The Day of Pentecost/Year C

June 5, 2022

Acts 2:1-21; Psalm 104:25-35, 37; John 14:8-17, (25-27)

The Day of Pentecost….which we celebrate today…marks the end of the fifty days of the Easter season… Jesus has ascended to heaven…and today we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit that Jesus promised would be sent to us to continue to teach us everything, and remind us of all that Jesus had said to the disciples and us in the hearing of the scriptures each week in word, prayer, song and silence…

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles that we heard today…is the scripture we hear every year on the Day of Pentecost…

Yet, every year, I’m struck anew, that the Holy Spirit that descended among those gathered in the house that day…wasn’t the gentle dove image that I usually associate the Holy Spirit with…the image I think of in Jesus’ baptism…and our own…I know this image of comfort, is indeed one gift of the Holy Spirit that helps to remind us of the Spirit of peace that can be found in the center of our hearts to calm our fears and our worries…and maybe that’s why I cling to the image more…because there’s plenty of fears and worries that threaten our peace of mind every day…

The image of a violent wind, and divided tongues, as of fire, resting upon all who were there, that describes the coming of the Holy Spirit in the reading from Acts today…surely wakes me up to be reminded, once again (every year!) that the Holy Spirit is much more than just a comforter….If anything…it moves us way out of our comfort zone…and calls us and equips us to go out and change and transform the world by loving God, and loving others, as Jesus taught us and showed us in his birth, his life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension to heaven, and in the fulfillment of the promise to ask God to send us another Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, to abide in us…and to be with us forever….

And in this reading from Acts today…it is smack dab in the midst of the chaos, that the Holy Spirit does her best work…we are told that even though people were speaking and hearing about God’s deeds of Power, in their native languages, many different languages…that somehow…everyone was able to understand each other…How can this be? What does it all mean?

The Holy Spirit, the Advocate, the Spirit of Truth, that abides in us…can help us discern this throughout our lifetimes…as we adopt a regular practice of wondering aloud, engaging in scripture, prayer, song, and silence; and as we make a commitment to build up our relationships with one another as a gathered community…as a people who strives to listen to one another, seeks to understand one another, and makes a vow to respect the dignity of every human being…

Jesus calls us to enter into a new way of life, again and again…a way of love that calls us out of our comfort zones…It means there will be opportunities for us to repent, turn around, make changes in our own hearts and lives, so that we can look outside of ourselves to help transform our own lives and the lives and livelihood of all God’s beloved children and creatures we share this earthly home with…

We are not left alone to navigate all these changes throughout our lifetime…we’ve been given an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, to abide in us, and to be with us forever…

We know that we are faced every day with fear and worries and uncertainties that threaten our peace of mind, and keep us awake at night…

We know that changes are continually happening all around us, every day, and in every season of our lives, which often leave us wondering…how can this be? What does it all mean? What can I, what can we, possibly do to make a difference in one another’s lives? Will we rest only in the comfort of the Holy Spirit…or will our rest in the comfort of the Holy Spirit inspire us and awaken in us the desire to go out and change and transform the world by loving God, and loving others, through the power of the Holy Spirit that abides in us?

I’d like to close this morning with a story for children of all ages…

It’s entitled Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem… written by Amanda Gorman and Pictures by Loren Long…

On the description page about the story, it says this: Anything is possible when our voices join together…As a young girl leads a cast of characters on a musical journey, they learn that they have the power to make changes – big or small – in the world, in the communities, and most importantly in themselves…Change Sings is a triumphant call to action for everyone to use their abilities to make a difference…

Read the book - “Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem”

(Words by Amanda Gorman and Pictures by Loren Long)

We all hear change strumming.

Won’t you sing along?

I hope you will. For the children. For all God’s beloved children.

Rev Julie Platson

St Peter’s by the Sea Episcopal Church

Sitka, AK

Hymn after sermon: I’m Goin’-a Sing When the Spirit Says Sing (verses edited)

(This recording sung by choir from Wells United Methodist Church)

recording of: I’m Goin’-a Sing When the Spirit Says Sing

I’m goin’-a sing when the Spirit says sing (x3)