Go With the Flow

Sermon for Sunday, May 31, 2009 - Pentecost Sunday
Scripture: Acts 2:1-21

We are in a spirit of celebration today, the last day of May. Summer has arrived, we have all these confirmands among us, we celebrate the birth of the church through the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the school year has ended for some, and it is just about to end for others. We even have high school and college graduates in our midst, and our beloved hockey team is poised to bring back the Stanley Cup.

Indeed, what a time of celebration. Each year at this time, when Alice Cooper’s song “School’s Out” becomes a daily fixture on the radio, I remember the scenes from the last day of school: students joyously running through the halls, throwing papers around like confetti, hugging and dancing with each other, because there’s “no more pencils, no more books, no more teachers’ dirty looks.”

School’s out, which leads to mass celebration – hopefully non-destructive, healthy celebration, of course. And what happens is that students seem to spill out of school, as if the building can no longer contain the people and the enthusiasm it once held. And that’s how this scene in the 2nd chapter of Acts unfolds. The disciples have gathered for a house meeting, presumably coming together to worship the resurrected Christ. Suddenly, the Holy Spirit descends on them, and before we know it they are out in the streets, speaking of the good deeds of God’s power.

What I find most intriguing about this passage is that there’s obvious movement from inside to outside, but Luke, the writer of Acts, does not include that in the narration. It’s as if Luke assumed he didn’t have to tell us that the disciples moved out into the streets, because it’s common knowledge that the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives would move us out into the world to meet the curious crowds.

When the disciples are out in the streets, or maybe even before that, everyone around knows there’s something going on. It’s obvious that this is not just another normal day. Here are a dozen men speaking in their own language, Aramaic, yet these foreign Jews understand in their own languages. Part of the crowd is asking, “What’s going on?” while the rest of the crowd is asking, “Have you guys been hitting the sauce a little early this morning?” Believers and doubters alike are asking questions. Everyone has a question on this day, because something inexplicable is going on. Everyone has a question on the day of Pentecost. That much is obvious.

Occasionally, Lisa and I attend Pittsburgh Steelers football games. My favorite part of attending a game at the stadium is after a win, when a spirit of victory and celebration resonates through the concourses and the ramps. The crowd spills out of the stadium, many of them over the bridge and into downtown, and clueless bystanders can instantly figure out if the game was a win or a loss, depending on how the black and gold crowd is acting. And the same questions come: either “What’s going on?” or “Are you drunk?” I must say that at times I’ve been so raucous at sporting events that people will often ask me if I’m drunk. Even though I’m not, I still get mistaken for someone who is, because it’s obvious I’m filled with some kind of spirit, whether it’s spirituous drinks or the spirit of victory.

When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, it’s obvious to all onlookers that something’s going on. Some may mistake our fervor for drunkenness, but others may stop and ask us why we are acting just so: “What’s gotten into you?” It is obvious from reading this passage that the Holy Spirit is not something that can be contained. Why do you think scripture talks about the Holy Spirit as wind or fire? It’s because wind and fire are two things that are difficult to contain. They’re two things that run free and wild, overflowing through the world.

And when the revelry from a sporting event pours out into the streets, it usually gathers more people into the crowd. It has a snowball effect, picking up more and more people as it flows, much like the parade scene from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. If you’ve seen that movie, then you know that Ferris is a high school student who decides to skip school one day. He and a couple friends head to downtown Chicago to live it up, and do they ever. At one point, Ferris sneaks into a parade, where he sings “Donka Shane,” followed by “Twist and Shout.” His spirited singing attracts people toward the parade, where they join in the singing and dancing. Ferris is so filled with enthusiasm that it overflows into those around him – his spirit spreads like wildfire through the streets of downtown Chicago.

The Holy Spirit spread like wildfire through the streets on the Day of Pentecost. It was contagious – the disciples were so filled with the Holy Spirit that they could not be contained in their house. The Holy Spirit was overflowing, pouring out of the house and out of the disciples, so that everyone knew something was going on. What a strange sight this must have been – a normal morning on the street turning into an event so raucous that the only logical explanation was drunkenness.

And it was caused by drunkenness – being drunk on the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit with which the disciples were filled was poured out not just on them, but as Peter said, “upon all flesh.” The Holy Spirit came for everyone – not just the disciples meeting inside, not just for the onlookers who believed, but all flesh. Every living thing has received the gift of the Holy Spirit. It has been poured out for you and for many – for you, for me, for us, for them, for everyone. And so much of the Holy Spirit has been poured out, it overflows from inside to outside. The house cannot contain the Holy Spirit, and so it flows into the busy streets.

As Christ’s disciples, the Holy Spirit comes to fill us. The Holy Spirit comes to push us out of our homes, out of our place of worship, and into the world where that same spirit can spill out into the streets, flowing right through the middle of everything. The Holy Spirit is not like a piece of cake received at a celebration, passing through us for a time but then forgotten about. The Holy Spirit is a radical, transformative catalyst that gets us moving. A radical, transformative catalyst – a more sophisticated way of saying that the Holy Spirit is the fire that God has lit under our butts.

Can you feel that fire under your posterior? Can you feel the wind carrying you out into the world? Can you feel the Holy Spirit filling you up so much that you’re overflowing with love? As you flow through the world, are you making a scene? Do people notice that you’re filled with some spirit, even if they can’t figure out what spirit you’re filled with? Is it obvious that something’s happening when people look at you and hear you? Are the good deeds of God’s power proclaimed by your words and actions? Are others catching the contagious Holy Spirit that flows through you?

My friends, the Holy Spirit is ready to move us and lead us. Just as the Youghiogheny River flows straight through the center of this town, the Holy Spirit is supposed to flow right through the center of our hearts. And when we allow that to happen, then the Holy Spirit is then supposed to flow right through the center of this world, making a scene, causing a ruckus, attracting curious believers AND sneering doubters, pouring out God’s love on everyone and everything. Will we go with the flow of the Holy Spirit in this world, letting that wind pick us up, or will we let the Holy Spirit flow right by, denying ourselves the possibility for transformation and jubilation? In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.