Open to Listening
“Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us hears these words in our own native language?’” — Acts 2:7-8
It has often occurred to me we all believe in magic. [The pastor throws red foil streamers up on the air.] Why else would so many insist on the reality of the detail about tongues of fire in the Pentecost story? [The pastor again throws red foil streamers up on the air.]
Why else would so many give so much credence to speaking in tongues? [The pastor again throws red foil streamers up on the air, then beckons a choir member to take some red foil streamers and pass them around. That choir member does this.]
Speaking in tongues— glossolalia to use the official Greek word— is something some people would have us believe is a part of a holy language. Some consider it a proof of a of true faith.
Others believe the vocalizations heard with speaking in tongues are meaningless. Which is not to say those vocalizations fail to be real. It is to say critics cite hypnosis and social learning as explanations.
To be blunt, for most of us in main line traditions, it’s likely speaking in tongues is considered just weird. Some, probably as quietly as they can, claim the people who practice speaking in tongues are mentally ill.
However, in 1969 a team from the University of Minnesota conducted an extensive study among people who regularly practiced this phenomena. They did extensive research into that possibility. The researchers saw the practice as valid and not related to mental health issues.
These researchers examined practitioners in the United States, Mexico, Haiti and Colombia, in many Protestant groups, especially among Pentecostals, all the way to what might be called the other end of the spectrum— Roman Catholics. Mental illness was not a conclusion. In 2003 another study said the only odd thing about it was that people who practiced speaking in tongues were stable but quite clearly extremely extroverted. [1]
However, I think the real issue which needs to be raised about the attention many seem to pay to speaking in tongues is not about its veracity, its reality, whether or not it happened or happens whether or not its about mental illness or even about whether or not its simply magic. [The pastor again throws red foil streamers up on the air.] The issue raised by the depiction of the Pentecost event found in Scripture much more concerns what we do in response to the actions of God and the Word of God than anything else.
And it seems obvious to me we are by far too ready to believe in miracles and believe, therefore, in the power of others or the power of an outside force rather than to see ourselves as a part of the miracle, rather than to see ourselves as central to what this story addressees.
So, do we sometimes see strange behavior? Strange behavior is not the point. Do we see miracles? [The pastor throws red foil streamers up on the air.] Miracles are not the point. (Slight pause.)
And these words are from Luke/Acts in the section commonly called Acts: “Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? How is it that each of us hears these words in our own native language?’” (Slight pause.)
Even to the casual reader of this passage it should be evident that if there is any miracle to be experienced, it is not in the speaking of unknown languages. If there is any miracle here, the miracle is in the hearing— in the hearing of those who listened.
How it was said and even what was said does not really matter. What matters is how it was heard and what was heard. What matters is the reception, not the broadcast. (Slight pause.)
So, what do we hear? Is the Spirit still speaking today? Certainly, that is what our denomination claims. God is still speaking.
But do we trust that God is still speaking and that God is inviting us to the work of God or have we turned church into just a social gathering? (Long pause.) In short, do we believe that God is working in the world and do we believe that God invites us to do the work of God in the world? (Long pause.)
There is a video on youtube about Pentecost in which these words are flashed on the screen. (Slight pause.) Quote: “Go ahead. Admit it. You are wondering about your future. You are maybe even worrying about your future.”
“Do we, those in the church, even have a future? Will our church survive? Will our children have faith? Will our faith have children?”
“There are so many challenges. Money. Divisions. Arguments. We are getting older. How are we going to get things done?”
“We don’t know the people next door anymore. Why would they want to come to our church?”
“People pass by. We don’t know them. No one comes in. They remain outside. We are inside.”
“And so we wait. And we watch. And we worry. But we don’t know what to do. Won’t someone come and help us?”
“These are big questions,” the video continues. “But you are not the first to ask them. Did you know there’s a story in the Bible that is exactly like this?”
“Do you remember? There were only a few left. People passed by outside. The small group remained inside— waiting, watching— and they did not know what to do.”
“And then...... Wind. Fire. Noise. And....... silence.” (Long pause.)
“So, what happened? No one came and took away their problems. Instead the Spirit was recognized in their midst and that created a new problem.”
“That’s right. The Holy Spirit— recognized right in their midst. And that created a problem.”
“They could not stay inside. They had to go outside. They had to go outside and preach. And serve. And care. And witness. And teach. And pray. And invite. And love. And preach, serve, care, witness, teach, pray, invite, love. Preach, serve, care, witness, teach, pray, invite, love. That is Pentecost” (Slight pause.)
The video does not stop there. Here’s what it says: “So, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The bad news is: no one is coming to fix your problems. The good news is: the solutions you seek are all around you. You have the strength. You have the courage. You have the compassion. And you have a story to tell.”
“Our problem isn’t money. Our problem isn’t divisions. Our problem isn’t arguments. Our problem is we have a story to tell and we need to tell it.”
Words from the video continue to unfold on the screen: “Now, imagine one person— one person reaching out to another and then another and then another to tell, to hold, to share, to listen, to love, to pray, to feed, to teach. And to tell, to hold, to share, to listen, to love, to pray, to feed, to teach. Tell, hold, share, listen, love, pray, feed, teach. Why? Because that is Pentecost. The Spirit is with us.” [2] (Long pause.)
[The pastor throws red foil streamers up on the air.] Too often we want magic. Too often we wait for magic. [The pastor throws red foil streamers up on the air.] There is no such thing as magic from outside of us. We are the magic. (Slight pause.)
And, by the grace of God, we can be and are empowered to listen for and to hear the Word of God. It is my experience that the last thing the Word of God invites us to do is to be static. The last thing the Word of God invites us to do is to buy into magic solutions.
So, therefore, Pentecost does create a problem. Are we willing to be attentive to the Word of God? You see, the Word of God invites us— invites us to tell, to hold, to share, to listen, to love, to pray, to feed, to teach. Amen.
06/12/2011
United Church of Christ, First Congregational
ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Choral Response and Benediction. This is an précis of what was said: “Here’s an interesting question: do you know a surefire way to write a best seller? Hire a ghost writer. It’s what Jack Kennedy did when Profiles in Courage was written. It won Kennedy a Pulitzer Prize, even though he did not write it. Kennedy’s ghost writer on that occasion was also Kennedy’s prime speech writer, the late Ted Sorensen. Sorensen insisted that Kennedy wrote at least 90% of his Inaugural Address himself, including the famous line: ‘Ask not what your country can do for you — ask what you can do for your country.’ In short, when it really counted, Kennedy did it for himself. He did not get a ghost writer. He did not subcontract the work out. Church is the same. You cannot expect the church to be successful if you subcontract the work out. The Holy Ghost, to use the old fashioned term, is present and with us. But employing ghostwriters won’t work, won’t make for a successful church.”
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossolalia
[2] This is from Working Preacher: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmweXyEeoBw>. I have made some minor alterations in the text to suit this occasion.
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