It Only Takes a Spark… Acts 2: 1-21 May 27, 2007 Pentecost Communion Meditation

Politics and religion. Religion and politics. Always strange bedfellows, and often an invitation to bad outcomes when brought to this context. The wise pastor knows that it is generally a bad idea to express a political point of view from the pulpit.

And that would be particularly true in a Communion meditation. It is clearly the time for me to leave Jeff and Jeff’s personal views – to the extent that it is ever possible – outside this Sanctuary.

But – and you knew there was going to be a “but,” didn’t’ you? – this is one of those occasions when I simply can’t help myself. Actually, I think you’ll see I have not stepped over that line. I am not expressing a point of view this morning – just encouraging you to form one.

You see, as we have already recognized, we celebrate Communion today because it is Pentecost Sunday – arguably the third most important day in the Christian year (after Easter, number one and Christmas, number two). And, as everyone here knows full well, it is also Memorial Day Weekend – the Holiday set aside, in our country, to honor those American servicemen and servicewomen who have died on the field of battle.

It seems to me, therefore, that we need to find a way, today, to reconcile –or at the very least acknowledge – those two very different, and potentially conflicting celebrations. The political and the religious.

The easy way to do this would be to tip our hat to Memorial Day – possibly with a prayer for those families who have lost a son or a daughter and our thanks for the many who volunteer to serve – and then focus the rest of our energy on Pentecost. But somehow, this year, that doesn’t seem to be sufficient.

Because staring us in the face on this Memorial Day Weekend, 2007, is the harsh reality that this is the fifth Memorial Day in a row that our nation has been at war. And also staring us in the face – this year and every year at this time – is the powerful reminder that the Spirit of God has been given to us and that we are expected, as children of God, to allow the Spirit to move us to heal a broken world.

The message of Pentecost, simply put, is a message of healing and reconciliation. When God’s Spirit descended on the disciples that day, they were empowered beyond any rational explanation. They were ecstatic. People thought they had been drinking!

But getting hung up on their ecstatic speech would be missing the point. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit that day enabled the disciples to communicate in such a way as to promote understanding among those who previously could not understand one another.

This indwelling of the Holy Spirit essentially reversed the curse of the Tower of Babel.

In that Babel story from the Book of Genesis, you will recall, the world was divided. At Pentecost, the potential was given for the world to be united once more. The power of the Spirit made it possible for people of every tribe, nation and language to make up a new community of faith – uniting all of humanity.

So, brothers and sisters, as we prepare ourselves today for this holy Pentecostal meal – and, indeed, as we prepare to celebrate Memorial Day in whichever way we might celebrate it tomorrow – I suggest we all do two things:

First, let us give thanks to God for the memory of the brave men and women who have sacrificed their lives in this difficult, complicated war. Their bravery and courage is impossible to measure.
And second, let us take a moment and think about the direction our Nation is going with respect to our military commitments – in Iraq particularly, but also throughout the world. Let us examine that direction in light of the message of Pentecost and our calling as the Spirit-filled Church to heal this broken world, and allow the Spirit to inform our point of view.

You will notice, I hope, that I am not trying to change your mind this morning. I’m happy to leave that job – or, perhaps, the job of strengthening your current resolve – to the Holy Spirit. What I am trying to do, however, is to persuade you to be open to the Spirit’s leading – in every facet of your life, to be sure, but, on this Memorial Day Weekend in particular, in the way you look at a war which has already produced nearly 3,500 new, young reasons to do what Memorial Day reminds us to do – remember those American servicemen and women who sacrificed their lives. I do not believe a Christian can look away. All of us need to prayerfully allow our faith to inform the way we examine our support for or our disagreement with this conflict.

But before we do gather around this table, let me close with some good news. In a few minutes, you will be invited to rise and extend the right hand of fellowship to those around you. When you do that, you will possibly be reminded that there aren’t very many of us here this morning.

Guess what? There are more of us here today than there were disciples that day of Pentecost. Or if you want to fast-forward a few centuries, there are more of us here today than there were Moravians in Herrnhut when our worldwide Church was established 550 years ago.

The words of an old camp song come to mind. You may know them:

“It only takes a spark”, the song begins, “to get a fire going, and soon all those around can warm up in its glowing. That’s how it is with God’s love, once you experience it, it’s fresh like spring, you want to sing, you want to pass it on.”

At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was described as a “tongue of fire.” If, on this celebration of Pentecost, we allow that tongue of fire to light up our lives, not only will we warm up in its glowing, there is no telling how much good we will accomplish. Who knows, the world may once again be amazed as the Spirit works through us to bring to completion the healing and reconciliation that begun on that day.

AMEN