Text: Acts 2:1-21

Title: Happy 2004th Birthday

Thesis: The birthday of the church is celebrated with God’s blowing the spirit upon us.

Time: Pentecost Sunday, A

A few years ago I went on a guided tour of Washington D.C.  The bus took us from one landmark or building to another.  We stopped at each site for about ten to fifteen minutes.  Of all the various buildings and public landmarks I saw, the one that had the biggest impact on me was the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  Seeing listed on a wall 500 feet long and 10 feet high the names of all the men and women who died in the line of service makes a powerful impression.  Seeing that wall reminded me of the great price we Americans will make to defend our way of life that includes liberty, democracy and freedom.

I went to Washington D.C. in the winter time, snow began to fall during the bus tour, big white, fluffy snow.  The snow added to my seeing the Vietnam Memorial.  The beautiful white snow made such a contrast to the cold, black granite memorial wall symbolizing death.  It goes that as Americans with the liberties we enjoy, we should not forget those who have died to make possible the way of living that we enjoy.  And so, let’s remember this Memorial Day weekend all the servicemen and women who have died defending our country.

We also celebrate today as Pentecost Sunday.  That doesn’t mean that on this Sunday we all turn into Pentecostals.  What Pentecost Sunday means is that we remember some 2004 years ago in Jerusalem, give or take a few years depending on the accuracy of the calendar, that the disciples of Jesus were observing the Jewish day of Pentecost.  But something unique happened on that day.  What happened could be described in a Pentecostal sort of way –God’s Spirit descended and people started speaking in tongues.  What happened could be described in a fulfillment of prophecy sort of way –Jesus predicted that soon God’s Spirit would come to empower and equip the disciples to continue on the mission of telling others about the love of God.  What happened on that Pentecost Sunday in Jerusalem 2004 years ago could be described as a birth, the birth of the Church.

Quickly, the events that lead up to the birth of the church: Jesus is risen from the grave.  Jesus appears to the disciples and tells them that he must return to heaven.  So what will the disciples do for guidance and leadership?  Jesus promises that Holy Spirit will come to empower and equip them to carry on the ministry.  Listen to what is written at the end of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says, Luke 24:45, “Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.  You are witnesses of these things.  And see, I am sending upon you what my Father promised; so stay here in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’”

In the interim, until the Holy Spirit comes, the disciples are just to sit and wait.  They are not to go anywhere, not to say anything, not to perform any godly act.  No, they are just to sit and wait.  Crucial for them will be receiving the Holy Spirit in order to carry on the mission of telling others about God’s love.

And then it happens.  Acts 2, the Holy Spirit descends upon them.  Listen to Acts 2:2, “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.”  All the power to do great deeds, all the wisdom and right things to say could now occur for God’s Spirit had descended upon them.  And once the Spirit falls, there is no stopping the disciples.  Every chapter in Acts following Acts 2 can be summed up in this way, “And once the Holy Spirit came, there was no stopping them.”

All kinds of people, and government officials, and religious authorities, and laws and customs and logic attempt to stop the disciples in their mission of telling others about God’s love.  But once it got started, once the Holy Spirit came, there was no stopping them.  Even today, as the church celebrates her 2004th birthday, there is still no stopping us, for the Holy Spirit continues to guide the church, to equip the church and to empower the church for the mission of telling others about God’s love.

I remember that as a child my favorite part about birthday parties was blowing out the candles.  Of course, I enjoyed unwrapping presents and getting new toys, but I immensely enjoyed blowing out the candles.  I liked to count the candles, seeing the extra candle made me feel older, no longer eight but now nine years old, etc.  I liked when the candles were lit everyone would sing “Happy Birthday.”  And I liked making a wish and blowing out the candles. 

What happens in Acts 2 is God makes a wish.  God’s wish is that Jesus’ sacrifice and death will have maximum benefit.  In fact, God desires that all people will be saved and have a relationship with God.  The primary way God chooses to get out the good news of what Jesus has done is by creating the church.  Look at Acts 2, immediately after the disciples are given the Holy Spirit, what do they do?  Down in Acts 2:14, Peter goes out and begins telling people about Jesus.  Down in Acts 2:21, “Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved,” he concludes his sermon.  God’s wish, like blowing out the candles, occurs as Jesus breathes his Spirit upon all of us who live as followers of Jesus. 

Now, I will confess that I still like blowing out the candles on my birthday cake.  However, at my age, instead of having 30 something candles on the cake, I have those candles in the shape of numbers, that way there’s just two candles to blow out. Every year, I remember that I have grown a little older, and hopefully a little more wiser and mature.

As the church celebrates her 2004th birthday, what does the church look like?  Well, the church is increasing a global church.  The fastest growth in Christianity is taking place in third world countries, especially in Africa and the Philippines.  Even at our United Methodist General Conference this year, 20% of the delegates came from other countries, many from third world countries.  The church is becoming more diverse as followers of Christ come from a variety of cultures and backgrounds.

The church, especially in America, is growing older.  For example,

Not unlike the young Church in the book of Acts, the church today has many challenges and obstacles that hinder our telling others about God’s love.  Today, reading the book of Acts is like hearing a motivational speech that “Once it got started, there was no stopping it.”  Even today, there is no stopping the church as we rely upon God’s spirit to empower, to equip and to guide us into a new century.

It’s often said, “You are only as old as you feel.”  Today, as the church, even as St. Luke United Methodist Church, let us feel young and alive and empowered that nothing can stop us.  Let us be strong in relying on our past traditions that have carries us through tough times.  Let us be courageous in practicing new things and new ways that will make the Gospel relevant to a new generation who need to hear of God’s love.  And let us give an ongoing witness that there is no stopping us.