Day of Pentecost

May 25/27, 2007

Memorial Day Weekend

FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

Acts 2:1-20

Today is the final sermon in the Easter series, "We are Witnesses." It is appropriate that the series ends on the Day of Pentecost when the promised power of God in the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples and the Christian church was born. On a more personal note, today’s sermon speaks to that human condition sometimes described as "running on empty."

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These days of high-priced gasoline I find myself running on empty more frequently, trying to make my last tank of cheaper fuel last as long as possible before filling up with more expensive gas. Of course, it makes no sense because sooner or later I have to fill up regardless of the cost. Why run the risk of running out altogether? I just hate to think about how much that next tank is going to cost. When I pull into the station, stick the hose into the tank and pull the lever, the cost meter spins so fast I can hardly read the numbers! When using a credit card, sometimes the pump limits the amount of the purchase, so my tank doesn’t really get full—and I’m forced to come back sooner for higher priced gas!

It’s a metaphor in real-life for those times in life when your resources are almost depleted—when you’re out of energy with miles to go and no relief in sight.(1) We all have them—times when you feel burned out, depressed, frustrated, hurting, grieving, or just plain tired. Running on empty, we wonder: What’s wrong with me? How long can I continue before my resources are completely exhausted?

I can assure you that such feelings are quite common, even normal under some circumstances, like a mom with pre-school children or a caregiver for a spouse or parent. There may be physical, psychological, economic, social or spiritual reasons for feelings of emptiness. Our bodies, psyches and souls are inter-related, so its important to have regular physical check-ups, eat sensibly and exercise daily. It can be as simple as a boring, but needed job, or one with overwhelming demands, or financial stress or deep disappointment. Life may have grown stale, lost its sense of purpose in the midst of plenty, making it difficult to get out of bed and get going. Or it can be a crisis of faith where hope is waning. Whatever it is, we can find ourselves running on empty.

So, I imagine, were the first followers of Jesus following his death, resurrection and ascension. They were waiting in Jerusalem, as the Risen Christ had instructed them. He had promised that they would receive the power of the Holy Spirit and that they would be his "witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."(Acts 1:8) Then he had disappeared into the heavens. They were left alone and leaderless. When they discovered they were running low on personal resources, they devoted themselves to prayer and to organizing themselves—and so their story can help us.

Sometimes, when you are empty, all you have is faith. The disciples had a promise. They believed what the Risen Christ had told them. What are the promises in which you believe? Do your hopes ultimately rely upon a strong economy, a successful profession, a good pension, a happy marriage, great kids, a nice house, good health and insurance, a winning soccer team, world peace? There’s nothing wrong with any of those hopes. Most of us want those things and more.

The problem is that you can lose any or all of them. The major mistake you and I make is basing our lives and our human worth on the wrong promises. None of those items appear in Acts as the basis for the disciples’ hope in a time of emptiness. Their hope was in the promise of Christ, nothing more, nothing less.

What I’m saying to you is that when you begin to sense emptiness in your life take an inventory of your trust factor: are you relying on the promises of God or something or someone else? When you are running on empty it may be because of misplaced trust, emptiness that God can fill.

One answer to emptiness is activity that is meaningful, helpful and productive. The disciples prayed and organized themselves. They didn’t just affirm their belief in the promises of Christ, then sit back and wait for God to deliver. They paid attention to their spiritual lives and their relationship to God. Empty stomachs need food. Empty souls need spiritual food. If you don’t feed your soul with prayer, worship, and study of scripture, chances are you will experience emptiness in your life.

It is really important to bring some organization into your spiritual life as the disciples did. (They must have been United Methodists because we love to organize!) The disciples stayed in an "upper room" in Jerusalem. Our church publishes a devotional booklet with that very name: The Upper Room. It’s a staple for busy people on the go with daily scripture readings, meditations written by persons all over the world, and helpful prayers. It should be in every home or car or office desk or on every nightstand. Copies are available in our reception area. You can subscribe and have it sent to you. It’s a way of organizing, disciplining and feeding your spiritual life. It is food for the hungry soul, designed to keep you from running on empty.

On the Day of Pentecost the believers in the promise of God (some 120 of them) "were all together in one place."(2:1) The gathered community of faith is a prescription for emptiness. Keeping faith in the promises of God, maintaining prayer and discipline in one’s devotional life are difficult, to say the least. A community of faith is invaluable because this is where people share their faith as well as their emptiness, and provide support and care for one another in good times and bad times while waiting for God’s promises.

I know you expect me to say these things—after all, the church pays my salary. It’s certainly true that I have a vested interest in promoting PHUMC. But I’ve been in some church all of my life. I’d be in a church if I weren’t clergy because I know what it means to travel this journey of faith together, to receive sustenance, nurture and support from one another that fills our emptiness when we come together in one place.

While those early believers were together on the Day of Pentecost they must have felt a sense of emptiness. Luke then describes what happened as a "sound like the rush of a violent wind . . . [that] filled the entire house where they were sitting. . . . All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit"(Acts 2:2-4)

They were filled. There was no longer a void inside of them. Emptiness no longer ruled their hearts. We sense this change in how the disciples began to see themselves. After Pentecost, they referred to themselves as the people of the Way (Acts 9:2)—sojourners in this world but not lost and empty. In the midst of our emptiness God comes to us and fills us with power and purpose.

They were filled with the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that presided over creation in Genesis. The same Spirit that presided over the birth of Jesus. The same Spirit that guided him in those wilderness times in his life. The same Spirit that can take up residence in you and fill your life with power and purpose. Invite God’s Spirit to fill your emptiness.

And gifts. The disciples "began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them ability."(Acts 2:4a). Through the power of the Spirit, they spoke other languages and to understood one another. A valuable gift for local and international witness "in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." The Good News of Jesus Christ and the spread of Christianity across the known world would not have happened without this exceptional gift from the Holy Spirit. And so it has continued where disciples gathered, received the Holy Spirit, and scattered to witness for Christ.

Speaking and understanding—a gift that every marriage and friendship need. A gift that every office and business need. A gift our community needs desperately, especially where public education and race relations are concerned. A gift that world leaders need, especially where international relations and world peace are concerned. A gift that the church needs as we attempt to communicate the Good News of Christ to newcomers in our community, many of whom speak other languages, but who also experience emptiness that only God can fill. We too must have this gift of the Spirit if we are to be Christ’s witnesses.

Pray for the gift of the Spirit for yourself and for the church on this day of Pentecost: Come, Holy Spirit! Thanks be to God.

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1. I am grateful to Jill Briscoe, Running on Empty (Word Publishing: Dallas, 1988), for this metaphor.