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“Goodness! Gracious! Great Balls of Fire!”
Sermon preached by Colleen Moravek
1When the day of Pentecost came, they
were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like
the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where
they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues
of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All
of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as
the Spirit enabled them.
5Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from
every nation under heaven. 6When they heard this sound,
a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in
his own language. 7Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are
not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8Then how
is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9Parthians,
Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea
and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia
and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11(both
Jews and converts to Judaism Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the
wonders of God in our own tongues!" 12Amazed and
perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"
13Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have
had too much wine.[b]"
14Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd:
"Fellow Jews and all of you who live in
17" 'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
18Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
20The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious
day of the Lord.
21And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.'[c]
Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditations
of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, our Strength and our Redeemer.
“Divided tongues, as of fire,
appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.” This group of believers was gathered together
to celebrate the Jewish festival of Pentecost, and “suddenly”, the Bible tells us, there was a sound like the rush of a
violent wind – the sound of a wind, not necessarily a wind – and then “divided
tongues, as of fire” among them. Oh, my gosh! Can you
imagine? Look around the room at all the
candles burning. Close your eyes for a
minute and imagine these divided tongues, as of fire. Do you picture them floating? How big are they? Are they like a flickering candle flame? Or perhaps you are picturing something more
like a dancing fireplace flame? Or maybe
your imagination produces a flame like a gas grill with too much fat dripping
off the meat threatening to sear your eyebrows?
Can you just see them? Do they
land on your neighbor’s head or her shoulders?
Can’t you just hear the vociferous person in the crowd, look up and
shout, “Goodness, gracious, great balls
of fire!”?
Today we celebrate Pentecost and
make special note of the significance of the meaning of this day for us as
Christians. The word 'Pentecost' comes
from the Greek. It was originally an Old
Testament festival, calculated as beginning on the fiftieth day after the
beginning of Passover.
The word “Pentecost” simply means 'fiftieth'. In the Christian calendar,
it falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter and ends the season of Easter; it
is the sabbath day after a
week's worth of weeks (7 x 7 = 49). It
was called the Feast of Weeks and in the Old Testament was
originally an agricultural festival celebrating and giving thanks for the
"first fruits" of the early spring harvest.
By the early New Testament period,
it had gradually lost its association with agriculture and became associated
with the celebration of God’s creation of His people and their religious
history. By the destruction of
Well, enough vocabulary and history
lesson, let’s go back to those “divided tongues, as of fire” … As I have pondered this scripture for
the past few months, debating what I might say that might give each of you some
thought to take away today – some thought that might feed your soul a little in
the days ahead, I found myself thinking over and over about the “fire” in this
message…
We all know the familiar stories in
the Bible where God appears -- or is somehow present -- in fire – to speak to
Moses from the burning bush, to guide the Israelites out of Egypt in a pillar
of fire, and of course on Mt. Sinai when Moses received Ten Commandments… Then there are the less familiar stories,
like the story of horses and chariots of fire surrounding the prophet Elisha in 2 Kings.
And of course, there are the words of John the Baptist in the New
Testament promising that Jesus would come and baptize with the Holy Spirit and
with fire.
Scientifically, what is fire? One of my favorite online encyclopedias, Wikipedia, defines fire as a phenomenon of combustion
manifested in intense heat and light in the form of a glow or flames. Intense heat and light – do you think that’s
what appeared on that first Pentecost?
Fire has supplied much of the energy which has helped humans since
ancient times. Fossil fuels such as
petroleum, natural gas and coal are burned in power plants and supply the vast
majority of the world’s electricity today.
Scientifically, it’s a cycle of combustion, heat and energy.
Controlling fire is big
business. I work in the construction
industry and manufacturers and their representatives call on me regularly to
promote their particular brand of “firestop”. Firestop is used in
commercial buildings to prevent the spread of fire (if one should begin) from
one part of a building to another.
Without fire barriers in buildings, a small fire started in the basement
can sweep through a building, uncontrolled in no time. Walls, ceilings and doors have fire ratings
and penetrations are sealed with special compounds to contain a fire if it
should begin. In a domestic living room
or bedroom, once a fire starts, it can “flashover”
(this is when the whole room catches fire – almost in an explosive fashion)
within 3 minutes, potentially reaching temperatures over 1800 degrees fahrenheit. Jim and
I were foster parents for many years and every year, when we renewed our foster
care license, we had to show the licensing social worker the fire extinguisher
under our kitchen sink. We teach our
children to “Stop, Drop and Roll” if their clothing ever catches fire. Pause.
So I wonder … Go back, in your mind, to that image
you held earlier of those “divided tongues, as of fire” … Recreate that image you pictured when I began
talking -- whether it was a flickering
candle or a dancing fireplace flame … If
suddenly you opened your eyes and saw that flame resting on your neighbor, or
on your own shoulder … What would you
do? … Would you try to put it out? Would you “Stop,
Drop and Roll?” Would you reach for the
fire extinguisher? Or might you be so
bold … as to fan it?
Okay, so you’ve never seen divided
tongues, as of fire …
But what about that idea that keeps coming back to you – you know
the idea about going back to school? (or seminary) Do you
actually do it? Or just think about
it? Or the friend you haven’t seen in
six months and suddenly you think of her while you are driving to work and you
feel an urge to pray for her and then check in with her? Do you call her later? Or what about the email a friend sent asking
you to help serve a meal at a homeless shelter?
Do you say “Yes”? Or the
colleague who is planning to work a weekend on a Habitat for Humanity project
and asks you to join him? Do you set
aside a Saturday? There is that man who
works in the mailroom in your building – you know, the recent immigrant –
you’ve wondered if he has a “cultural broker” to help him with whatever his
family needs. Do you stop and introduce
yourself and offer to help? There is the
article you read about children alone in refugee camps. Who will parent them? The list could go on and on and on…– all the
ways God speaks to us – in a still small voice or in a rushing sound like wind.
Do you fan the flames of these
urgings? Or do you Stop,
Drop and Roll? Do you extinguish
them? So these urges -- to make a change
in your life -- or give of your time -- or check in on a friend … Do you douse
these urges with practicality? After
all, your schedule is already packed – how could you possibly have time to take
a class or spend a day swinging a hammer?
Or maybe you extinguish them with common sense. You have to look after your own children; how
could you possibly find the time or financial resources to care for the
teenager whose parents are MIA because of their additions? Maybe you stomp the flames out with my own
personal favorite - apathy. Not an
in-your-face, don’t-bother-me apathy.
I’d like to think I’m too PC for that.
I suspect a favor more of an apathy that pretends that the school social
worker is all the lonely teen really needs, or an apathy that thinks a $20 bill
in the envelope for missions fulfills the obligation to help children alone in
refugee camps.
Here’s the great news,
however! Fire is powerful! There is nothing wimpy about it. It can provide vast amounts of energy – if we
claim it and use it. The flame of
Pentecost is not the kind of fire that consumes and destroys; the flame of
Pentecost is the kind of fire that warms, energizes, excites, powers. Sometimes I think about the early
church. Imagine,
they didn’t have two thousand years of Christian teaching, tradition and
culture. Yet the power of the Holy
Spirit, that force, that fire, has powered the Church all these two thousand
years, kept it going. It has fed us,
strengthened us, supernaturally. Many, in fact, think of Pentecost as the "birth
day" of the Church, because it was on that day that we received the gift
that has made it all possible. Pentecost is the Church's
celebration of the gift of the Holy Spirit. It comes from the realization that
God's very life, breath and energy lives in, with and among us.
This fire, this heat, this light,
this energy, is available to us – each and every one of us. If we draw on it, we may not be able to speak
in languages we don’t understand, but we will find that, just as suddenly as
that room was filled with the sound of a rushing wind and divided tongues as of
fire, suddenly
we will have the time to take a class or swing a hammer or help that teen whose
parents are lost to addictions. God is
not stingy about these things! The God
we worship is a God of abundance! An
abundance of power! This is heart (and
heat) of the Pentecost story! For
Christians, Pentecost Sunday is a day to celebrate hope, a hope evoked by the
knowledge that God through the Holy Spirit is at work among God’s people. It is
a celebration of newness, of recreation, of renewal of purpose, mission, and
calling as God’s people. It is a celebration of God’s ongoing work in the
world. Yet, it is also a recognition that God’s work is done through the people
– these people -- as God pours out His presence upon us.
As you leave here today, take some
time to think about the gifts the Spirit has given you. Ask yourself if there a way to use these to
build up or help bring healing to others, to the credit of God alone? The thanks that the Spirit wants for giving
gifts is in your using them instead of sitting back and frittering away the
opportunities. Christians celebrate the
Spirit that Jesus sent in His stead, and use the gifts that this Spirit has
given us in order to build up each other and the church as a whole. Pentecost is not a solemn occasion. It's a
time for vigor, excitement, energy, movement, birth, fresh air and fresh
commitment to use our gifts to the Glory of God!
I would like to close with a
prayer. This is a prayer used in the Cursillo community (Unidos en Cristo, Via de Cristo) – It is
used to open times of worship and renewal.
I keep it taped in the front of my daily journal and often use it to
start my day. It is not printed in your
bulletin, so we will pray it in an “affimbration”
style – where you repeat after me …
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts
of your faithful, and kindle in us the fire of your love.
Send forth Your Spirit and we shall
be created, and you shall renew the face of the earth.
O God, who by the light of the Holy
Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Spirit
we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations, through Christ our
Savior, Amen.