, as the old saying goes, doesn’t get above the ceiling.