Reflections...

A sermon preached at Kowloon Union Church on 28 May 2023, by Peter Youngblood. The scripture readings that day were Acts2:1-21 and John 20:19-23.

I was a very quiet child. It wasn’t because I couldn’t talk. I didn’t have to overcome a speech impediment like some children. I was just really, really shy. This had not been a huge problem until I went to Middle school, which in the US, is grades 6 through 8. I lived in a different part of the county than most of my primary school friends. So, in grade six, they went to a different school than I. And it was hard for me to make new friends. Especially then, when I was 12 years old. That’s the age when many kids start to feel more self-conscious about how others perceive them. At least I certainly did. 

To put bluntly, Middle School was not fun for me—at all. 

It was only later, in my sophomore year of High School, that I discovered drama class. Acting gave me a safe space to break out of my shell and lose some of my shyness. This helped me grow more confident and I started to make new friends. Acting and theater had helped me find my voice, and my teenage years ended a lot better than they began. 

Now, I can still be a pretty quiet person, as some of you might already know. It’s far easier for me to deliver a monologue on stage, or a sermon in a church—things that I’m assigned or invited to do—than it is mingle at a party. I’ve accepted this as part of my nature, but it does mean that that I still sometimes struggle to express myself in social settings. Because I don’t talk as much as some expect, I’ve been misunderstood or my feelings misinterpreted, even by my close friends and family. The worst thing is when people think I’m being insensitive or don’t care about something they said, when in fact I absolutely do. But that just goes to show the importance of communication. So, I know that, even though it’s difficult for me, I must push myself to speak up more. I must keep trying to find my voice.

This why the Pentecost event is so meaningful for me because it’s all about finding one’s voice as child of God. Up until this point in the story, Jesus has been the main character. He’s been the one who’s done and taught the most important and memorable things about God, and our relationship to God. But in the Pentecost, he passes the torch, as they say. The Holy Spirit comes down from heaven and endows the Apostles with the wisdom, skill, and confidence to deliver the Gospel message on their own. In Acts, the Spirit is described as descending in the form of “tongues” of fire that rest upon them and give them the ability to speak in multiple languages. The Holy Spirit is thus something that literally gives a person their voice. 

And the Pentecost is not the first time that this happens. As it is part of the Holy Trinity, the Spirit has been around since the very beginning. I think of the Spirit as the timeless activity of God. It is the creative energy behind life itself, and the motivating force that moves us toward God. It is through the Spirit that Abraham, Moses, and the other Old Testament Prophets came to know and talk with God. It gave them a voice to speak with—and to speak for—our Creator.

Likewise, the Pentecost is the moment when Jesus’ disciples find their voices as preachers of God’s Word. But there are two big ways in which this particular moment of the Spirit is special. First, through the Pentecost, we are shown that the Spirit is directly connected to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In Luke and Acts, it is Jesus Christ who promises, before his Ascension, to send the Spirit. And in our Scripture today, this promise is fulfilled. But in John’s version of the “Pentecost,” the connection is even stronger. I use quotations here, because in John, the Spirit’s arrival doesn’t happen on the actual Pentecost—that is, the 50^th day after Easter. It happens on Easter, when the risen Christ first appears to the disciples, and breathes out the Holy Spirit upon them.

Personally, I prefer John’s version, because it shows that the very moment the disciples witness the risen Christ is the same moment they are commissioned as missionaries. The miracle of the resurrection opens their hearts to the Holy Spirit, making them able, ready, and compelled to deliver the good news of Jesus Christ.

And that good news is that God is a loving, merciful, and forgiving God. In giving up his only Son, God has promised us that no matter how far away we fall from Him due to sin, he still forgives us. The resurrection is a sign that this love extends beyond death. Through Christ we also understand that the Holy Spirit, which is God’s presence and activity in the world, is a loving presence characterized by loving interactions. The Spirit is God’s act of calling out to us in love and forgiveness, and of asking us to respond through our own loving words and deeds. Words and deeds not just toward God, but toward all other beings, as witnessed in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Whenever we act out of mercy and compassion, we are acting through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The second—and related—way the Pentecost is unique, is in how it reveals the universal nature of the Spirit. Today we take it for granted that God is someone with whom we can all talk to, whenever we want, through prayer or other means. But in ancient religious societies, communicating with the gods was a special privilege unavailable to most people. As far as we know, the Hebrews were the first culture to believe in a deeply personal and loving God. That is, they believed our Creator was not some distant and indifferent deity who didn’t care about human affairs, but rather a divine being who actively spoke to us, out of a desire to be in a relationship with us. However, even among the ancient Jews the prevailing view was that only those who society considered qualified could speak with and for God. In Roman Judea, this privilege was largely restricted to the priestly Sadducees and the educated Pharisees. 

However, these two groups did represent different sides of a growing debate over the nature of how we encounter God’s spiritual presence. Was it restricted only to the sacred spaces of the Temple, or could it be found outside of it, in the ordinary parts of society? Jesus Christ preached during a time of intense religious debate. He was certainly not the first or only Jewish teacher to challenge the assumption that God was accessible to only a few. But he did go much further than his contemporaries, teaching that all persons, regardless of status or purity, could pray directly to God. 

As a Christian, I believe that through Jesus Christ and the Pentecost, God has made it unambiguously clear that the Spirit was and is something available to all. The fact that the disciples learn to speak in multiple languages is proof that the Spirit cannot be limited to one tribe or culture. Citing the Book of Joel, Peter declares that all people, male or female, young or old, now have the gift of prophecy. 

The Holy Spirit has always been present, but it’s only through Jesus Christ that we can understand it and accept in all its fullness. Through the Holy Spirit, mediated through Jesus Christ, God is calling out to each and every one of us. And through this same Spirit, God give gives us the voice with which we can to boldly respond to him. We do so through faithfulness and prayer. But when God calls to us through the Holy Spirit, he doesn’t call us to just have a private conversation. Our personal relationships with God are important, but there is also a public aspect. We are called to bear witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and bearing such witness requires us to speak and to act as Christ did, out of love, and in the pursuit of justice and peace. 

Of course, that part of the response is the really tricky bit. Even knowing that God calls out to me, it’s still a struggle for me to find my voice in public. It’s hard for me to speak up for myself, let alone to speak up for others. I know there are other people who are much more extroverted than I am, for whom being social comes naturally, and making friends is. And certainly, there are those with the exact opposite problem than I. We all probably know someone who is too outspoken, who might like the sound of their own voice a bit too much. 

But while it might be more difficult for a shy person like me to find my voice, I do think that even for most people, the inclination is the remain silent. People tend not to speak out unless it’s clearly their turn, or if they have a good reason to. Spontaneous, casual conversation usually only happens with those we are close to. Everything else is pretty formalized.

Formality on its own is neither good nor bad. Sometimes its just a matter of culture. For instance, in this church, our spiritual utterances are pretty ordered and restrained. The speaking parts are usually for those at the lectern, the altar, or the pulpit. Sometimes you hear a good “amen” or two, but usually our congregation waits until its given a cue on the screen. Now if we were in a Pentecostal church, it would very different. It would likely be louder and more boisterous—a spiritual “free-for- all.” Again, different cultures!

However, there are also negative forces that cause us to suppress our spiritual voices when we should be speaking out. I think we all feel a strong social pressure to stay silent sometimes. In general, society finds it threatening when people speak up and out of turn. When the disciples are touched by the Spirit and start speaking in tongues, it disrupts the community, making the people around them feel uncomfortable. Some in the crowd tell even them, “Go home, you’re drunk!” 

But if we give into the pressure to stay silent, we cede the discursive space to those with bad intentions. When we don’t actively and publicly bear witness to the selflessness, confidence, and love of Jesus Christ, then all we will hear are the words of those driven by selfishness, paranoia, and hate. There is a distressing trend in my country where the national media is increasingly controlled by rich businessmen who cater to rightwing groups, because that’s where they think the money is to be made. They give platforms to individuals with questionable morals because they think it will drive their ratings up. This is also happening because more sensible, well-intentioned individuals and groups, are less inclined to give money and support to impartial media, including the local and regional newspapers and network that are so important for maintaining an informed civil society.  I happen to be a big fan of Twitter, but it’s been quite depressing since Elon Musk bought it. Many of the considerate and insightful accounts that I followed have left due to the mismanagement of the site. And the space they’ve left behind has been filled by accounts that peddle racism, sexism, conspiracy theories and other kinds of intolerant nonsense.

On the other hand, it’s also true that the pressure to stay silent isn’t always due to shame or fear of embarrassment. In some places, speaking out can be risky. It can lead to a lost job—or worse—it can lead to arrest. God wants to listen to what we have to say, but unfortunately certain groups in certain societies are unwilling to listen and will use the any means to stifle voices of dissent or even mere disagreement. Given such realities, it’s too simplistic and unfair to think that the Holy Spirit automatically grants us the ability to speak up in the face of danger.

But the Spirit does not just grant us the gift of tongues. The Spirit works through our own unique gifts, whatever they may be, and whichever may best fit our time, place, and situation. These responses can take many forms. Some of us are better at speaking, and some of us are better at listening. Some of us prefer to work through words, and some of us prefer to use our physical talents. God does not put any limit or condition on how we may respond to Him. What’s important that we do respond to God, whether it is through the words of our mouths or the work our bodies. 

Through Jesus Christ we know that no matter how large a distance there may seem to be between us and God, we have the means and the permission to speak. The Holy Spirit is our dialogue with God. It is the wind that carries God’s voice, calling out to us in the darkness with forgiveness and love. God is always present through the Holy Spirit. And by calling out to us, God grants us the gift of speech. As shy and meek as we might feel in the presence of God, God invites us to boldly respond. God waits for us, listening for the sound of our own voices, carried back to Him on the wind of that very same Spirit.