Erl Purnell Sermon

cPenetcost ~ May 29, 2007 ~ A sermon preached by The Rev’d Erl G. Purnell at Old St. Andrew’s Church, Bloomfield, CT

Acts 2.1-11; Psalm 104.25-37; 1 Corinthians 12.4-13; John 20.19-23

A long time ago, in a backward land, a man hung from a cross and died because he believed that change for good could happen in a world dominated by violence and power. His efforts seemed so futile, so wrong-headed, so small.

“At the beginning of God’s creating of the heavens and earth,” or so we are told by the Genesis story, “when the earth was wild and waste, and darkness was over the face of the Oceans, the rushing-spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters.” And so, it was this breath of God—pneuma in the Greek; ruwach in Hebrew—that brought Creation into being. What’s important here, it seems to me, is that our creation myth begins with the breath of God, for it is breath that animates us as human beings; it is also the breath of God that encircles this planet, infuses the oceans, and enlivens all plants. Life itself comes from the breath of God mixing with the waters. The very Creation, therefore, is God … Life is filled with God … Being is Godness itself.

Have you ever not felt at peace after hearing the Genesis story? There is such a sense of well-being in those opening lines of the Hebrew Bible. “And God saw every thing that had been made, and, behold, it was very good.” In the beginning, all was well and all things were well and all manner of things were well.

So then, how in God’s name could an itinerant Jewish peasant who stood for peace, justice, and love end up nailed to a tree? All he did was to stand in the light of God’s breath and point to God. “What if God ruled and not the rulers of this world?” he asked out loud to all who would listen. And at the end of his life, Jesus of Nazareth said simply, “Peace be with you.”

In our own time, peace eludes us. The Peace of God is eluded in the hearts and minds of folks like you and me. It’s eluded in relationships between peoples here and peoples there. It’s eluded—Oh my how it is eluded!—in struggles for power, for political and economic control, for prestige. And yes, it is especially eluded between peoples who insist that their religion is God’s only truth—be it Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or cults of hate and destruction based on a perversion of God’s revelation to God’s people.

“When the day of Pentecost had come … tongues, as of fire … filled with the Holy Spirit …” Luke’s report in the Acts of the Apostles uses imagery that demonstrates what is meant by the Holy Spirit’s presence among us. We are to understand that all peoples, ALL PEOPLES, are inextricably linked, that all peoples are one family, that all peoples can speak to and comprehend each other. And … what’s behind this notion is “Peace be with you”.

The breath of God, the breath that created the Universe—beautifully and powerfully depicted as fire—is present in and among ALL PEOPLES. Jesus’ Gospel message that God was right here, right now is transformed through Pentecost’s tongues of fire breathing on the those gathered. Differences and distances may appear to exist between peoples, but they are an illusion.

And then, along comes Pentecost. The breath of God present to ALL and in ALL. Could it be that Jesus’ novel idea—that we see divinity in our humanity—will ever catch fire in a crazed world? The idea seems so futile, so wrong-headed, and simply impossible.

You know? Maybe it is. Maybe we should stop playing this silly game after all these years and just accept that we will always have a Department of Defense but never a Department of Peace.

On this Pentecost morning, we are, once again, called to this question: How can we see things differently? What are we missing? Were Jesus’ efforts so futile, so wrong-headed, so small as not to matter? It’s not so much that we need to do something, as it is we need to BE SOMEONE different. This breath of God within each of us waits to be kindled into a flame of Peace, what the Holy Spirit really IS. Peace. To BE Peace. To BE AT Peace. To CALL FOR Peace and so recover the Pentecost image and promise where ALL PEOPLES are linked as one human family in dialogue with itself.

The challenge today is no less bold and brazen than it was following Jesus’ crucifixion.

By way of remembering Pentecost’s Holy Spirit message of Peace, we have been gifted a beautiful banner. It is the dove of Peace and the breath of God in flame. We can thank Gretchen LaBau, Jane Gottshalk, and Phyl Ahrens for the design and their extraordinary handy-work. In coming weeks, the banner will embrace all who enter here. I hope it will serve as a reminder to you as you return to your seat following Communion that you are called by the Holy Spirit to BE Peace and to BE at Peace.

Amen.