“Water, Wind, and Wine” (A Meditation)

"Water, Wind, and Wine" (A Meditation)

Year C Pentecost Sunday June 5, 2022

John 14:8-17        Acts 2:1-21

First preached on June 3, 2001 by Rev. Andrew M. Kennaly in Whitefish, Montana

          When I have a week where writing a sermon is difficult because of time constraints, sometimes people suggest I just recycle an old sermon, use an old sermon.  That’s easier said than done because old sermons were written in their own context and as time goes on they don’t always fit the new scene.  But since today’s Pentecost the theme happens every year, I’ve turned to my archive, way back to the year 2001.  This would have been my third year serving as Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Whitefish, Montana, and my sixth year of pastoring following ordination.  Let’s see what that younger pastor has to say to us today….

Pentecost: what is it?  As one commentary puts it,

“The word ‘Pentecost’ is based on the Greek word for 50; Pentecost was a feast observed 50 days after the Passover.  One purpose of the day was a spring harvest festival: a time of thanksgiving to God for the earth’s bounty.”

“Another theme of Pentecost was commemoration of the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai.  As Moses’ encounter with God on Sinai was accompanied by lightning (divine fire) and wind, so also the events in Jerusalem are described in terms of divine fire and wind/Spirit.  Both the Decalogue [which is…the Ten Commandments] and Holy Spirit are gifts from a righteous and loving God, and the faithful human response to such gifts is gratitude and obedience.” (Pulpit Resource pg. 44)

So here we are on Pentecost Sunday, with its symbols of wind, fire, and Spirit.  We come to give thanks to God for all that God has done for us.  We come to give thanks to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit.  We give thanks to God for grace and law, out of gratitude and obedience.  We come to celebrate the birthday of the Church, and to seek God’s vision for us today as we offer ourselves for the work of God’s Kingdom.

This all leads us to the basics of Christian faith, that God, out of grace, comes to us in Jesus Christ and offers redemption and new life in his name.  We’re filled with God’s Spirit to be used for God’s purposes, so that through the Church, living in gratitude and obedience, the world may know that Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Today we get to the basics of Christian faith by baptizing with water, (apparently we had a baptism that day, today we remember our baptisms). [In baptism we claim] the presence of God’s Holy Spirit, and remember what Christ has done for us by breaking bread and pouring juice.  Water, Wind, and Wine are symbols of God’s eternal salvation story, and a means for our particular connection to God’s loving grace.

Pentecost for a Jewish person was a lot like our Thanksgiving Holiday, where we travel to be with loved ones in order to have a big feast.  While we eat, we count our blessings and return our thanks to God.

It’s in that context, as the disciples gathered in one place in Jerusalem, thankful for what God had done and waiting to see what God had in store for them, that God’s Spirit comes as a mighty rushing wind and fire from heaven.  God’s Spirit equips them for ministry to all the nations, so that they can fulfill Christ’s command to go to the nations, baptize the people, and teach them all that he commands.  By the Spirit’s presence, his words, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” are fulfilled.  God’s Spirit comes to us and will never leave us alone.

That’s why we’re here, that’s why we observe the sacraments of baptism and communion.  These are sacred moments commanded by Christ, gifted by the presence of the Holy Spirit of God, times of renewing our faith and finding strength for the journey.  We gather for the sacraments to hear the “invitation to respond to the ‘new thing’ God continues to do among those who would be Christ’s disciples.  [We’re] enabled to recognize the Spirit’s gifts in [our] midst and [urged] to employ [to use] those gifts to announce that ‘whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (PR pp. 44-45).

So lets go into the week ahead mindful that just as God has given the Spirit to those first disciples so they could minister around the world, God has given us the Spirit to minister in and through our own lives.  So ask yourself, what gift or gifts has God given me that I can use for the work of God’s Kingdom?  How can I, through the Spirit, connect with others (the Church) so that ministry happens?  What is God calling you as an individual and us as a group to do or be about?  For with God’s Spirit present, why shouldn’t we be doing what God commands?

We are missional people: claimed by God, sent by Christ, equipped by God’s Spirit.  We are to give ourselves away for the work of the Kingdom.  For thanksgiving leads to gratitude and obedience in living.  And by the water, wind and wine, we are God’s people and our calling is great.  Glory be to God for the gifts of God to the people of God!  Amen.