Will They Think We’re Drunk?

Sermon by Stephen Ricketts

Providence-Fort Washington United Methodist Church

Acts 2:1-21; Romans 8:14-17; John 14:8-17, 25-27

Pentecost – May 19, 2013

If you spend any time observing people you will quickly realize that we are all very appearance conscious; we all want to look out best. We like to wear clean and stylish clothes and we worry when the wind blows our hair out of place. We try to keep our homes looking nice and are embarrassed when we are the last one on the block to mow the grass. Now, I believe some people go to extremes when it comes to style and fashion but everyone has paused in front of a mirror and tried to put a few stray hairs back in place. We like looking nice. But, as much as we want to look nice, we are probably even more obsessed with our behavior; no one wants to stand out in a crowd. But, there is a fine line here; we want to be noticed but we do not want to stand out too much. We want to blend in and at the same time we want to be visible. Particularly we want to avoid really bad behavior. After all, no one wants to be caught drunk and staggering down the street. No one wants to be caught breaking the law, especially if it means our mug shot appears in the Washington Post. And heaven forbid that anyone would ever see us jumping up and down and screaming in public (except, of course, when our team wins the Super Bowl). No, appearance is very important to us and we work very hard at maintaining the proper public image.

Our desire to maintain that proper public image also makes us vulnerable to the insults we throw at each other. If you want to destroy a middle-school child make them wear something different from everybody else. If you want to put down someone just make a comment about the way they talk. If you want to destroy a public figure, get a picture of them being pulled over for drunk driving. The thing that most of us fear most – even more than physical harm – is something that harms our appearance or reputation. Above all else, we worry about what others will think of us.

When we hear the story of Pentecost we usually hear it from the perspective of the insiders, from the perspective of Jesus’ disciples. We hear about the wind that filled the house. We hear about the tongues of fire that settled over each disciple. We hear about the people speaking in languages from all over the earth. And, we are rightly thrilled to be part of a church that traces its origins back to such an exciting event. What we sometimes forget is that the people on the outside, the people wandering around on the street that day, had a far different view of what was happening. All they heard was a loud noisy wind. All they saw was a group of people shouting and singing in a noisy cacophony of languages. All they saw was a bunch of drunk and crazy people carousing around in the streets. Some were struck with awe, but many dismissed their behavior has just too much new wine.

The disciples on that first Pentecost were being torn in two different directions. They were genuinely filled with the Holy Spirit and their bodies were just not able to contain the joy and excitement of that moment. At the same time, they were aware that their friends and neighbors were watching. They knew that they would face ridicule because of how they were acting. They could let go and let God have his way with them. Or, they could resist the Holy Spirit and try to maintain a certain amount of social decorum. On that first Pentecost the Holy Spirit won and the disciples poured out into the streets to praise God with all their being; and, if people wanted to call them drunks, then so be it. If they were drunk, then they were drunk with the Holy Spirit.

In some ways not much has changed since the day when the Holy Spirit gave birth to the church on Pentecost. The Holy Spirit still comes like a mighty wind and fills the hearts of the faithful. The Holy Spirit still loosens our tongues so we can praise and worship God. The Holy Spirit still fills our eyes with visions. The Holy Spirit still fills our hearts with dreams. And, the Holy Spirit still calls us to prophesy and proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ. The question is, would anyone who happened to stop by on this Pentecost Sunday think we were drunk? Is our behavior so outrageous that they would think we were filled with new wine? Or, have we become so good at maintaining our public appearance that no one can tell if the Holy Spirit is alive within us or not?

On this Pentecost Sunday, I wonder what this church would look like if we stopped worrying about what people thought of us and let the Holy Spirit move in us as it chooses. And, no, I am not talking about introducing snake handling or encouraging people to break into ecstatic utterances every Sunday. I was just wondering what would happen if someone said “Amen” during the sermon or started clapping and singing along along during the choir’s anthem. I was wondering what would happen if we let the Holy Spirit write out our offering check every Sunday. I was wondering what would happen if we danced with the Holy Spirit as we ministered on the streets of D.C. I was wondering how far we would have to go before people think we are drunk.

Now, anyone who knows me well knows that I am fairly reserved; I am not one for calling attention to myself. So, you do not have to worry that I am going to take us off in some crazy direction. I believe there are two extremes. Some groups leave so much space for the Holy Spirit to act that they do little or no planning themselves; but, then the Holy Spirit cannot really take charge because nothing is happening inside the church. Other groups try to so tightly control every aspect of their life together that the Holy Spirit is squeezed out of the church; they seek to stifle even the smallest innovation. So, I believe we need a balance; we need a middle way. I believe we need to think and plan because that gives the Holy Spirit places to act. I also believe we need to be flexible so the Holy Spirit can take us in new and exciting directions.

So, today I want to look at three aspects of our life together: our worship, our stewardship, and our missions and see how we can open them up to the movement of the Holy Spirit. Now, I have to begin by saying that our heritage as United Methodists might seem to force us into a rigid formula for worship. We like a choir that has prepared an anthem, a liturgist who can lead us in printed prayers, and a preacher who has given some serious thought to the day’s message. But, within those boundaries, I believe there are many places where we can open up our worship to the movement of the Holy Spirit. I, for one, am open to more responses from the congregation during the sermon. An “Amen” when you feel I am moving in the right direction or a “Hmmmmm” when you feel I have lost my way might help keep me straight. I believe that God wants us to sing with our hearts even if our voices might be a bit off-key. I also believe we can lift our voices in prayer during prayer time as long as we refrain from being so loud that we prevent our neighbors from praying. The Holy Spirit can use even these small steps to help us see the possibilities that are before us; the Holy Spirit can use these small cracks to open us up to even more excitement in worship. And, as we continue to surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit then we will truly praise and worship God.

When it comes to stewardship, the early church, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, experimented with a radical way of funding its activities. Instead of collecting a weekly offering, the members gave everything they had to the church and then they trusted the church to provide for their personal needs. Now, I know this sounds a lot like communism; and, I do not want to be in charge of buying and distributing food to everyone. But, what would happen if we let the needs of others dictate what we gave every to God every week. Instead of writing a check based on what was in our bank account we wrote a check based on how much the Holy Spirit was calling us to serve others through our gifts. But, in a nod to balance, I would not want you to wait until you hear the prayer concerns before you decide what to give to the church each week. But maybe we could think about dividing our giving into two categories: our tithe and our offering. Think about it this way: our tithe is given in response to what God has given us while our offering is given in response to the needs we see around us. Our tithe provides for the basic support for the church; our offering provides for the needs of those around us. This would allow us to maintain a sound base that supports us as we are launched into ministry. And, this would allow the Holy Spirit to work within us us so we can give even more freely to meets the needs of those around us. When we let go and allow the Holy Spirit to direct our giving, I believe that there will be no unmet needs within the church or within our community.

The early church also allowed the Holy Spirit to guide it in missions. When missionaries were needed, the Holy Spirit called Paul and Barnabas to carry the Good News of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. And their home church in Antioch was led to provide for their support as they travelled about. So, what would happen if we let the Holy Spirit completely dictate our mission activities? Well, I believe the Holy Spirit is up to the task, but I believe things work best when we plan and give the Holy Spirit places to work. For example, we are going to have Vacation Bible School at the end of July. We could wait until the Monday of that week and see what the Holy Spirit has in mind for us. Or, we could plan and put the structures in place so the Holy Spirit has a place to work. There are many ways to divide the labor, but I have discovered that things work well when we depend on the Holy Spirit for inspiration and empowerment and we offer our planning and talents to God’s service. So, to take our VBS as an example, the Holy Spirit has inspired us to work with members of the Spirit of Elijah Kingdom Church and the Holy Spirit is providing many willing hands to staff our VBS. For our part we are offering a specific week in our calendar; we are offering a place where VBS can take place; and we are offering our various skills to God. When we work in partnership with the Holy Spirit, our ministry must succeed.

So, are you ready to dance with the Holy Spirit? Are you ready to spill out into the streets because the building cannot contain all the energy? Are you ready to drink so deeply of the Holy Spirit that people wonder if you are drunk? About 120 people gathered together on the first Pentecost – just a few more than are here today. But, when those few disciples allowed the Holy Spirit to power their worship and supercharge their generosity and control their mission and ministry they changed the world. And it all happened because they were not afraid to let their neighbors think they had consumed too much wine; they were not afraid to let loose and dance with the Holy Spirit. Come and dance today.

Amen.