"All Flesh"

A meditation by the Rev. Dr. Hilary J. Barrett

Preached at Pleasantville UCC, Pentecost Sunday, June 12, 2011

(Acts 2:1-21 and John 20:19-23)

“’In the last days it will be,

God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams.  

Even upon my slaves,

both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

and they shall prophesy.^’”

(Acts 2:17-19)

The prophet Joel foretold the time when God’s Spirit would be poured out upon all flesh.  It was what we call a prophecy – a vision of things to come and Joel spoke of it hundreds of years before that Pentecost Day that we read about in the Book of Acts. 

In our reading this morning, Peter, one of Jesus’ disciples, reminds an amazed crowd that what they were seeing had been foreseen by Joel. He reminded them that it had been promised that the Holy Spirit would give power to their sons and daughters; their young men and their old; it would even rain down upon those who were enslaved; those whose lives were not their own, even upon those who were counted as not counting.  God’s Spirit would pour out with power to transform the world.

That’s the story we remember this day; the story that marks for Christians the birth of the Church: the occasion when the Holy Spirit moved with such power through the city of Jerusalem that ordinary disciples who had heretofore been timid and terrified and shockingly clueless about Jesus’ true mission and ministry -- these ordinary men and women were touched by the Spirit and changed.[1]

 The stories that we tell about our faith are important.  They shape who we are as a people, and they tell us what is possible for us to hope for.  The Pentecost story tells us that God’s Spirit has the power to transform our lives. It tells us that as followers of Jesus, we should wholly expect to be changed.  It tells us that, we should wholly expect to be sent – that is, not simply to follow but to be deployed into the world with a mission and a purpose.  The Pentecost story tells us that we should wholly expect to be equipped with everything we need so that our ministry with others will make sense and have lasting meaning.

Today is a very special day in the life of the Church because on this day – this Pentecost Day; this day when we celebrate the birth of the Church – we also confirm those young adults in our congregation who have chosen to embrace their baptism.  And when you think about it, it really is an amazing day to confirm young people. When you really stop and think about the Pentecost story and what it means, it’s a wildly amazing day to confirm young people.

Because what we’re saying when we confirm young adults on Pentecost is this:
“’In the last days it will be,
God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.  
Even upon my slaves,
both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.^’”
(Acts 2:17-19)

What we are saying when we confirm young adults on the day we tell this story is:

…that, this can happen now;

…that we fully expect that this will happen;

…that, this is happening.

I believe in the Holy Spirit.
It is commanded by God to answer His peoples’ prayers.
It is everywhere.
Holy Spirit is the Giver of Life and the Healer of Death.
It shows that God’s word is true.
It carries God’s Grace through the whole world.
(Kristin Wilkinson)

            One of the responsibilities of our confirmands at the end of their year of study is to write a creed.  The word, “creed,” comes from the Latin word, credo, meaning, “I believe.”  So, the confirmands are charged with articulating what they believe, to the best of their ability, based upon what they can say today about their faith.

I believe in God…
The one who knows me so well and loves me so much
I believe in Jesus Christ…
His life affects me today; guiding me in my decisions and my actions
I believe in the Holy Spirit…
the ever-present being that gives me strength when I need it most
(Sean Horan)

On the day of Pentecost so much changed: those who understood themselves to be disciples and students suddenly were given strength to become apostles and teachers. That is to say that by the power of the Holy Spirit they were changed from being followers to being leaders.

Jesus…started to change the world
when God sent him to the virgin Mary through the holy spirit [sic]…
Jesus took the journey everyone was too scared to take. 
He…had the courage to follow God even though it led him to his crucifixion…
I believe in Jesus Christ.
(Katie Bagnardi)

On the Day of Pentecost God’s wild and untameable Spirit poured itself out upon “all flesh” -- without the least concern for propriety or social convention.  God’s Spirit poured itself out upon men and women, the old and the young, the free and those who were enslaved – in other words, it poured itself out upon those who mattered in society and those who didn’t. According to the Holy One, all flesh was precious and worthy of spirit-anointing.

God is our eternal lover, forgiver and protector;
he will wash away sin and cleanse our bodies with the grace of his love.
(Jeremy Wolfgang)

On the day of Pentecost, the languages of all God’s people -- which had been confused since the Tower of Babel -- were now untangled by the Spirit’s working.  Ordinary disciples were given the ability to speak in ways that allowed others to hear about the mighty deeds of God no matter who they were or where they came from.  And what’s more, this holy communication took place not because all of the differences between people were smoothed over.  No, somehow the Spirit made it possible for very different people to understand one another.

I believe the church…makes people feel wanted and loved. 
The church is meant to comfort people to take care of them. 
The church helps the sick and the abandoned, the lost and the lonely. 
People of all races and languages are able to find refuge at the church.
(Brianna Lengel-Klink)

We live in a world where – every day – we hear stories about people who cannot make healthy connections with one another because they allow the differences between them to be insurmountable; a world where people demonize one another because they come from different religions or ethnic backgrounds or different political perspectives.  We live in a world where the differences between us are killing us. And into this world comes the story of the birth of Church on Pentecost.

I believe that the sacraments are God’s way of showing us we have a clean slate…When we see a baby or someone of any age being baptized, we are reminded that God ‘washes’ away our sins and welcomes us into his church no matter what we’ve been through. When we take the bread and the cup, we remember how Jesus sacrifices himself for us to be forgiven of our sins. I think the sacraments help us realize we are always welcome in the church.                                                                       (Shannon Taylor)

When God’s Spirit is poured out on all flesh, people do remarkable things.  They write creeds that speak with power.  They preach sermons right here in this place even though they’ve never done it before. And they grow into a deeper understanding of their faith – a faith that belongs to them now.

Everyday in my life is a blessing.  It is a miracle to be here, and I believe that God has truly given it to me.  I believe in God…I have and will continue to put my trust and faith in God as He guides me down a chosen path in life, protecting every step of the way.  I believe that God listens to us, even when we are not speaking.  He hears our silent prayers and knows what we do not…                  (Shannon Kennedy)

On the day of Pentecost, Jesus’ disciples were given a new mission.  While they would always be followers of Christ, now they must be leaders and teachers too.  It was a new kind of ministry with a new level of responsibility.  Filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, they were called to be witnesses, allowing their lives to speak to the world about the mighty deeds of God.

I believe in the Holy Spirit…
It is a reminder to us that we are God’s children and he loves us. 
It is a voice to tell us what we are. 
It is there to guide us, direct us, love us, and restore our thinking of God. 
The Holy Spirit is a part of us, and God’s voice is with us.
(Colin Wilhelm)

When you think about it, confirming young people on the day of Pentecost is a wild and wonderfully hopeful thing to do.  It means that we fully expect that the Spirit has been or will be poured out upon these young people.  It means that we fully expect them to see visions and dream dreams about the way things might be, and to share those ideas with us and with the world.

I believe after our life on Earth, we go to heaven. 
I believe heaven is anything you want it to be,
a meadow on a cool, summer day,
an old barn where you used to play as a child
or even at the ocean or a creek. 
God resides in heaven with his son Jesus Christ.
(Cassidy Van Zant)

Sometimes I think we imagine that such things only happened long ago.  Sometimes I think that we read the scriptures like a book of fairy tales…

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, something happened in the City of Jerusalem that people could not explain…

But when we do that, we fail to recognize the many ways the Spirit is at work in our world today.  When we do that, we fail to acknowledge what Tyler Ward knows to be true:

I believe that God…will…be with us…no matter what.
I believe that Jesus…will be with us whenever we need him.
I believe that the Holy Spirit is always there… [and] will always be there…
(Tyler Ward)

            Which is to say: I believe that God is still speaking.

Thanks be to God.  Amen.

The Benediction for Today’s Service comes from Brian Uzelac:

“God has made us…God has a plan in life for all of us…He has everlasting love for us and we should never forget that.  No matter what has happened or where you are, God loves you and is with you.”  (Brian Uzelac)