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Epiphany Lutheran Church Sunday of Pentecost, June 8, 2003 The Big Bang Theory Some twenty years ago, our daughter was living in Seattle; at 8:30 in the morning she was awakened by a thundering bang that shook her bed and rattled her windows. She ran to the window to look out expecting to see a traffic pile-up on the street, but there was nothing out there, so she went back to bed. Later she heard that Mt. St. Helens, some 95 miles away to the south had exploded. Mt. St. Helens was the beautiful snow covered peak between Seattle, Washington and Portland, Oregon. Now it had become a live volcano and in a matter of hours had spit destruction over thousands of acres and miles of terrain. The mountain had been heaving up and down on the north side for a week and then literally blew its top. The cloud that issued from the mountain reminded many people of the atomic blast at Hiroshima - only this was 2,500 times greater! Mt. St. Helen's blast was so powerful that the crater left was 5,000 feet deep, one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half miles wide; it took 1,200 feet off the top of the mountain. The lava flow was 17 miles long, flowing down to the Columbia River and filled the river so that ships were caught without enough draft to leave port. Ten million cubic yards of material had filled the 40-foot channel half full. The blast leveled 150 square miles of trees. Nothing like it in modern times in this country. People who witnessed it said they had never experienced anything like the awesome power of this volcano. Awesome power! The disciples were together, all believers, 50 days after Easter, after the ascension of Jesus. They were together in a house, we are told, probably some were praying, some talking about recent events, some even teaching others, some quiet. All of a sudden there was a roar like the rush of violent wind, maybe we would say "like a freight train." The noise was so awesome that it filled the house and could be heard outside for miles. Then the people there saw what looked like tongues of flame which spread out and touched each person there. These persons began to speak in other languages so that when others in the village heard, they could understand what they were saying in their own languages. Some asked, "Aren't these only Galileans who barely know Aramaic and now they are speaking in the foreign tongues?" Some even thought them to be drunk. So Peter got up and told them that this was foretold by the prophet Joel, and that God had sent his son who had been crucified, but God raised him from the dead. They were troubled and asked what they should do. Peter told them they should turn from their sins and be baptized into this faith. We are told that 3,000 became Christians that day - so powerful was the witness! The power of God is awesome! This is the beginning of the Christian church. When the disciples were with Jesus, they had not been in tune with Jesus' purposes; they did not understand. With this Pentecost, came the new understanding. They had been with Jesus, that was the model: whatever Jesus' said was the direction they went. For a military organization that would have been a good model. The disciples had fought for any advantage of privilege; they were competitive. Pentecost brought a new view of the world and its God. The old model of a chief present with his followers was replaced by a new model of the Holy Spirit being present. They were now on the front lines, emboldened by the Holy Spirit in all that they did and said. Here were Galileans, not known for their language skills, were suddenly proclaiming the Gospel to foreigners in their own language. You'll have to admit that something very powerful was going on here. So what is so special about the Christian Church? Had it not been for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit - the Advocate, as Jesus calls him, these Jews would have just gone on trying to convince other Jews of the new way God is dealing with them. After all, God gave the Jews, his people, a set of instructions, the Torah; there was a set of rules, or laws, everyone had to follow. Of course, God was with them, but most Jews spent their time nitpicking the law. Now, God, through his Holy Spirit, goes with us in all we do and say. Forget the rules, well, God boils them down to two: Love God, and love your neighbor. That's simple enough, even a child can learn that! God wants us to be in a special relationship with him. God does not want us to dig out all these timeless fact and memorize them. God wants us to have a companionship with him who will lead us on a pilgrimage of discovery in this life. Someone, who was talking about near-death experiences, said they were asked in God's presence: "What have you learned?' That kind of question seems entirely fitting in this kind of relationship God gives us. On our journey in this life, what are we learning and discovering? Pentecost changes everything in the way we see life and our world. God is not only our Source, but also our Life as we make our journey from beginning to end. Often, and especially recently, we might compare Christianity with Islam and the purposes for Muslims throughout the world. After all, it is a fast growing religion so we take it seriously. I have often told students in Bible studies that if they want a set of documents that are authentic and in tact after 1400 years, try the Koran. Mohammad said the angel Gabriel revealed these truths to him and he dictated them to his disciples who wrote them down and preserved them. Again, we have a religion with a set of laws and truths which are to be followed. Where is the Holy Spirit in Islam? Pentecost was the Jewish festival of fifty days after Passover. The disciples were gathered together and bang! The Advocate - the Holy Spirit arrived in a most unconventional way with a most unconventional message. By this Big Bang, Pentecost has become the birthday of the Christian Church. We celebrate Pentecost as a high holy feast day in which we are invited to the Lord's table to partake of Jesus' life and to remember his love and commitment to us. On our life's journey, on any journey, we need refreshment along the way. What better way than to receive the life of Jesus through the bread and wine. Jesus said, "this is my body; this is my blood." When we eat the bread and drink the wine we are taking into ourselves the spirit of Jesus and renewing our commitment to him. This is where we get our spiritual strength to continue our journey of discovery. May it strengthen you and give you refreshment for your journey. Amen. |