The Winds of Change: Like the Sound of a Mighty Wind
Sermon text for May 11, 2008:
Joel 2:15-29, Acts 2
“Wind, wind, blow on me. Wind, wind, set me free. Wind, wind, the Father sent the blessed Holy Spirit.” It is a song of Pentecost. Here is another: “Spirit, Spirit of gentleness; blow through the wilderness calling and free. Spirit, spirit of restlessness; stir me from placidness; wind, wind on the sea.”
For several weeks our sermons have centered on what I call the “winds of change.” In scripture the word “wind” is almost always synonymous with “breath” and “spirit” and in Hebrew the word also means “storm.” Think of how different the second verse in Genesis sounds if we translate “Spirit” as “Storm.” “The Spirit of God was moving over the face of the water.” Or, “The storm of God was moving over the face of the water.” Read one way the verse sounds gentle and read another way we hear hurricanes and cyclones pounding the world into shape. The winds of change are blowing relentlessly, continuing the process of creation.
As today’s passage from Acts begins, the disciples are in the upper room hiding and waiting on God to send the Holy Spirit. One of the last things Jesus said to them was, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Little did they know that the Storm of God was about to change their lives forever. The cyclone that is God’s Spirit would literally blow them to all parts of the known world. On the day that the cyclone hit, the disciples are behind locked doors. They are depressed and grieving and feel as if someone has drained them of all of their strength. While Jesus was with them, he was their strength, but now he is gone and the disciples are completely depleted.
In my imagination I can see the disciples huddled together in a darkened room. The door is bolted and the windows are covered. The darkness is soothing to the depressed disciples. Perhaps there is a small lamp on the table that offers just enough light. Some of the disciples are praying, others are daydreaming, while others are remembering the good old days when they made a living on the Sea of Galilee.
Suddenly the quiet is shattered by a frightening noise; it is like the sound of a tornado, a cyclone, a hurricane – all in one horrendous noise. And the winds of change literally blew the disciples out the door and into the street. In that moment the world changed forever – it was not only the disciples’ lives that changed, but rather the whole world. In that moment God unleashed the Holy Spirit on common folks and the Spirit can never again be contained.
On the day that God’s Spirit was unleashed, Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims who had come to the holy city for Pentecost. They heard the sound like the sound of a mighty wind and they rushed toward the sound to see what was happening. What they saw was a kind of controlled pandemonium. The disciples were telling the story of Jesus in a variety of languages so that everyone could hear and understand.
Of course, not everyone was impressed. To some, the disciples appeared drunk, but Peter quickly put the experience into a biblical context. “This is to fulfill what was spoken by the Prophet,” said Peter. “It will come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit.”
God never breathes on people except to give some gift to the church. When the wind of God filled the room where the disciples were staying it was so the thousands of pilgrims in Jerusalem would hear about Jesus and carry the story to their friends back home. The story continues and winds of change are still blowing. The cyclone of God’s breath continues to mold and shape the Church into God’s own image.
I believe that God sends the Spirit today to give the faithful the ability to dream the dreams of things that never were; and imagine a future that is impossible apart from the power of God.
Who are the dreamers in this congregation? Who are the ones who dare to have visions of what you and God might accomplish if you surrender to God? I wonder if you have a dream for the Church which you are afraid to share. Sharing is frightening, it means being vulnerable and trusting others to not reject you. Maybe you need to learn how to be vulnerable to one another, so that dreams and visions can be shared.
Maybe you have never shared your dreams with one another because no one has ever told you it is okay to dream. Dreams are one of the ways God communicates with us. God’s storm is blowing in this congregation. It is the storm of love, inspiration, vision and dreams. It is the storm of creation and change. All that you need to do is surrender to God’s will. A hymn says, “I surrender all. I surrender all. All to you my precious savior, I surrender all.” The wind is blowing your way. Surrender to the power of God.
Copyright © 2008 by Dwight R. Blackstock
Joel 2:15-29, Acts 2
“Wind, wind, blow on me. Wind, wind, set me free. Wind, wind, the Father sent the blessed Holy Spirit.” It is a song of Pentecost. Here is another: “Spirit, Spirit of gentleness; blow through the wilderness calling and free. Spirit, spirit of restlessness; stir me from placidness; wind, wind on the sea.”
For several weeks our sermons have centered on what I call the “winds of change.” In scripture the word “wind” is almost always synonymous with “breath” and “spirit” and in Hebrew the word also means “storm.” Think of how different the second verse in Genesis sounds if we translate “Spirit” as “Storm.” “The Spirit of God was moving over the face of the water.” Or, “The storm of God was moving over the face of the water.” Read one way the verse sounds gentle and read another way we hear hurricanes and cyclones pounding the world into shape. The winds of change are blowing relentlessly, continuing the process of creation.
As today’s passage from Acts begins, the disciples are in the upper room hiding and waiting on God to send the Holy Spirit. One of the last things Jesus said to them was, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” Little did they know that the Storm of God was about to change their lives forever. The cyclone that is God’s Spirit would literally blow them to all parts of the known world. On the day that the cyclone hit, the disciples are behind locked doors. They are depressed and grieving and feel as if someone has drained them of all of their strength. While Jesus was with them, he was their strength, but now he is gone and the disciples are completely depleted.
In my imagination I can see the disciples huddled together in a darkened room. The door is bolted and the windows are covered. The darkness is soothing to the depressed disciples. Perhaps there is a small lamp on the table that offers just enough light. Some of the disciples are praying, others are daydreaming, while others are remembering the good old days when they made a living on the Sea of Galilee.
Suddenly the quiet is shattered by a frightening noise; it is like the sound of a tornado, a cyclone, a hurricane – all in one horrendous noise. And the winds of change literally blew the disciples out the door and into the street. In that moment the world changed forever – it was not only the disciples’ lives that changed, but rather the whole world. In that moment God unleashed the Holy Spirit on common folks and the Spirit can never again be contained.
On the day that God’s Spirit was unleashed, Jerusalem was filled with pilgrims who had come to the holy city for Pentecost. They heard the sound like the sound of a mighty wind and they rushed toward the sound to see what was happening. What they saw was a kind of controlled pandemonium. The disciples were telling the story of Jesus in a variety of languages so that everyone could hear and understand.
Of course, not everyone was impressed. To some, the disciples appeared drunk, but Peter quickly put the experience into a biblical context. “This is to fulfill what was spoken by the Prophet,” said Peter. “It will come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; your old men shall dream dreams and your young men shall see visions. Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit.”
God never breathes on people except to give some gift to the church. When the wind of God filled the room where the disciples were staying it was so the thousands of pilgrims in Jerusalem would hear about Jesus and carry the story to their friends back home. The story continues and winds of change are still blowing. The cyclone of God’s breath continues to mold and shape the Church into God’s own image.
I believe that God sends the Spirit today to give the faithful the ability to dream the dreams of things that never were; and imagine a future that is impossible apart from the power of God.
Who are the dreamers in this congregation? Who are the ones who dare to have visions of what you and God might accomplish if you surrender to God? I wonder if you have a dream for the Church which you are afraid to share. Sharing is frightening, it means being vulnerable and trusting others to not reject you. Maybe you need to learn how to be vulnerable to one another, so that dreams and visions can be shared.
Maybe you have never shared your dreams with one another because no one has ever told you it is okay to dream. Dreams are one of the ways God communicates with us. God’s storm is blowing in this congregation. It is the storm of love, inspiration, vision and dreams. It is the storm of creation and change. All that you need to do is surrender to God’s will. A hymn says, “I surrender all. I surrender all. All to you my precious savior, I surrender all.” The wind is blowing your way. Surrender to the power of God.
Copyright © 2008 by Dwight R. Blackstock
posted by Dwight Blackstock | 1:15 PM
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