God’s Party

The Rev. Joseph Winston

May 11, 2008

Sermon

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.1
This time of the year is one of family gatherings. Think of all the parties that
will happen in the upcoming months. In a few more days, many graduating seniors
will celebrate with their friends, parents, and grandparents that they have finally
finished either high school or college. June is also known as the traditional month
for weddings. Right now, brides and their mothers are frantically finishing up all
the last minute details so that the wedding will be picture perfect. The lazy days
of summer bring with them family reunions. They provide a chance for everyone
to catch up on what has been happening in the lives of others.
All of these different events require both planning and participation. Someone,
somewhere must handle all the little details or the activity will not occur. If you
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3

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want people to come to your party, you must purchase, address, and send out
invitations. Rooms do not magically appear out of thin air just because you need
them. They must be reserved for months in advance. The same goes for food and
drink. If you expect to feed your guests, you are required to make all the necessary
preparations.
What happens next is up to the guests. One of the worst nightmares of any
host is that everyone might refuse to come. When this happens, all the work is
for naught. Coming in a close second has to be bickering and outright fighting
among the visitors. This is a perfect way to bring any celebration to a screeching
halt. Finally, no host wants a guest to go home unhappy. This attitude defeats the
purpose of the party.
The lesson from Acts starts out describing a summer family gathering.2 It
is nine o’clock in the morning (Acts 2:15b). The twelve family members, those
people who we normally would call the apostles, have come together (Acts 2:14).
Something unexpected happens during this one meeting. God the Father sends the
Holy Spirit and fills each of the men giving them the ability to speak in different
languages (Act 2:15; 2:4). The twelve start to tell what God has done (Acts 2:11b).
All of this activity must have occurred in a public place because others begin
to recognize words in their own language (Acts 2:6-11). The crowd that gathers
around the twelve splits into two distinct groups. One set is amazed at what is
2
Passover starts on the fifteenth of Nisan and lasts seven or eight days. Shavuoth is celebrated
on the sixth and seventh of Sivan. Because Shavuoth is fifty days from the second day of Passover,
it seems that the twelve were in Jerusalem celebrating Shavuoth. This holy day falls somewhere in
our calendar during May or June making it occur during the summer. This year it will be on June
9.

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happening before them while the other is disgusted at their behavior (Acts 2:12-
13). Peter then gets up and tells everyone what is happening (Acts 2:14).3 God has
given the Spirit to every man, woman, and child (Acts 2:17).4 This gift will save
everyone who calls on the Lord (Acts 2:21).
You can now see the two ways that this gathering differs from our normal
summer events. The first change from a party that you or I might throw has to
do with who does the inviting. When we put together a family event, we are the
ones who decides who gets an invitation. The celebration that God gives for us
is different. The Holy Spirit asks all humans to come (Acts 2:17). The second
difference between this family gathering and all others is that God totally redefines
what it means to be a member of a family. Even today, we only invite those people
who we know to our parties. On Pentecost, God completely changes the rules
about who is in and out of the family. Now every one is invited. All can join the
celebration if they do not turn down God’s invitation (Acts 2:13).
It is easy to understand why some of the crowd dislikes what they are hearing.
For their entire life, they have been taught that God blesses those who bless the
house of Israel (Genesis 12:2-3). What they have forgotten is the second half of
these promises. God had always planned to give His grace to the entire earth
because of His covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:2-3).
3
Peter has been presented as the one who translates the event not the message. Luke Timothy
Johnson; S.J. Daniel J. Harrington, editor, The Acts of the Apostles, Volume 5, Sacra Pagina,
(Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1992), p. 53-54 This is in contrast with other histories
where the speaker would have translated the message. ibid., p. 53.
4
The term “upon all flesh” has a sense of “implicit universalism” although it currently directed
to Israel. Ibid., p. 49. The group is widened as the messengers go out to the ends of the earth. It is
still being expanded today.

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 What is harder to understand is our behavior. God has given us the gifts of
forgiveness and everlasting life. Today on Pentecost, we remember that God has
given us His Spirit. Why then are we so stingy with sharing these gifts with others?
Why are our pews normally so empty? Are we afraid that God’s love will run out?
Are we ashamed of what happens here? Do we not like whom God is inviting into
the family?
Our inability to tell others what God has done for us does not deter God. God
can and does use other means when we fail to share the Good News that God
has already saved us. Those of you who were at worship last week saw a beautiful
demonstration of this fact. Not only were our children very excited about receiving
an illustrated Bible but they shared with others what they experienced in this gift.
Their love for God’s Word was so great that it moved us to order more Bibles
to give away. (I had hoped that they would be here today but Amazon’s two-day
delivery has stretched out to over five days.) This love of God’s Word is the Spirit
working here among us. God is here in this place celebrating life.
This time of the year is full of activities. Today, the United States remembers
its mothers for all the gifts they have given us. Here at Tree of Life, we offer thanks
for all the women in our lives. For the mothers who raised us, for the grandmothers
who took care of us, for the mothers-in-laws who accepted us, for the aunts who
showed us the world, for the female cousins who played with us, for the sisters
who helped us through the hard times we say thank you. Thank you for your love,
thank you for your warmth, thank you God for giving us these women who mean
so much to us.

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 Today, we also celebrate with the families of the young women and men who
are confirming the faith placed in them by the Holy Spirit. Each of them has heard
God’s call on their lives. They are all publicly telling us that they are Christians.
Thank you God for their witness to us and to the world.
Almost two thousand years ago, the reality of the resurrection along with the
gift of the Spirit changed the early followers of Jesus. They went from being timid
men and women that hid behind locked doors to bold witnesses that went out to
every corner of the earth. You too have seen what God has done. You have seen
it in the children last week, you see that in the women you know, you will see
it when the four confess they are Christians. Go and tell others of the God that
celebrates life by giving it to the dead.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”5

References

Johnson, Luke Timothy; Daniel J. Harrington, S.J., editor, The Acts of the Apos-
tles, Volume 5, Sacra Pagina, (Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press,
1992).

5
Philippians 4:7.