Pentecost Sunday – Year B
Ezekiel 37:1-14
Acts 2:1-21
Newport Presbyterian Church
Bellevue, Washington
May 24, 2015
E.S.L.
One of my favorite jokes is one that asserts that both Adam and Eve were in fact
Hispanic. The joke claims that the reason we know they were Hispanic is because: “Dios les
dijo, ‘Si coman la fruta del árbol, perecerán;’ y entonces la comieron, y ya Pérez son.” Get it?
[crickets]
Apparently not, at least for the vast majority of non-Spanish speakers among you. The
joke is a play on words focused on the conjugation of the Spanish verb meaning “to perish” from
its third person plural future conditional tense against its present indicative tense, and then deftly
substituting the homophonic and common Spanish last name “Perez” to imply that that was
actually Adam and Eve’s last name. But then, nothing kills a punch line more than having to
explain it. It loses something in the translation.
Today being Pentecost Sunday – or as some would have it, the “birthday” of the Church
– we festoon the sanctuary and wear the color red to harken back to the day when the tongues of
fire descended from heaven upon the disciples who were gathered together in a house. Some
would focus on the tongues of fire as the divine miracle in the tale, and the fact that the fire or
fires failed to consume anyone or anything is perhaps a minor miracle in itself. We have seen
this kind of fire before, when God confronted Moses with the burning bush that was not
consumed. Heaven’s pyrotechnics are safety-rated, after all.
The fact that the disciples continued to be gathered together as a group at all may be a
miracle, too. Imagine an entourage of good ol’ boys surrounding a charismatic figure who the
supreme government had just summarily executed for treason. Continuing social engagement
with one another, in the provincial seat of the imperial government, no less, would be
strategically unwise under such dire circumstances. A better plan might have been to scatter and
head for the hills, out of sight of the imperial authorities hell-bent on preserving their
stranglehold on the spiritual life of Jews in Roman-occupied Palestine. The fact that they
weren’t captured or pursued may itself be a miracle, but it was more likely due to the fact that
they remained in hiding for the forty days since Jesus’ death.
But I think the real miracle here is the fact that this small assemblage of fishermen, tax
collectors and tradesmen – real “blue collar” guys if there ever were any – suddenly, without any
warning, became linguistic experts. And we are not talking mere dialects here. A true mix of
Indo-European and Semitic languages were being spoken. Luke tells us that all the disciples
became instantly multi-lingual and that they were able to proclaim the gospel unimpeded by the
usual hindrances of literacy and education. Twenty-first century Christians tend to forget the
fact that given their professions, the twelve disciples would have been illiterate, unable to read or
write in their native Aramaic tongue and certainly not the ancient Greek Koine dialect that is the
source of the New Testament. Their whole understanding of both the Hebrew Scriptures and the
Sermon – E.S.L.
Newport Presbyterian Church, Bellevue, WA
May 24, 2015
Page 2 of 5
source of Jesus’ teachings would have been purely by oral traditions passed down to them by
rote instruction.
Yet here they are, in the very precincts of the Temple in Jerusalem, and they are finally
connecting the dots between the Messiah of Isaiah’s prophecy and the teachings of their itinerant
rabbi, Jesus of Nazareth. They attract the attention of the notably diverse population of ex-pats
in the city who wonder how this is possible that these smelly Galileans can be such astute
translators. Some snarky types suggest the motley crew has imbibed too much of the hard stuff,
but Peter sharpens his verbal sword and puts them in their place, quoting almost word-for word
verses from the prophet Joel. “I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth
below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.”
Now there’s no excuse. Everyone has heard the message, in their native tongue, no less,
so ignorance of the message is not an issue. Jesus was right when he told the disciples just
before he ascended into heaven that they would proclaim the gospel to the ends of the earth.
Here in the beginning of the Book of Acts, they’ve already planted the seed of their worldwide
outreach, and the gospel of Jesus Christ is about to “go viral.” Each has been given the most
effective tool for proclamation, the gift of language.
Implicit in this understanding is the fact that the use of native tongues to communicate
and engage the world is more than just a linguistic exercise. The miracle of Pentecost confirms
God’s plan to embrace and enliven multi-culturalism. The Book of Acts turns the Tower of
Babel narrative from Genesis on its head. Whereas Babel saw an edifice of human fashioning
daring to approach a distant God, Pentecost sees God’s approach to humankind solely on the part
of that same God. Babel saw humankind getting uncomfortably close to God; Pentecost sees
God in the Holy Spirit filling all the believers and changing them from within. Babel saw
humankind cursed by the multiplicity of languages, focused on a subsequent inability to
communicate and coordinate with one another; Pentecost sees that same multiplicity of
languages as a miracle of God’s intervention and a tool for the eventual reconciliation of
humankind in Christ through proclamation of the Gospel.
Luke’s rendition of the early Church’s history is replete with lessons for the modern-day
Church. Like the eastern Mediterranean during the Roman occupation, we live in an
increasingly polyglot society where divine revelation and spiritual meaning are bartered with
ease. As the Pew Research data released this month shows, Christian self-identity is on the wane
in America, with those identifying as “un-churched” undergoing a marked increase in numbers.
Even among those identifying as Christian, a significant number assert their “spiritual, but not
religious” orientation. But contrary to most, I find this to be a healthy trend for the Christian
witness.
For too long, most Christian witness has been little more than social obligation or
community practice. Christian identity in American has been one shaped by birth and
circumstance, not the active affirmation of theological principle. It is much like the valley of the
dry bones described in the Ezekiel reading, a dusty remnant of a once vibrant movement that
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Sermon – E.S.L.
Newport Presbyterian Church, Bellevue, WA
May 24, 2015
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sought to change the world for the better. New life is needed, and with the breath of life, the
Church can indeed come alive again.
Today, we will welcome persons into membership – and later this morning, into ordained
church office -- who largely buck the national trend, whose journey of faith has led them to this
place and this community of Newport. They seek to join us in overt affirmation of principles
that most of them were not raised with, and they do so with candor, gratitude, wonder, and even
a healthy dose of doubt. We welcome them into our midst and into leadership today, giving
thanks to God that they have chosen to unite with us or lead us in this transitional time, not quite
sure of the destination of our spiritual journey or the outcome of our future deliberations, but
willing to be a part of the community’s discernment process nevertheless. They offer us their
dreams and their visions, and as a community of fellow believers, we hope we will be deserving
of their wisdom and insight. They will bring us new ideas, new experiences, and new insights.
They will expand the cultural language that shapes us as a community of faith, and they will
enliven our reflection with new ways of thinking about the issues we face today as a community
and faith in transition. They are as tongues of fire in that crowded room from so long ago,
gifting us with an ever-expanding language of new experiences that will hopefully make us more
relevant and effective in our desire to live into the Great Commission in an environment itself
undergoing great change.
So like the disciples of long ago, let us welcome them into our communion with joy and
thanksgiving. There’s cake and coffee, and hymns of praise to observe their arrival and election.
And maybe – just maybe – they’ll have good joke to share with us.
To God be the glory! Alleluia! Amen.
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EZEKIEL 37:1-14
1
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and
set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2He led me all round them; there were
very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. 3He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones
live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” 4Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and
say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. 5Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I
will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. 6I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh
to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you
shall know that I am the Lord.“7So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied,
suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. 8I looked,
and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but
there was no breath in them. 9Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and
say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe
upon these slain, that they may live.” 10I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came
into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.
Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our
bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ 12Therefore prophesy, and
say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from
your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. 13And you shall know
that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people.
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I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then
you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.”
11
ACTS 2:1-21
1
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly
from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house
where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested
on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And
at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in
the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are
speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
9
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and
Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors
from Rome, both Jews and proselytes 11Cretans and Arabs — in our own languages we hear
them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one
another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea
and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these
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are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was
spoken through the prophet Joel:
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21
‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”