St Anne’s, Brown Edge Pentecost 2019
Let’s back track a little starting with Acts 1.4…
On
one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: "Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for
the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
This
is the resurrected Jesus eating with them and giving them instructions.
Then,
as we celebrated on Thursday 30th May, Jesus ascended into heaven.
In obedience to Jesus’ command they are
gathered together in an Upper Room, one hundred and twenty of them! For such a large group it has been suggested
that as not many rooms could hold such number of people it may well have been a
room within the huge temple complex.
That would accord well with the cosmopolitan
crowd they encountered when they spilled out of the room into the temple
courts.
This crowd would have been gathering for
one of the most important Jewish Festivals held at a time of the year when
travel was easier and the weather kinder – which all helped boost the numbers.
Shavuot, in ancient
Greek, Pentecost, is the Feast of Weeks, and celebrated seven weeks after
Passover, commemorating the first fruits of the harvest and associated with the
giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai! It's taken from Leviticus 23 and Numbers
28, where two wheat loaves were offered in the tabernacle, representing the
“choicest fruits”—an offering of thanks to God for Israel’s bounty—a festival
of first fruits! On the morning of the first day of Shavuot, Jews gathered to
read Exodus 19 and 20, which describes the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.
All stand when the Ten Commandments are read—commemorating this important day
in the Jewish tradition.
Now, let me pick up the story from the account in
Acts 1.13…
The
Mount of Olives was about half a mile from Jerusalem. The apostles who had gone
there were Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew,
James the son of Alphaeus, Simon, known as the Eager One, and Judas the son of
James. After
the apostles returned to the city, they went upstairs to the room where they
had been staying. The apostles often met together and prayed with a single
purpose in mind. (Note that)
The
women and Mary the mother of Jesus would meet with them, and so would his
brothers. One day there were about one hundred twenty of the Lord’s
followers meeting together, and Peter stood up to speak to them.
As
they met not only would they be seeking to be obedient to Jesus’ instructions,
they would be mindful of the words we heard from John’s Gospel.
‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with
you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you,
and he will be in you. ‘I have said these things to you while I am still
with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the
world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
A question – up to 120
disciples, most likely with some coming and going, but regularly all together,
waiting, wondering, pondering and praying.
What do you think their
conversations would have been about?
I
imagine some of it would have recalling the times Jesus was with them.
Perhaps someone
was writing down precious fragments of memory.
But
do you imagine that they would have been bemoaning the fact that everything had
changed and that they found themselves in a new and unexpected place with
strange things happening all around them.
Can
you think of them sitting there and saying, ‘o it was so much better in the old
days? We liked it that way, why do we have to see so much change. Why can’t
things stay the same?’
In
the middle of May I ran a Parish Away Day for St Mary’s, Knutton. I began by inviting them to write down on a
postcard their dreams for St Mary’s. We revisited those dreams towards the end
of the day and through a process created a ‘Dream for St Mary’s, Knutton’ that
they can take forward.
To
encourage them I told the story of the Tubestation at Polzeath. I can’t imagine
that I haven’t recalled that story here before. But let me refresh your memory
by reading what they have written on their web site about their dream and where
they have journeyed from.
‘Tubestation started life as
an idea among a handful of old faithful’s in a Jesus church by the sea, to
simply serve our local community, made up of surfers and ocean lovers, with the
things that we found in our hands...’
Today
that Methodist Chapel by the sea has been utterly transformed and engages with
thousands of people from across the world and is rated as one of the best
surfer cafe's in Cornwall and more, so much more.
And
they still do Church.
I
spent most of last week at a Church Army Gathering in Yarnfield. On one evening
we had a session called ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’
This
quote was famously used by Isaac Newton but can be traced further back to at
least the 12th century theologian and author John of Salisbury.
We watched old footage of the original founder of
Church Army, Wilson Carlile speaking about his vision for the Church Army. Then
we had various photos and video recorded interviews with older Officers who
have now been promoted to glory.
We continued the Church Army story with some
of our current older Officers present with us who recounted their own stories.
Eventually we began to hear of our work today and the plans, dreams and visions
for the future. So much has changed even over the last few years.
Tonight I will be celebrating forty years
involvement with Church Army and I have seen massive changes. Massive changes
and yet with that same heart and passion that our current CEO, Mark Russel put
so well in his opening address.
‘Our passion is not to save the church from
extinction but a passion to build the Kingdom of God on earth.’
At the end of May I was at another conference, this
was the National Missioners Summer Gathering. We heard stories from Birmingham
diocese of exciting initiatives seeking to engage with children and young
people and from Coventry diocese about their work reaching out to those who are
in their twenties and thirties.
We also heard about the Strategic Development Fund,
grants that are being released to help dioceses reach out in mission and
evangelism.
There really is a new energy and spirit abroad; I
would say a new fresh wind of the Holy Spirit blowing through the Church of
England.
At the end of April I was at yet another conference
called ‘On Fire Mission.’ Around 150
people gathered together, they are radically inclusive and worship in the style
of Anglo-Catholic Charismatics. And they are growing and attracting more and
more people to engage with this wonderful admixture of Anglo-Catholic worship,
infused with contemporary worship songs and with a full manifestation of the
gifts of the Spirit. Speaking and singing in tongues, healings, words of
knowledge, prophecy, resting in the Spirit. It is truly the most amazing
experience.
I began by referring to the one hundred and twenty
apostles gathered together.
In our reading from Acts we heard the story of the
Spirit descending upon them as tongues of fire. Then they spill out into the
crowd attracted by this exuberant praise of God. ‘And at this sound the crowd gathered and was
bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of
each.’
No solemnity here, no embarrassment, but full throated
adoration and praise to God – outside!
God’s Holy Spirit cannot be confined, controlled or
contained.
Now being filled with Spirit the disciples were no
longer confined, contained and hiding in an Upper Room and the crowds gathering
from many parts of the world…
‘…heard
them declaring the wonders of God in their own tongue.’
Those surfers who gather around Tubestation know
they are powerless to make the waves do what they might want.
They know that they have to wait for just the right
moment and then catch the wave to ride along on its power.
Do you sometimes wonder how it is that we do not know
and do not experience that same outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
Why do think that might be?
Someone once said that what began with a man with
a message we have turned into a monument.
We cannot control the Holy Spirit; we can only
wait, prayerfully, expectantly, hopefully.
And then climb onto our surfboards and enjoy the
ride!
May, just maybe, that is why we see so little
evidence of the Spirit filled life.
Because we are afraid of losing control, we are
afraid of being embarrassed or it looking like we are drunk.
‘But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with
new wine.’
Let me tell you brothers and sisters that there is a new wind of the Spirit blowing
through many Upper Rooms, where for far too long God has been contained and
controlled, measured and manipulated to fit and suit our agendas and not to
further the Kingdom of God come upon earth.
What’s
your dream, what do you think it would like to see the Kingdom of God in Brown
Edge?
To
see God’s name held in honour, to see His will being done and it is in heaven,
to see forgiveness.
What
do you imagine it would like if all of God’s people were filled with the Spirit
of God and manifested the fruits of the Spirt?
‘But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and
self-control.’
‘Tubestation started life as
an idea among a handful of old faithful’s in a Jesus church by the sea, to
simply serve our local community, made up of surfers and ocean lovers, with the
things that we found in our hands...’
Is this a Jesus Church?
Do you want to serve this
community?
What things do you have to
hand?
As this exuberant expression
happened at 9am we might rightly assume that they had spent the night in
prayer.
Many Churches will have been
doing just that in the period from Ascension Day to today – this is under an
initiative picked up globally called ‘Thy Kingdom Come.’
As I come to say farewell to
you as this is my last time with you I want to exhort you to give yourself to
prayer, more prayer and yet more prayer.
I
want to encourage to sit and wait for that wave of the Spirit, then when it
comes ride it for all your worth.
Allow
the Holy Spirit to blow away the cobwebs, and allow the Holy Spirit to develop
in you those wonderful gifts.
Allow
the Holy Spirit to take you on a journey to God knows where – that may sound
scary but I can assure you it will be marvellous, wonderful and beyond your
wildest dreams.
You
can do this – or make an alternative choice.
I
don’t think you need me to spell that out – I am pretty certain you know
exactly what that other choice is and where it will lead.
Such
a choice may well lead to having the word Ichabod written over the door of the Church.
If you don’t know that story then I suggest you read
1 Samuel 4:19-22 and you will get the picture clearly enough.
But I hope and pray that you will have the spirit of
Joshua...
“But if serving the LORD
seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will
serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods
of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household,
we will serve the LORD."
