THE PENTECOSTAL EXPERIENCE

SERMON PREACHED BY FR. TONY NOBLE ON MAY 27, 2007

1 Cor 12.13:

By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body and all were made to drink of one spirit.

One of the more scary moments that I can remember took place in a church hall. I was invited to what a 'prayer and praise' meeting. There was a new priest in town - an Anglican Rector who had experienced the charismatic movement. He had begun a weekly prayer and praise meeting in the hall, rather than the church, and I ventured along. Well what an experience! There was a lot of raising of arms accompanied by “Praise the Lord” and “Alleluia”. Also a lot of testimony - and then, of course, speaking in tongues. And this was accompanied by much jubilation. The climax seemed to be when people started falling down all over the place and we were told they were “slain in the spirit”.

Later I asked the priest what he thought was happening. He said it was the new Pentecost, that the Spirit was coming to the church again. I wasn't entirely convinced - though I did feel that there was certainly the presence of the Holy Spirit in that hall. When I thought about this afterwards I realized that this phenomenon of speaking in tongues was actually nothing new. It actually went back to the church in Corinth. In fact, our Epistle reading today was St. Paul's attempt to address the phenomenon of speaking in tongues all those years ago.

Today's three readings all give different insights into the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as we come today to celebrate the first Pentecost day.

Firstly to John 20. Here we see the gift of the Holy Spirit given by Jesus on Easter night. Jesus has risen from the dead and he appears to the apostles in the upper room. He says: "Peace be with you." So the Holy Spirit is seen here as the gift of Easter - the result of the Resurrection. This reminds us of John 7:39 where it says: "As yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." So the spirit being given is a result of the glory of Jesus, which is what happened on Easter day.

Secondly, the spirit is not given in some demonstrative way. Jesus breathed on them. Gentle breath. I believe that this is a more accurate description of how the Spirit comes to us than what happened on Pentecost Sunday. This is the experience of the Spirit in our lives: gentleness, calmness, reassurance.

Thirdly, the spirit was given on Easter night for a particular thing. Jesus says: "Whose sins you forgive they are forgiven." Strange words - what they mean is the Spirit is being given to the apostles for their ministry as agents of reconciliation. And when ever priests are ordained in our church, those words are said again: "Whose sins you forgive they are forgiven, whose sins you retain they are retained."

So on the occasion of Easter night the Spirit is gentle, and the spirit is given for gifts of ministry.

When we come to the second reading, 1 Cor. 12, we see the Holy Spirit giving a variety of gifts - and some of them are not gentle. When we look closely St. Paul is criticizing the Corinthians for their emphasis on speaking in tongues. This might be a bit discomforting for our Pentecostal brothers and sisters, but that is what St. Paul is doing. He says that all the gifts of the spirit are different, and not one is superior to the other. He also says that the Holy Spirit is to build up the body. The Holy Spirit is to bring unity to the church.

St. Paul's experience of the Corinthians was that speaking in tongues was divisive. The Corinthians thought that they were superior to everyone else because they had this special gift of the spirit. Because they thought they were superior, their life as a church was separate from the rest of the body. And when you read 1 Corinthians you see that they had abandoned the Eucharist. It was not longer the center of their life as a church.

These 3 problems - the feelings of being superior, the active distancing from the church, and the abandonment of the Eucharist - are still prevalent when you come across a Pentecostal church. And St. Paul brings down a heavy hand on them, because of their exultation of personal gifts to the exclusion of the body. And he concludes his criticisms in chapter 12 with his famous chapter 13 - the great chapter about love.

When it was all said and done, what was the significance was not that they spoke in tongues, or did healings, or had superior knowledge or other gifts. No - what was important was that a Christian you were a person of love. That was the test of the Christian then - and it will always be the test of the Christian.

Significantly in 12:13 St. Paul says that any differences are irrelevant in the church. He says: "For by one spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit." We note here that the image of the Holy Spirit is of water, baptism and drinking. In other words, we received the Holy Spirit when we were baptized. And for most of this there was no fire and wind, no speaking of tongues - but just a gentleness of the sacrament of baptism. St. Paul says that on that occasion we received the Spirit and were made members of the one body.

So there can be no re-baptism or second baptism of the Holy Spirit. And speaking in tongues is neither necessary nor important. The Holy Spirit is a spirit of love and unity, and not division. This is a very important thing that we have to grasp in these days of unhappy division in our church and in our world.

And so we come to the famous reading from Acts 2, describing the day of Pentecost. At first it seems to emphasize speaking in tongues as a powerful display of the gifts of the Spirit. That was the effect on all those who were gathered there. There was certainly no gentle breath of Jesus, but rather tongues of fire and a rushing wind. Lots of power, enthusiasm and activity - just like a Pentecostal prayer meeting!

Let us be quite certain that the speaking in tongues described in Acts 2 is not the apostles’ babbling in an unknown language or incoherent tongue, that you might find at a Pentecostal prayer meeting. For the apostles were speaking in recognized languages and clearly understood.

Like everything else that is happening on the day of Pentecost the speaking in tongues is highly symbolic. It is a sign that the Holy Spirit brings unity.

Consider the story in Genesis of the Tower of Babel. The world was complete and everything was going okay. Some people were not satisfied. They wanted to see God so they built a tower to Heaven. God was not pleased with this, so he confused them by giving them different languages and cultures. At first sight the story of the Tower of Babel is a nice story to explain the differences of languages on the earth, especially as mankind came from one origin.

The existence of different languages and cultures brought disunity to the world - and it is against God's purpose of having the world as one loving family.

At Pentecost the Holy Spirit brings different languages not for disunity - but so that all may understand. The apostles were given different languages so that they could preach about Jesus to everyone. Notice the interesting array of people gathered in Jerusalem - all the countries in the Middle East at war with each other - the source of so much disunity, violence and hatred. The Holy Spirit was given to bring all those people into unity, and to bring peace and harmony.

On the day of Pentecost the means whereby peace and harmony will come to the world is what resulted from Pentecost. For Pentecost is known as the birthday of the church. Through the church and the sacraments the Holy Spirit is to be made present in the world so that man would be united with Jesus in his holy church. That was why St. Paul criticized the Corinthians for their misunderstandings and their neglect of the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is the one sacrament that brings us together week by week in a unity with Jesus. And because we are united with Jesus in the sacrament we are united with each other in peace and harmony. So the key to Pentecost is 1 Corinthians 12:13 - St. Paul's declaration that baptism is the primary outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Before the time of Jesus there was in the temple in Jerusalem an annual ceremony of the Holy Spirit. It was called the Feast of Tabernacles. For 8 days there was a pouring out of water over the floor of the temple. It was a ceremony symbolizing the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Though the Jews did not know this, it was a pre-figurement of baptism. Jesus was there at one of those celebrations.

In John 7:37-38 it describes how at the end of this week of symbolism, on the last and greatest day, Jesus stood up and made a proclamation. All week, whilst the ceremony of water pouring was happening, Jesus had been sitting down like all the other Rabbis and teaching.

Now St. John says He stood up and proclaimed: “If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water." Then St. John Adds: "He said this about the Spirit, which those who believe in him were to receive."

+ Before the Holy Spirit came in fire and wind on Pentecost,

+ Before the Holy Spirit came on Easter night in the gentle breath of Jesus,

Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as living water, as a fountain within.

Through the waters of baptism we have received that living water. May the Holy Spirit - as Jesus' living water - refresh, nourish and strengthen us, that we may grow in Christ together - and thus be his body, in the power of that same Holy Spirit.