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Happy Birthday!                        Acts 2: 1-21                   May 31, 2009 - Pentecost

Pentecost is the day when we remember the birthday of the church. Happy birthday, church!

Actually, I must confess that I've never really understood why birthdays are such a big deal. I know they are for some folks, but they've never been for me.

I had an assistant once who carried the notion of a birthday celebration to an extreme. At the beginning of each year, she would make sure her birthday was on my calendar, and she would start reminding me at least a month beforehand that the date was approaching. She expected the celebration to last at least a week when the day finally arrived. It was clearly the highlight of the year for her, and she wanted everyone to know about it.

On the other hand, I also know folks who would rather not be reminded that another year has past in their life. They don't want anyone to know that it's their birthday, and get annoyed when friends even raise the subject.

I guess I fall somewhere in between these extremes, but I'm much closer to the latter point of view than the former. Other than my 17th birthday, when I could finally get a learner's permit and start driving, I can't really remember any birthdays that were all that special.

I do know that birthdays can be important, however, and I try to acknowledge them. I'm happy to offer greetings when I see someone on his or her birthday, and I'm glad that we recognize the contribution of great leaders like Martin Luther King, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln with national celebrations of their birthdays.

I'm also glad that we Christians set aside one Sunday each year to remember the birthday of the church.

So today, on Pentecost Sunday, let's take a short look at the birthday of the church.

Here's what we know: According to Luke, the author of our text for today, after his resurrection Jesus appeared to his disciples and instructed them for 40 days, after which he ascended to heaven.

And while he was still with them, before he ascended, Jesus said: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit."

As it turns out, Jesus' promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. The disciples, gathered together in Jerusalem as Jesus told them to, were filled with the Holy Spirit. Soon thereafter, the apostle Peter preached his first sermon, urging the crowds to repent, to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah and also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. That very day of Pentecost, Luke writes, some 3,000 people were baptized and became part of the people of God.

The church was born.

Now I know it's a cliché, but I'm going to say it anyway: "And the rest, my friends, is history." We are here, today, on this Sunday in 2009, about to gather around this table and share in the holiest of holy meals, because of what happened in Jerusalem that day.

That's why today is so important. We have no way to know what would have happened had the events not unfolded as they did, but there is a real possibility that the church would not be the church if the disciples had scattered, after Jesus ascended, instead of remaining in Jerusalem.

No, we don't know what would have happened if the Disciples had not done as Jesus said, but we do know that they obeyed his command and that the events of Pentecost touched these men in ways they had never experienced before.

The Disciples were filled with the blessing of the Spirit, and in response, they formed a community.

Luke describes this community and just how radically life-changing it was. He describes it, and then describes it again a few verses later.

"The whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul," he explains. "And no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. There was not a needy person among them, and as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. . . [which was then] distributed to each as any had need."

This picture Luke paints of the church in its earliest period is unsettling. It looks nothing like the "I've got mine" world in which we live. Nothing.

I know it's difficult to talk about this stuff. We don't mind reflecting, each year at this time, about the mighty wind that blew that day and the tongues of fire and the disciples speaking in languages that everyone could understand and the promise of the Spirit being poured out on everyone who was there.

Which is fine. All of those images are indeed part of what Pentecost means, and all of them make us feel good, as those who have inherited that legacy. But Pentecost doesn't stop there. Pentecost is also about economics. And talking about the economics of Pentecost makes us uncomfortable.

Professor Barbara Lindblad puts it well. We have to be sure, she warns, that Pentecost doesn't end too soon. "Pentecost ends too soon if it has nothing to do with possessions, with wealth and poverty, with what we call economics."

"How do we live together in God's household?" Lindblad asks. Then she answers, "Well, I know economics is a subject so complicated that our eyes glaze over at the mention of the word. But God is very interested in economics, about what we do with our possessions and portfolios."

Over the centuries, the church has departed from the practices that defined it in the months and years following its birth. Some would argue that we have evolved - adapting to changing conditions. Others would argue that we have abandoned some of our core principles. Either way, we have changed.

Can we realistically return to the early-church model and eliminate all claims to private property? Not a chance. Can we look seriously at that model and ask ourselves how it should inform our answers to present-day questions like how much is enough and how can those who have plenty help those who have too little? Absolutely.

It's a serious topic to discuss on our birthday, I know, but it's a discussion that God clearly expects us to have. In our churches, in our homes, and in the halls of congress as well.

Can we, as Christians, justify support for a system that allows wealth to accumulate in the hands of a few while others grovel for crumbs? Can we sit still while a huge segment of the church aligns itself politically with those who argue for just such a system? I don't know. But I don't think so.

We can't answer those questions today. And it's time to get back to our celebration. But let's not shy away from raising them together as we strive to be like the church that was born on that first Pentecost.

Speaking of our celebration, we're about to reenact one of the other things that Luke tells his readers about in his account of the church's birthday. "Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple," he writes, "they broke bread and ate with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people."

That, at least, is one of the practices of the early church that we have never stopped repeating. We do still eat and drink together. All of us. Those that have and those that need. It's a sign that the Kingdom is here. And now.

So let us break bread, my friends. Let us break bread and drink wine and do so with glad and generous hearts. For we do this, today, with the knowledge that the Spirit is with us and in memory of the one who calls us to our mission and shows us the way.

Thanks be to God for this precious gift.

                                                                             AMEN

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