Acts 2:1-21
“It’s Too Early To Get Drunk!”
by: Rev. Ken Sauer, Pastor of Grace United Methodist Church, Soddy Daisy, TN www.graceumcsd.org
The first Christian Church was a motley crew, if there ever was one!!!
If there ever was a more ‘messy’ looking group of people, this was it!
These folks came from just about every walk of life, speaking all kinds of different languages.
There is no way they could get along—let alone thrive and grow together!
Imagine, both Jews and converts to Judaism calling one another “brother”; “sister.”
Imagine Arabs and Israelites coming together in love for one another…
…breaking bread together, praying together, eating in one another’s homes, praising God together, and having everything in common!
John Lennon once sang,
“Imagine all the people living life in peace…
…Imagine no possessions,
I wonder if you can,
No need for greed or hunger,
A brotherhood of man,
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world…
You may say I’m a dreamer,
But I’m not the only one,
I hope someday you’ll join us,
And the world will live as one”
These are provocative lyrics.
But when Lennon wrote them down—whether he was aware of it or not—they were not unique.
For this dream of persons living in the common bond of love and community sprang from God—from the very beginning of creation!
That was what was going on in the Garden of Eden before original sin.
And that is what is being renewed in the New Creation that we call the Church beginning right here in the Book of Acts at Pentecost.
When God poured out God’s Holy Spirit it was a signal to the world that the original order of things was returning, that God’s plan for the salvation of the world had entered a new stage and things would never be the same again!
The Christian Church is God’s Kingdom on this earth!
It is a conglomeration of ‘messy people’—who are trying to heed the call of God on their lives.
And we are called to take the great risk of giving everything we are and everything we have to Jesus Christ for the good of all and for the transformation of the world!
It may sound like a crazy idea.
We may be tempted to reply, “You must be drunk or something!”
It may sound like the dream of a naïve people, but it is not.
It is God’s dream, and when we take the leap of faith in order to become part of the New Creation, which is the Church—we enter that dream!
What a privileged place to be!
What a joy!
What a reason to celebrate!
What a reason to live!
What a reason to continue the journey!
On the day of the Jewish festival of Pentecost some 2,000 years ago there were 120 women and men whom the Bible describes as “believers.”
Many of them had lived and followed Jesus for quite a while.
They had watched Jesus love persons—all kinds of ‘messy persons’ in ways that no one else had ever loved before.
They had witnessed with their own eyes—miracles of healing and transformation.
They had heard Jesus describe, countless times, a Kingdom where unconditional love was the standard bearer and God was the One who was fair and just and kind and merciful.
They heard about the dream, they even caught glimpses of it…
…they became addicted to the excitement of it…
…but they didn’t really understand it.
Then the day came when their Leader was arrested, taken from them and murdered in the most cruel and demeaning of ways!
It scared them to death and seemed to smash their hopes and the dream…
…but only for a few days…
…because this same Jesus Who they had come to love and adore, despite the fact that they did not fully understand Him or His message…
…came back to life and lived among them once more.
Then, after 40 days Jesus left them again.
But not before giving them these instructions, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.
For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
They didn’t have a clue what Jesus was talking about, but they waited none the less…
…this little band of funny folks…
…former prostitutes, tax collectors, blue collar fisherman, folks who had once been lame and crippled, people who had been demon possessed and lepers, persons who had been despised and shunned by the world!...
…they waited…
…they trusted and dared believe what they did not understand.
Why?
I have an inkling that they waited because they believed that what Jesus had promised them—whatever that might be—would be good and right and just, quite wonderful actually!
And it proved to be all that and more!!!
They trusted Jesus, and that is all it takes-- a little faith…a little trust…a tiny spark—to get the fire going!
Do you trust Jesus?
Do I?
I am so excited about our new vision statement.
Do you know what it is?
“We seek persons with ‘messy lives.’”
How exciting is that?
Isn’t that what Jesus sought as He walked the Judean countryside?
“I have come to heal the sick…
…to preach good news to the poor…
…to proclaim freedom for the prisoners…
…and recovery of sight for the blind…
…to release the oppressed.”
When John the Baptist’s disciples were asked to give John a report on Jesus, Jesus replied to them: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”
Jesus’ ministry was about reaching people with ‘messy lives.’
As Grace United Methodist Church, God has led us to open ourselves and seek people with ‘messy lives’ so that we can fulfill our mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
And as long as we earnestly seek this…
…God will bring these persons to us!!!
Because all around us are people living with ‘messy lives.’
On Father’s Day, which is June 15th a woman from the Amachi project, which is a program for children of incarcerated parents, will come speak to us for a few minutes.
She will tell us how we can get involved and become mentors.
The slogan of the Amachi Project is “People of faith helping children of promise.”
I would encourage each and every one of us to pray about mentoring a child.
I plan to be a mentor.
I must admit the idea is a bit scary, and my mind immediately says, “Do you really have time for this?,” but I feel called to do my part.
If we intentionally seek out persons with ‘messy lives’ God will provide.
For this is what God desires of us.
The first Christian Church on the first day of the Church’s existence must have looked like a bus stop or a busy airport terminal.
People of different nationalities, colors, languages and backgrounds were brought together by the universal message of the Cross of Jesus Christ through outpouring of the Holy Spirit!
This is the way God chose to start God’s Church!
It didn’t happen when there weren’t many folks around.
It wasn’t something that was reserved only for the insiders—the 120 believers.
God was very intentional as to when this great event would take place.
It was something that was made available at the most opportune time—at Pentecost, one of the three major Jewish festivals at which all Jewish males were supposed to be present—therefore there were visitors from all over the Mediterranean world.
And notice that the believers were out among the people as the Holy Spirit came upon them like “the blowing of a violent wind” and “tongues of fire”.
They weren’t tucked away and hiding any longer.
They were out where the crowds and crowds of people were able to see them and witness this most amazing event!
And the masses were “utterly amazed” and “perplexed.”
“They asked one another, what does this mean?”
God really used the 120 to get the people’s attention!
And just as we often laugh and try and lighten the mood during anxious moments some in the crowd “made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much to wine.”
But Peter straightened them out right away by reminding them to look at their watches: “These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!”
Apparently the bars had not yet opened.
Then Peter really cut to the chase!!!
He told them about Jesus.
Everything he had heard Jesus speak about over the past three years came back to him and made perfect sense.
The light switch had been turned on!
The spark had been lit.
The Holy Spirit had come.
The dream had become reality.
The world would never be the same again!
And this is what happens to each one of us as we experience our own personal Pentecost!
Life is never the same again.
Can you relate?
In our Gospel Lesson from John which Mike read earlier Jesus said, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from him.’
The Gospel writer goes on to explain: “By this [Jesus] meant the Spirit whom those who believed in him were later to receive.
Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”
Are you a believer, but you feel something is missing from your life?
Jesus beckons, “Come to me and drink and the Spirit will flow from within you.”
And when that happens your belief will turn into a living and breathing and growing faith that changes everyway you ever thought and everyway you ever did things!
All things become new!
That’s what happened to the followers of Jesus at Pentecost!
That’s what happened to Peter, who, before the Holy Spirit was poured out had been driven by fear and denied his Lord three times.
But after the Spirit was given this same man—Peter, a new creation in Christ—stood up and spoke boldly and with knowledge to the very same persons he had so recently been scared of saying:
“God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ…
…Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
And 3,000 ‘messy people’ did just that—in one day!!!
They were the Church and the Holy Spirit was flowing within each of them.
A few days later, we are told in Acts Chapter 3, that on their way to pray at the temple Peter and John were confronted by a man crippled from birth who had been begging outside the temple gates all his life.
He asked them for money, but what he got was much more precious than silver or gold.
Peter reached out and took his hand—he made contact with one of God’s ‘messy people.’
Peter helped the man up, “and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.
He jumped to his feet and began to walk.
Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping and praising God.”
Thus, the Church of Jesus Christ gained another member, due to a disciples’ willingness to reach out to ‘messy people’ in order to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world!!!
And so the motley crew continued to be more and more diverse.
If there was ever a more ‘messy looking’ group of people—this was it!!!
Imagine, Arabs and Jews breaking bread together and calling one another ‘bother’; ‘sister.’
Imagine black people and white people joining hands in prayer.
Imagine street people and suburban people together—having everything in common; “selling their
possessions and goods,” and giving to anyone as they had need.
Imagine no more need for greed or hunger,
Imagine all God’s people sharing all the world…
…living life in peace…
This is God’s dream for you and for me and for everyone!
Shall we all come to Jesus; drink deeply and live the dream of the New Creation?
