Acts
2: 1-21; Psalm 104: 25–37; Romans
8: 22-27; John
15: 26–27; 16: 4b-15
A
homily by Fr. Gene Tucker, given
at St. John’s Church, in Huntingdon,
Pennsylvania, on Sunday, May 24, 2015.
“FIRE
AND WATER”
(Homily texts:
Acts 2: 1–21 & John 15: 26–27; 16: 4b-15)
Today, we celebrate the giving of
the Holy Spirit to the Church, an event that took place on the feast of
Pentecost. So let’s talk about fire and
water.
St. Luke, the author of the Book of
Acts, as well as the gospel account that bears his name, tells us that the Holy
Spirit’s arrival was marked by some discernible, powerful signs: He says that the Spirit’s coming was “like
the rush of a mighty wind”, and with “tongues of fire”. (Notice that Luke seems to be grasping for
words that would capture at least part of the reality of this event…he uses the
words “like” and “as of” to describe the phenomenon.)
We should begin by reminding
ourselves of the background of the celebration of Pentecost.
This feast is one of three major
festivals in which devout Jews the world over would make their way to Jerusalem….notice
the list of place names from which the pilgrims had come in today’s reading
from Acts.
The name “Pentecost”[1]
itself refers to the timing of this festival, which took place fifty days after
another festival, that of Passover. The
Pentecost observance centered around the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai
(see Exodus 19: 1[2]
and following for the account of the giving of the Torah, the Law).
The background, then, of Pentecost
is that a covenant was given by God to God’s people.
With the coming of the Holy Spirit,
the new covenant which was given by Jesus Christ is now fully in place…..a new
law, one of love, is given to God’s people, a people who will come very every
nation on earth.
If we look back into the Exodus
account, and look again at the account in Acts, we see that fire is involved in
both events. At Mt. Sinai, the Lord’s
presence was known by the fire that was seen on the mountain. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit’s coming was
seen in tongues of fire.[3]
Let’s look, then, at the power of
fire. (By the way, notice that the
liturgical color for this day is a bright red,[4]
denoting the power of fire.)
Fire has the power to: move (change) things, destroy things, purify
things, and to illuminate things. Down
through human history, it has been used in all of these ways.
God’s moving in human affairs does
each of these four things….God’s intervention in human affairs changes
things. God’s intervention in human
affairs destroys what is undesirable in us.
God’s intervention in human affairs purifies us. God’s intervention in human affairs shines
light on the path which lies before us.
Each one of us who has passed
through the waters of baptism has been reborn by the Spirit, and has been given
a new life in Christ.
We might say that we are children,
born by water and the Spirit.[5]
Combining water with fire produces steam.
That being so, would you allow me to
use a steam locomotive as the vehicle for a closer look at our Christian life,
which is subject to having been born of water in baptism, and which is a life
in Christ which is subject to the power of the Holy Spirit’s fire?
To begin with, we should notice that
fire and water need to be in relationship to one another. In a steam locomotive, the fire is surrounded
by water, so that the heat of the fire can cause the water to come to a boil. In baptism,
our rebirth by water brings us into relationship with the Holy
Spirit. In the baptismal rite, we say
that, in baptism, we are “reborn by the Holy Spirit.”[6]
In baptism, the person who comes
into a new relationship with God receives the gift of the Holy Spirit. That gift is given so that the individual
receives the ability to come to know God.
Now, once that relationship with God
has been established, the power of the Spirit’s fire can begin to affect our
rebirth by water. Turning to our image
of a locomotive, a boiler which is full of water, but which lacks a hot fire,
can’t go anywhere. It is the power of
fire that causes things to move.
Similarly, in our Christian life,
unless we allow the Spirit’s fire, the Spirit’s power, to affect us, little
will change in our Christian walk. We
should return to our passage from the Book of Acts to note that the Spirit’s
coming wasn’t by invitation. None of
those present on whose heads the tongues of fire rested specifically asked the
Spirit to come. (It may well be that
they were expecting God to do something spectacular, for Jesus had told them to
wait in Jerusalem for the gift of the Spirit that the Father would give,[7]
but they didn’t know exactly what form God’s action would take.)
We can easily conclude that,
sometimes, the Spirit is gentle with us.
At other times, just as our reading from Acts tells us, the Spirit will
move when and where He wills.[8]
The next thing we should notice is
the purifying effect of the Spirit’s work.
This can be compared to fire’s power to destroy and remove
impurities. In a steam locomotive, as the
water is boiled, whatever impurities are found in the water are separated from
the water as it becomes steam. (Here,
our use of a locomotive as an example breaks down a bit, for in a locomotive,
the boiler must be cleaned out periodically to remove these impurities, which
often appear as scale inside the boiler.
The Holy Spirit, however, possesses completely the power to remove any
and all impurities within us.)
In the Christian life, the Spirit’s
power sanctifies (makes holy) God’s people.
It is in this way that the Lord says, in our reading from John this
morning, that the Spirit will “lead you (us) into all truth.”
Notice how often the word “sanctify”
appears in the Prayer Book. Almost
always, the word appears in connection with the Spirit’s power to make (remake)
us into a holy people which reflect God’s holiness.
Fire has the power to create light,
and to shine that light on the way ahead.
A locomotive depends on such light.
(In the early days, before the coming of electricity, locomotives
mounted a very large kerosene-powered headlight.)
The Spirit leads us by showing us
the way ahead, shining light on the path that God would have us take.
So we have before us a celebration
which has often been called the “Birthday of the Church”. The feast of Pentecost celebrates the power
given to the Church to be an agent for change in the world, to be a purifying
tool in God’s hands for the redemption of the world, and to be the light of
Christ, shining into and overcoming the darkness of evil.
By the Spirit’s power, we, the
people of God, can do all of these things.
AMEN.
[1] This festival is also know by another
name: the Feast of Weeks.
[2] The giving of the Law is also narrated in
Leviticus 23: 15 – 21.
[3] It is worth noting that we recall,
liturgically, these tongues of fire, for the special hat that bishops wear,
known as a mitre, is shaped to remind us of the tongues of fire. The implication, of course, is that the
Spirit’s power ought to rest on our bishops, and on all who are committed to
their charge.
[4] In liturgical usage, there are two red
colors: The bright red denotes fire and
is used for celebrations in which the power of the Holy Spirit is affirmed. There is also a dark red, whose use is appropriate
for Palm Sunday and for commemorations of martyrs.
[5] Jesus makes this connection in His
discussion with Nicodemus (see John 3: 5).
[6] The Book of Common Prayer, 1979, page 306
[7] See Acts 1: 4 – 5.
[8] See John 3: 8.
