Hilltop Lutheran

 
These three signs would make any thoughtful person wonder.  They’re rather strange; but they don’t have to be.  Signs, after all, are signs; they’re not the substance of the event.  The important thing is to understand the meaning of the signs in order to grasp their purpose.
The reason is simple; the power of the first Pentecost is no less with us now than it was in the days immediately following the first Pentecost.  There are remarkable signs that demonstrate the Spirit’s power today.
The rushing wind isn’t the focus; but its source is.  What counts is that the wind came from heaven.  The power of the Spirit’s work isn’t from below it’s from above.
That power isn’t human, its source is God.  That’s what the first sign tells us.                                                               1
The fiery appearance over each disciple’s head mustn’t detract us either; the text says it was distributed and resting on each one of them.  Finally, the power of God’s Spirit rests on individual people.  That power from above is intended for us here below.  God gives the power of His life-giving Spirit to us.
That power, which rests on each disciple, has a purpose.  The first disciples suddenly found themselves speaking words that were familiar to the cosmopolitan assembly of Jews from the far corners of the empire.  God caused His mighty acts of redemption to be spoken of and understood among people in their own language.  Those signs point to what’s yet to come.  God’s power enables people to witness to His grace throughout the earth.
The Holy Spirit’s work is that Jesus Christ should be exalted in the world.  For that reason, the Spirit calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies us and all believers; teaching us who Jesus is and what the Father has done for us through Him.                                                                         
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Through the working of the Holy Spirit we’re brought to faith and supported in the faith we confess.  The central work of God’s Holy Spirit is proclaimed and demonstrated with signs as the Spirit works through Word and sacrament.
The diversity of gifts of the Spirit is another reminder of the diversity of the Spirit’s work.  (1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 31; 13:1-13)
It’s not healthy or beneficial for Christians to gather in groups where all share the same gifts.  Nor are we each meant to have all the gifts of the Spirit.  The key to the Spirit’s work among us are gifts which vary; specially, the gifts Saint Paul calls the higher gifts.
The Spirit’s work is always beyond us as well as among us.  In 1980, Archbishop Oscar Romero was assassinated while celebrating mass as he stood at the altar in the cathedral in San Salvador.  Yet, his legacy of faith and courage speaking out against poverty, social injustice, assassinations, and torture amid a war between the political left and right, continues to be a gift of the Spirit to embattled Christians in El Salvador.                                               
The Spirit’s power will outlast demonic forces that work against Christ’s Church.  Unknown saints serve in places like Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iran and Iraq, even Saudi Arabia; God has His people everywhere.
It’s not so very long ago, an older Christian told me what it meant to her to have people from the congregation call on her.  You who are active in serving others are living signs of the Spirit’s power.
Another sign was a member of a former congregation who often prayed for healing from pain.  But the answer was the same as that Saint Paul received to the prayer he prayed...My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.
That’s accepting life a day at a time.  People I have known who have struggled with human limitations are able to continue in confidence and faith because they know the joy and strength of the Gospel.  They’re signs of the Spirit’s power.  And, the signs go on and on.
On this Pentecost Sunday, we have many reasons to give thanks to the Spirit of God to whom we owe our faith and life in Jesus Christ.
Beyond imagining, we’re the dwelling place of God’s Holy Spirit.  A Superb sixteenth century hymn sums up the Spirit’s signs and power:
Thou Fountain whence all wisdom flows
Which God on pious hearts bestows,
Grant us Thy consolation
That in our pure faith’s unity
We faithful witnesses may be
Of grace that brings salvation.
Hear us.  Cheer us.
By Thy teaching; Let our preaching and our labor
Praise Thee, Lord, and serve our neighbor.  AMEN.