The Wind of God
“Suddenly they heard a sound like the rush of a violent wind and it filled the entire house in which they were sitting.” — Acts 2:2.
What does it mean to be called by God? (Slight pause.) I have long maintained that many church people, especially authorized ministers and ordained clergy, place too large an emphasis on the specific call to authorized and/or ordained ministry.
You see, I think God blesses each of us with multiple talents. Because we are blessed with multiple talents, there are a myriad of things we can wind up doing, ordained ministry and authorized ministry being just one arena.
Indeed, many of you know before going to seminary and being ordained I had a multiplicity of jobs. Early on, when I was still (pardon the expression) wet behind the ears, right after school I kind of stumbled into computer operations. And yes, I did that well. It turned me into a computer Geek. (If you think I’m not a computer Geek, ask Bonnie.)
A little later I turned to what I’ve often thought of as my first love— theater. Please notice: I do not know if theater is actually the place which might be the arena for my most effective talents. I love it. But again, just by becoming involved, I discovered I did have real talents for writing— writing plays and writing songs.
After that, since I was a working professional in theater and, as I am sure most of you know, there are two kinds of working professionals in theater— those who have jobs in show business and those who want to have jobs in show business— during those times I fell into the latter category, I needed a way to keep bread on the table. And to do that, to keep bread on the table, I did nearly everything under the sun from being a tour guide at South Street Seaport Museum in Lower Manhattan to being a store manager.
At some point while doing nearly everything under the sun, I somehow landed on Wall Street. I got what I thought was going to be a temporary fill in job between two theater jobs for a couple of months as a messenger. The next thing I knew I was dispatching messengers.
The next thing I knew I was working at a brokerage. The next thing I knew I was balancing and keeping track of accounts that traded millions of dollars in bonds and securities each day. (Slight pause.)
Perhaps the fact that I’ve done so many things influences me and that’s why I think God does bless each of us with multiple talents. But I’ve known too many people with multiple talents to think otherwise. I would be hard pressed to name anyone I’ve ever known who cannot do more than one thing, who fails to have multiple talents.
We might not like to admit it, but most of us can walk and talk and chew gum at the same time. In fact, most of us can walk and talk and chew gum and do a hundred other things all at the same time. (Slight pause.)
And these words are from Luke/Acts in the section commonly called Acts: “Suddenly they heard a sound like the rush of a violent wind and it filled the entire house in which they were sitting.” (Slight pause.)
Let’s go back to that question I first asked: ‘What does it mean to be called by God?’ (Slight pause.) Let me give you the brief version of my answer. It means to participate in the work of God. But that answer opens up a can of worms. After all, what is the work of God? And what does it mean to participate in that work? (Slight pause.)
One of the things I deeply appreciate about Scripture is that every time I read it, it seems to present new possibilities to me. You see, the slogan used by our denomination probably has it right. God is still speaking.
Knowing Pentecost was on the calendar, when I approached the Second Chapter of Acts in preparation for today, what jumped out at me was the metaphor, the picture of God as wind. Suddenly and for the first time I realized this is the same metaphor used for the presence of God in the First Chapter of Genesis.
(Quote:) “At the beginning of God’s creating of the heaven and the earth— when the earth was unformed and void, wild and waste, filled with chaos and emptiness, as night reigned over the surface of the deep, a wind from God, the rushing Spirit of God swept over the face of the waters.” [1]
In Genesis this wind of God, this breath of God takes chaos and transforms it into the order we know as creation. Hence, the essential work of God in all Genesis is to make order from chaos. God creates.
Then here, in the Second Chapter of Acts, we find the same metaphor for God— wind. Thereby, this passage— as the story in verses after what was read relates— is not about speaking in tongues. It is not about the preaching of Peter. It is not about the conversion of people gathered in Jerusalem.
These words are about bringing order to chaos. These words are about new life— sudden, unmerited, irresistible new life. That is the reality the Pentecost narrative broadcasts.
Thus, these words are about both an end and a beginning, the leaving behind of that which is past, the launching forth into that which is only now beginning to be. Pentecost is therefore not a time of completion. The presence of the Spirit of God is not about the completion of anything.
The presence of the Spirit of God is about moving forward into new dimensions of being. The presence of the Spirit of God is about a world in which the basic forms may be clear, but it is also about a world whose fulfillment has yet to be realized.
In short, the presence of the Spirit of God— the reality we call Pentecost— is about what we do, about what we can do, about what we are called to do in the Dominion of God. Which brings us back to that question: ‘What does it mean to be called by God?’
To be called by God means to be constantly listening to where God leads us as individuals and as a community. To be called by God means to be constantly listening to where God leads us in relationship with each other. To be called by God means to offer shelter, food, clothes, medical care to those in need. That seems awfully simple, doesn’t it. (Slight pause.)
It may seem strange but to be called by God means you never need to ask about a lack of talent. God does not call the qualified. God qualifies the called. So to be called by God means to be open to the wind of God, open to the will of God, open to the Spirit of God. (Slight pause.)
This quote that I am about to use is sometimes attributed to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. It is sometimes attributed to Marianne Williamson. [2] Either way it works for me. (Quote:) “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be?”
You see, Pentecost is about our participation in the Dominion of God. And we can do that. Amen.
05/19/2013
United Church of Christ, First Congregational, Norwich, New York.
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Congregational Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Earlier I used a quote sometimes attributed to Archbishop Desmond Tutu, sometimes attributed to Marianne Williamson but I truncated it. I made it short. I’d like to offer the full quote. ‘Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.’ Put another way, our God given talents are more about helping our neighbors than we realize and certainly more about our neighbors than they are about us.”
BENEDICTION: The love of God is abundant and steadfast. When we give God’s love away, it returns in breathtaking abundance. Let us willingly participate in the grace God offers. May we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God enough, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. And may the Word of God be on our tongues, the wisdom of God be with our thinking and the love of God be present in our hearts. Amen.
[1] Genesis 1:1-2 [ILV].
[2] Of course, the quote is also sometimes attributed to Nelson Mandella.
No comments:
Post a Comment