“The Gift of the Holy Spirit”
Genesis 11:1-9; Acts 2:1-21
We had a lot of fun and some challenges decorating the sanctuary last Thursday for Pentecost. I genuinely enjoy having red as a liturgical color, and it is enjoyable putting up the red Pentecost banner and decorating the communion table with orange/yellow/red cloth. Of course, the cherry on top is getting the crepe paper red, orange, and yellow streamers above us, anchored to the cross. I do believe that is the first time in my decades of ministry that a softball was thrown a few times in a sanctuary, which is saying a lot, since I did 25 years of youth ministry in my career😉
In addition to the challenge of getting that wire for the streamers anchored high above, as we began placing doves in various places to symbolize the Holy Spirit, a couple of folks asked, “Which way is the dove supposed to point?” The classic answer is down. This is because at the moment of Jesus’ baptism, the Spirit descended on Jesus. So, most of our doves are descending to echo the baptism of the Messiah, and for one other reason, which I will discuss at the end of my sermon. At least one dove is pointing sideways, however, and one is pointing up and out in the narthex. This demonstrates that the Spirit blows where she wills, is creative, and untamed. And let me say, as I was writing this sentence, the Spirit said, “GO do something creative in the narthex!” I did- the result being the dove flying out towards the door with flames all around her- creative and untamed! This piece of art is meant to remind you, as you leave the sanctuary, that this Spirit goes with you out into the world.
You will note that the scripture passages for this morning have been put together for centuries on Pentecost Sunday. Why is this? Over the centuries, theologians have described the story in Genesis as a problem to be solved. The people unite from all over and create a common language. They built a high structure, described in this passage as the Tower of Babel. To be clear, the tower in question was at some point real, and newer archaeological techniques using ground penetrating radar are finding towers and temples dating back to at least 10,000 B.C. or more. So, some structures that held ancient societal memory were then used as an origin myth and parable in this passage, which was meant to explain the existence of different languages and cultures. Theologian John Anderson writes, “Uniformity, homogeneity, sameness, siloing is what humanity desires, but it is not an accurate expression of how God wants humanity to inhabit the world God imagines. The scattering of people and language confusion is not a curse or a punishment. It is God course-correcting the world to be in alignment with what has always been the divine intention and purpose. Toward that end, at Babel God not only blesses and sanctions diversity—God creates it.”
Some modern scholars have associated the Tower of Babel with known historical structures and accounts, particularly from ancient Mesopotamia. The most widely attributed inspiration is Etemenanki, a Ziggurat dedicated to the god Marduk in Babylon, about 85 miles south of modern-day Baghdad, Iraq. The Ziggurat in Hebrew was called “Babel.” The scant ruins of the Ziggurat enable its reconstruction to give us images like this.
The legend goes that God scattered all those in the great city across the earth, removing a common understanding and language to enable diversity. There was no canceling of DEI in God’s plans. So, there is this problem- How can the people come back together? Not under their own power. The Tower of Babel, built with human ambition and aspiration, was folly. God had something else in mind.
This brings us to the passage in Acts for this morning, God brings about a creative solution to unite people again, this time under God’s power. The people are united back together by the Holy Spirit, and the many languages spoken with the gift of the Spirit are understood and spoken by all. Inspiration is divine, not led at all by human ambition. There was unity among people from all over, as the festival of Shavuot was in full swing. Pilgrims from all over the Holy Land came together to commemorate the gift of God’s law, the Torah, at Mt. Sinai.
As we dig into the passage from Acts this morning, we read “There came a sound like the rush of a violent wind”: Acts 2:24 comprises one long sentence describing the coming of the Holy Spirit. This is no gentle in-breaking. The Spirit comes suddenly (aphno), even violently (biaias), upon the gathered. I remember about 15 years ago, when we still lived on the coast of Northern California, and I was training on the bluffs of the ocean for a 5k run, experiencing what I would call a violent biaias wind. It was blowing at times well over 5o m.p.h. A few times during that run, I could put most of my weight towards those wind gusts and be kept from falling forward. My guess is it was that kind of intense, perplexing wind that happened in Acts. Fiery tongues appear and settle on each of them (Acts 2:3). Luke makes no distinction here with regard to gender, as he will in other parts of Acts. Then the gathered begin to speak in “other tongues” (2:4) as enabled by the Spirit.
Today’s passage tells us that these pilgrims who were there for Shavuot not only spoke new languages from other lands. But they also understood one another. It would be as if many of you in our congregation from South Korea, Samoa, Ukraine, and other places all spoke in your native language, and we all gathered not only understood you, but responded in those languages. Theologian Miguel A. de la Torre in his book, Genesis: Belief, writes, “For one brief moment, we were shown how it is possible to hear one another, regardless of our different languages, cultures, ethnicities, and races.”
This uniting of people through the Spirit was scoffed at by rational thinking humans. The only explanation could be that they were imbibing, even though it was only 9 am. After all, it was “Wine O Clock” somewhere, which must be why this spectacle occurred.
Then Peter, filled with the gift of the Spirit, quoted from the prophet Joel, telling the crowds they were not drunk with spirits, but were filled with THE Spirit. Furthermore, now this Spirit, as it descended on the people, would enable all flesh to prophecy, to see visions, for young and old, male and female, to dream new dreams. The Spirit has no societal class structure. She will be given even to those in servitude. After Peter’s proclamation, followed by a much longer sermon than the one you heard this morning, thousands came to faith. The Spirit was on fire, working the crowds.
So, did the Holy Spirit only stick around for the Day of Pentecost, then head back into the heavens? No. She continued to blow through the people and does so today. The Spirit came down to be with the people and is with the people today. Why is this? It has to do with those doves around us this morning, like the one on the pulpit, pointing down above the Latin letters on the red banner, I H S-“Jesum Habermus Socium,” meaning, “Jesus, our Compassion.” God had compassion on humanity by coming down. For example, at Babel, God came down to see the tower. In Christ, God came down in human form to be among us and teach us how to live in faith and save us from sin. At Jesus’ baptism, God came down as a dove to rest upon Jesus, proclaiming Jesus as God’s Son, holy and beloved. Then, at Pentecost, God came down once again in the form of the Holy Spirit to bring humanity a gift.
If we rely solely upon our efforts, we humans will build towers of Babel in our lives that go nowhere. Furthermore, no church spires or bell towers reach high enough for us to make our way up to God. So, God comes down to us, again and again. At creation. At Babel. Through Jesus. At Pentecost. And still today in our sanctuary, through the gift of baptism, in the gift of Communion, amid the singing of a hymn, in fellowship united together, and in doing so, it offers us wisdom, direction, and hope. What a gift!
I will say that the gift of the Spirit is sometimes wild and challenging to find. I think of the Spirit as an inconsistent yet creative dance partner. Sometimes, she is tangible there, directing me to be inspired and do spontaneous art. Or at times, I ask for the Spirit to guide me with wisdom and understanding, and after some quiet and prayer, a direction or idea comes my way. Or a timely email or phone call happens to be waiting to give me inspiration and direction. At other times, I find it difficult to be led by my holy dance partner, as it seems she is elsewhere. The gift God blesses each of us with and calls us to use can help us discern our way forward in faith. Yet how do we tap into this creative and sometimes elusive force?
I would like to remind you of the ways to discern God’s will through the gift of the Holy Spirit, in part from the book Discerning God's Will, which we recently read as a congregation, by Rev. Leslie Weatherhead, and in part from my own experiences with the Spirit.
- Be guided by your conscience, which God’s Spirit leads. This is affirmed in the Westminster Confession of Faith (1647) with unmistakable clarity. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, “God alone is Lord of the conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and commandments of others which are in anything contrary to God’s Word, or beside it in matters of faith or worship.” Ultimately, we can put aside ideas that are not of God to find “This is right and this is wrong,” seeing God’s will in choosing the right and being led by the Holy Spirit.
- Time in prayer and silence. Prayer is not just talking to God. It also involves silence, patience, and listening. The Spirit can guide us into truth, wisdom, direction, and understanding through the gift of prayer.
- Time in Church—In fellowship and worship. We can reach out to others in our pews who are on the journey of faith for discernment, and as the Spirit is with us here together, we can help discern God’s will.
- The valued advice of a friend. We can discern God’s will this way, especially if that friend is a person of faith. The advice of an expert (Pastor, counselor) can also help. I have a Christian therapist who is a former pastor, and a faithful Episcopalian spiritual director. Their feedback on my life helps me discern God’s will as the Spirit directs me through their counsel.
- Reading great literature (Bible, biography, history) can also help us. For example, reading about Corrie Ten Boom’s life has inspired me to rethink forgiveness. Reading the Bible helps me understand who God is and what God wants, as the Spirit guides me through those words into truth and directs my life toward hope. Reading history about faith and looking at archeological remains dating back thousands of years helps me remember that the stories in scripture have tangible, factual underpinnings.
So, give thanks today for the Holy Spirit and use this gift! Ask the Spirit to guide you into holy wisdom and direction each day!
In closing, listen to the poem written by 14th Century Italian Mystic and poet Bianco de Sienna, who was inspired by the gift of the Spirit to write the following:
Come down, O love divine.
Seek Thou, this soul of mine.
And visit it with Thine own ardor glowing,
O Comforter, draw near.
Within my heart appear.
And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.
Alleluia. Amen.
