Readings
Acts 2:1-21
Psalm 104:25-35, 37
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
John 20:19-23
How many of you remember the old Abbot and Costello routine about “Who’s on first?” You know the one where Bud Abbot tells Lou Costello about a baseball team and its players. He tells him that “Who’s on first, What’s on second, and I Don’t Know’s on third.” What ensues is a confused and hilarious conversation about the names of the men on the baseball team. It’s not clear if they ever really achieve a mutual understanding.
What that comedy sketch brings into crystal clear focus is how difficult it can be to effectively communicate with another person. Words have multiple meanings which alone can lead to miscommunication. But then language isn’t all we communicate with. Tone and body language too say a lot. We might be saying one thing with our words and something altogether different with our voice and body.
When we look at the Pentecost story it is easy for us to become distracted by the miracles described: the rush of wind, the tongues of fire, and the speaking in various languages. But, friends, this story isn’t primarily about the miracles as much as it is about communication. It’s a story about the good news of God in Jesus Christ being proclaimed to a diverse group of people in a way that can be heard and understood.
On the surface such a story could have easily devolved into a confused and comical farce. In fact, some people in the crowd, missing the miraculous nature of the event, chalk the excitement and ecstasy of the disciples up to drunkenness. But for the majority something profound happens. Those who had never known Jesus had a significant encounter of the grace and mercy of God through the witness of the disciples.
The body language and tone of the disciples evoked excitement, intrigue, and energy within the crowd gathered. Their message was inspiring. They spoke to faithful practitioners of ancient Judaism in familiar and inspiring motifs. And, miraculously, they spoke to them in their own language and metaphor regardless of what part of the world they came from.
In other words, inspired by the Spirit, they met the crowd where they were. Rather than simply speaking out of their own context they spoke out of the native contexts of each of those gathered. And while we don’t hear it in the reading today, the scripture tells us that many were drawn into the community of the disciples because of what happened.
This story is, in fact, the first story of evangelism in the history of the Church. It is the first time that, as I said earlier, the good news of God in Jesus Christ is proclaimed. It is the first time that the faith of Israel and the message and life of Jesus are explicitly connected. But we would do well to remember that all of that happens because of the Spirit inspired practice of communication that occurs.
Unlike the popular notions of evangelism, which we rightly reject, the disciples are not simply speaking their own truth out of their own context. They are not beating people over the head with a message that only makes sense to them. They are not using the fear of condemnation to evoke a desperate seeking of the salvation of Jesus.
No, today’s story refers to the hope foretold by the prophet Joel. It is a message about God coming and making right a broken world and raising up those who have been broken by that world. It is a word about Jesus and how he is the one who brings that healing and peace to the world.
This is a sensitive and engaged practice of evangelism we would do well to emulate. It is a model of evangelism to which each of us is called. Remember that last week in the story of Jesus ascension we were called to preach the Gospel to the ends of the earth.
It is tempting, in this post-modern age and in our progressive faith to be timid about our faith outside the comfort of these walls. It is easy also to presume that it is the job of our clergy to be about that work on our behalf. But all of us are called to be evangelists in the world today. All of us are called to be communicators of the gospel.
I think our reticence comes not from a lack of belief, but from an unwillingness to presume to intrude on the spirituality of another. That desire not to intrude is a good thing. But rather than motivating us to not speak at all, it has the potential to motivate us to speak in a different way. You see, the error we make is to presume that when we are about the work of evangelism the task is to simply share our experience with someone else.
But that is not what we hear in today’s story. No, the first step of evangelism is to meet people where they’re at. To speak in their language. To use their metaphors. Basically, to respect them for who and what they are. In a very real sense, it is an inspired choice to start with curiosity and compassion based not in our assumptions but in the other’s reality. In order for that to happen we need to speak in the other’s language and to use their metaphors. We need to step into their world and leave our own. Only then can we speak the Gospel in a way that is meaningful.
How different is that from what we have come to think about evangelism? Often times, as progressive people of faith we, out of fear of offending or fear of our faith being diminished by another, wait passively in our church buildings for others to come to us. We welcome those who come with open arms and share our Good News in the context of our worship and fellowship. But what of those who today presume us to be irrelevant, or worse, a blight on society? We don’t know how to respond and often we feel paralyzed by such attitudes. We worry about the growing indifference or hostility to faith and yet remain, for the most part, cloistered within these walls.
We are being called to something different. We are being called to imagine new and different ways to communicate, to do evangelism. The spirit is still at work and alive in and among us. We do have the ability, just like those early disciples, to bridge the gap between the faith we have and the world we live in.
What would it look like if we were to take seriously the beauty, the gifts, and the uniqueness of our faith community and make it known to the people in the communities to which we belong in a way that speaks in their language rather than our own? How might we be attentive to the cultural shifts that have occurred both in language and in society and speak into the lives of others about what they care about? How might we recognize how what we care about and what they care about are congruent and then emphasize what we have in common? Perhaps then we will be more relevant. Perhaps then there will be room to talk about Jesus.
To that end your Vestry has authorized us to do a direct mail campaign to about 5800 households in our area. We are reaching out specifically to those who have left the Church or feel that the Church has left them. We speak to the nature of our progressive and inclusive community and the rich tradition of our faith. We conclude with a heartfelt invitation to come and explore being in Christian community with us.
This is just one attempt at doing evangelism in a new way. The work is for all of us to do. We are being called to be a Pentecost people. To welcome the spirit to inspire us to listen and to share, to find the language and the means to communicate with those around us the good news of our congregation, but more importantly the Good News of our faith.
We may find ourselves challenged by the language we must use to bridge the gap. We may be uncomfortable with ideas and images that will communicate how we are a diverse, welcoming, and affirming community of faith. We may find our own faith challenged as we seek to find new language to express our experience of God and of Christ. But, even so, none of it will be outside our abilities. God has already equipped us with what we need for this journey.
May we have the courage to embrace the idea of us being a Pentecost people. May we trust in the Spirit and find ways to speak in the languages of others. May we ultimately be surprised and in awe at what is possible if we but trust in the spirit and unleash our ourselves into the world.