St. Andrew's-Wesley United Church

Rev. Gary Paterson

May 30, 2010

I know, I know… you’ve heard me whinge about the difficulty of coming up with sermon titles on a number of occasions; and yes, you’re probably getting a bit tired of my convoluted complaining. But bear with me one more time… you’ll see what I mean a bit later. So… last Sunday, as usual, Tom came to me after Jazz Vespers with his typical request for the title for the next Sunday’s sermon, so that it could go up promptly on the Burrard St. sign. Now, I was more distracted than usual… not only tired, but knowing that I had only two hours to get home, changed, finish packing, and then off to catch the 8 pm Via Rail train heading out for Toronto.

Sermon titles… not a high priority at that moment. But nevertheless… some quick thinking, finally a shrug of resignation, “Hey it’s Pentecost; let’s just go with ‘Wind and Fire’ – I know, not very creative, but it’s the basic story.” Tom nodded in understanding, “Yeah, you’re right, not all that creative, but it’s good enough. Better luck next week.” And we smiled. And I headed off to catch the train.

Now there’s something about trains – you’re going somewhere, there’s adventure in the air, but in fact, you don’t need to do anything but sit there, watching the country roll by. For days … Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, finally pulling into Toronto on Thursday morning. That’s a lot of time to spend staring out the window, your entire body shaking gently with the rhythm of the tracks. Found myself humming Gordon Lightfoot’s Railroad Trilogy… well not exactly humming:

There was a time in this fair land when the railroad did not run,

When the wild majestic mountains stood alone against the sun;

Long before the white man, and long before the wheel,

When the green dark forest was too silent to be real.

Until Tim leaned over and whispered, “Could you just think a tune.”

Blue River, Mount Robson, Jasper; the wide open Prairie sky… who knew how amazing sky could be. I mean, you wouldn’t catch me living in Winnipeg during the winter freeze, and not during the mosquito haze of summer – but I understand why Prairie folk rave about the big sky. Then came the Canadian Shield, and then more Canadian Shield, with a million little lakes circled by a billion scrubby spruce trees.

Lots of time to daydream; about everything, I guess, but being a preacher kind of guy, I did a lot of thinking about… well, maybe you could guess… Wind and Fire. Have sermon title, will travel. As we travelled across this amazing county, it was hard not to feel the great sweep of holy energy that moves deep down in the heart of creation, the Spirit hovering over the vast waters and hills of this blessed earth, God in the depths of all beings, all things, this great sustaining Spirit in which we live and move and have our being. Wind and Fire in Mt. Robson, Jasper, the Prairie, the Canadian Shield, farmland Ontario.

An aside… read an article a few weeks ago in “The Globe and Mail.” National Geographic had sent an expedition off to the Foja Mountains in Papua, New Guinea. Turns out they walked into 300,000 hectares of mist-shrouded tropical jungle… no roads, no development, no humans. A “lost world” they called it, as close to the Garden of Eden as you will probably find these days. Talk about a holy, creative energy. Turned out that the scientists discovered all kinds of unknown species… a bizarre spike-nosed tree frog; a huge, tame, wooly rat – I like the tame part; a yellow-eyed, gargoyle-like gecko; and a tiny forest wallaby, the smallest documented member of the kangaroo family. The Holy Spirit that moved over the first waters of creation and brought forth new life was still hard at work it would seem. A little wind and fire in a hidden valley.

What is it about us humans that brings about such a yearning for connection with that Divine Energy; to feel it, to be touched by it, to rejoice in it? To sense our bond with all life, the oneness that broods deep down, and that draws us into wonder and unity. Is it that we are made in the image of God? Is it a holy spark, the light within, that even looking passively through a train window can recognize and respond to transcendence, fire to fire, wind to wind, breath to breath?

You know what I’m talking about… those moments when the world comes alive… walking busily along the streets of the West End, and suddenly a lone finch trills from a spring-green birch, and you stop dead in your tracks. And that’s all you hear; in fact there’s no you doing the hearing, there is just song in the air… and on the other side of that moment, you know the Spirit is hovering. It can happen when your hands are full of fresh basil, and as you crush the leaves slightly, your mouth waters with memories, and you are transported to Fettucine al Pesto, candles, a meal shared, friends, lovers. Such moments happen a lot around children; or when you are being held in affection, friendship, love; brief but endless moments when you are directly connected with the Divine Energy; filled with wind and fire, filled with Spirit.

Came across a poem that catches something of this reality… listen to Gary Whitehead’s words, “First Year Teacher to His Students”:

Go now into summer, into the backs of cars,

into the black maws [turbulence] of your own changing,

onto the boardwalks of a thousand splinters,

onto the beaches of a hundred fond memories

in wait, where the sea in all its indefatigability

stammers at the invitation. Go to your vacation,

to the late morning cool of your basement rooms,

the honeysuckle evening of the first kiss, the first

dip and pivot, swivel and twist. Go to where

the clipper ships sail far upriver, where the salmon

swim in the clean, cool pools just to spawn.

Wake to what the spider unspools into a silver

dawn dripping with light. Sleep in sleeping bags,

sleep in sand, sleep at someone else's house

in a land you've never been, where the dreamers

dream in a language you only half understand.

Slip beneath the sheets, slide toward the plate,

swing beneath the bandstand where the secret

things await. Be glad, or be sad if you want,

but be, and be a part of all that marches past

like a parade, and wade through it or swim in it

or dive in [into] it with your eyes open and your mind

open to wind, [fire], rain, long days of sun and longer

nights of city lights mixing on wet streets like paint.

I wonder if this might not be something that Rabbi, Teacher Jesus might have said to his students, his disciples. Oh, not the stuff about the backs of cars, but that last verse. Don’t you think? --:

Be glad, or be sad if you want,

but be, and be a part of all that marches past

like a parade, and wade through it or swim in it

or dive into it with your eyes open and your mind

open to wind, fire, rain, long days of sun and longer

nights of city lights mixing on wet streets like paint.

Something to do with life abundant; the Kingdom of God in our midst; consider the lilies.

So, as the train pulled into the Toronto station I thought I had the sermon well on its way. Feeling pretty good… until I turned on my Blackberry and saw this week’s “Gleanings.” Now my first reaction when this popped up was a smile; a word, a note from Rev. Kathryn, from the family. Until I read the sentence, “After a week of study and travel, Rev. Gary will back to preach the Pentecost Sermon, ‘A Church Is Born’.” A Church Is Born???? Not… I was ready to roll with “Wind and Fire”. But then I remembered… I had been so conscientious the previous week, making sure that everything was ready for my departure, that I had prepared the bulletin for today some time ago, and, when it came to sermon titles, had felt just as uncreative, and, remembering that Jen was organizing a big birthday cake Pentecost celebration right after worship, thought, “Oh let’s just go with, “A Church Is Born.” Then I promptly forgot said title, so that when Tom spoke with me last Sunday evening, there was no memory that I had passed this way before…. Wind and Fire is what you will see on the outdoor sign… thank you Tom. But “A Church Is Born” is what’s printed in our bulletins… thank you Michele (our administrator).

Well, at first I was frustrated, annoyed at myself; wanted to ditch the Blackberry, plead ignorance when I came back to Vancouver; hey, you probably wouldn’t have noticed the discrepancy unless I had mentioned it. Who, other than preachers, ever really cares about sermon titles?

But then, strangely, after a few hours, I began to feel grateful; this new title was actually a helpful reminder that the story of Pentecost carries a specific understanding of the Spirit, so that the more general experiences of Divine Energy that we have, are now closely linked to the Jesus story. There is background to the Spirit; there is content; and we are offered a particular framework through which to interpret our holy moments. The Wind and Fire of Pentecost carry us back into the memories of Jesus’ life and ministry, and along with that, into memories of the Hebrew Scriptures; and they also carry us forward into a new understanding of how Jesus Christ will be present with us in the times to come. What I am suggesting is that the holy energy that is found in the Foja mountains of New Guinea, and in a train ride across Canada, and along the seawall, and in poetry, and … well… in billions of everyday moments, this Spirit that is at the core of every quark and atom, in the heart of every person, is the same Spirit that is found in Jesus Christ; it is a Jesus Wind, a Jesus Fire.

I found myself turning to John’s Gospel, to that long conversation Jesus had with his disciples in the 14th to the 17th chapters. Not the easiest part of the gospel to digest, but full of hints about what comes next, when Jesus is no longer walking and talking with his followers. He declares that when he is gone, crucified and resurrected, he will be sending the Holy Spirit, and, this Spirit will teach the disciples new understandings of Jesus; will help them remember and interpret and apply what he has taught them.

It’s almost as if Pentecost is actually another resurrection-appearance story. Oh, I know, we’re fifty days beyond Easter; and if we were being very liturgical, then we would have celebrated Jesus’ return to God ten days ago with the Feast of the Ascension. But clearly what is being offered with the Wind and Fire of Pentecost is a new way to experience the presence, person and power of Jesus.

An aside…. In Paul’s first letter to the church in the city of Corinth, he talks about resurrection in the 15th chapter. And he says, “ [Christ] appeared to Cephas [that’s Peter], and to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time….” Well nowhere else in the Bible does it talk about an appearance to five hundred people; but I wonder if perhaps Paul is trying to tell the same story that Luke is giving us in the Book of Acts, though in a condensed form – the big crowd story, when so many felt the energy of Jesus to be in their midst, calling them into new life.

This Holy Spirit, Jesus Spirit, fills people up until they are spilling over with joy, excitement, energy; they are buzzing, talking, can’t help telling others something about what has just happened to them. They are wading through, swimming in and diving into a new way of living, with their eyes open, their minds open to wind, fire, rain… to Jesus Christ. And this brings them together into a new community… and guess, what… a church is born. What is even more startling, is that people slowly recognize that this very community of faith is itself a resurrection appearance. We blithely call the church the Body of Christ, and each one of us a part of that body; I’m not sure we always realize what we are saying… that each one of us, and all of us together… we are the face, hands, heart of Jesus as the Spirit touches us and enlivens us. How can we keep from singing, eh?

In a few minutes twelve people… and isn’t that a fine number… will be joining this congregation through an affirmation of their faith, some through baptism and confirmation, some coming from other congregations and denominations. They have experienced the Wind and Fire, and have discovered this Spirit as the presence of Christ in their lives. And they have found here, in this community, an expression of that Spirit, and have decided that they want to journey with you in this call to be followers of Christ. Part of the Joining means that they will be asked certain questions. I want to walk you through those questions, because, really, they aren’t just for the twelve people who are standing at the front; they are for all of us to think about

The first question starts off with a “Do you believe in…”, but you need to hear that not just with your head, but also with your heart. Do you put your trust in, give your heart to, stake your life on a particular experience of a God who has created and is creating – think New Guinea, think train ride; who has come in Jesus… the same energy expressed in a different way; who works in us and others by the Spirit – not just an intellectual construct, but a lived reality – and one that isn’t exclusively ours, but is also experienced by other people.

Then, the second question, which focuses on how you choose to live your life… to declare that you believe in something, in someone makes no sense unless it makes a difference to how you spend your time, your resources, your energy. Sunday’s worship makes Monday morning a different experience. And so we are asked about celebrating God’s presence in each and every moment, living as one small person, one species in the great fabric of creation. We are challenged to become do-ers of justice, as we resist evil and love our neighbours. We are challenged to be people of the Kingdom of God, trusting that this new realm of peace, justice, compassion and joy--it is at hand, in our midst. And we pray that it will come in all its fullness, and we commit ourselves to work in our own small way as a part of that Kingdom movement.

Then the third question comes, perhaps just as we are wondering how we will ever be able to live out such commitments, wondering whether we’ve just signed own for endless work and burden, with accompanying feelings of inadequacy and guilt and burnout. So we are asked to remain open to God’s endless and abundant grace through spiritual practices, which would include worship, prayer and study, but might also include train rides, and quiet moments, and … well… to live life with eyes and mind wide open to wind, fire and rain, and long days of sun, and longer nights of city lights mixing on wet streets like paint. Accepting the invitation to dive in, trusting that we will be held by grace.

And then finally, the question about this particular community… do you want to be part of it? Does it feel like a place where you can find life, where you discern glimmers of spirit, where you are able to take further steps in your journey of being filled with Wind and Fire, of becoming more like Christ, a lover of the world?

When you hear these questions let them slide into your heart, and hear the answers that begin to arise. Maybe you will find yourself saying yes, yes! Or perhaps it’s a “Lord I believe, help thou my unbelief.” For some it might be a “Maybe”. And there will be some who will need to say, “I don’t know, but I’m sure curious. If it really is happening here, if there truly is a holy invitation to be connected to Spirit, then perhaps I’ll come back and check it out further.” Lots of different answers… but listen to the questions, hear what is being asked; and listen to your heart, and your longing to wade through it and swim in it, and dive into it.

Maybe what we need to pray together the prayer of St. Augustine that Kathryn included at the end of the Gleanings email:

Breathe in me, O Holy Spirit, that my thoughts may all be holy.

Act in me, O Holy Spirit, that my work, too may be holy.

Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit, that I may love but what is holy.

Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit, to defend all that is holy.

Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit, that I always may be holy

May it be so; may it be so.