First Fruits

Text: Acts 2:1-18 and Romans 8:22-27
June 8, 2003
Aldersgate UMC

It was Pentecost Sunday and as the congregation came through the sanctuary doors they were handed a red carnation to symbolize the festive spirit of the day. The people listened attentively to the reading of the Pentecost story from the book of Acts. They heard about the roar of the powerful wind from heaven and the tongues of fire, flames that seemed to rest above everyone’s head. Then came the sermon.

"The spirit of the Lord is upon me," the preacher began.

"Like a powerful wind from heaven!" shouted a woman sitting in the first pew, as she threw one of the red carnations toward the altar.

The preacher began again, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me," and the same woman’s voice rang out. "Like the tongues of fire, like the tongues of fire!" and again she threw a red carnation toward the altar.

The preacher began again, looked straight at the woman, and said, "This time throw your pocketbook!"

To which she responded, "Preacher, you just calmed the winds and extinguished the flames."

When we accept God into our lives, over and over again, we experience reversal. It happens all the time, what we accepted as being a certain way gets flipped up side down. It’s kind of like the Matrix movies where it gets very confusing as to what is reality and what is a dream. Perhaps some of you saw the first of the trilogy of these movies. It was surprising to learn that machines were in control of humanity enslaving them to a death-like existence. This series of movies deals with the philosophical questions of reality in a way similar to Aristotle’s questions about what is real.

On Pentecost, our expectations experience reversal. Everything is turned upside down. (Draw an upside down person.) We have an experience similar to Neo when he finds himself unplugged from the Matrix.

From a Biblical perspective, the Pentecost experience of the early disciples is the opposite of humanity’s experience at the Tower of Babel. We learn of this Tower in the last of the "creation" stories in the first ten chapters of the Book of Genesis. These chapters include the creation of the heavens and the earth, the creation of humanity, the expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise or Eden, the first sibling rivalry between Cain and Abel, the Great Flood, and finally the Tower of Babel. These stories teach us foundational beliefs about God and humanity; they help explain why certain things are they way they are.

In the Tower of Babel, humanity has attempted to construct a tower that would make them god-like. God, not wanting to be bested by humanity, destroys the tower and scrambles the human language so they can no longer work together. This creation story tells how the different languages of the ancient people came into being.

But at Pentecost, Peter and the disciples spoke, and people from many different countries heard in their own language. The scripture leaves open the question of understanding. Was it in the speaking as verse 4 suggests or was it in the hearing as verse 6 suggests? The babbling of the disciples, dismissed by some in attendance, transforms the lives of others.

On Tuesday, I heard on the radio about a new study of the babbling language of babies. Researchers have attached microphones to volunteer mothers and babies. The baby’s mic was sewn into a pair of overalls, which they put on when they come to the laboratory. The mic, sticking out of a pocket, has to have a cover on it to protect it from the baby’s drool.

First, the researches recorded a base line of thirty mothers talking with their babies and the baby’s babbling sounds. Then the researcher gave specific instructions to the moms. They were told to respond to their baby’s babbling by moving closer to their baby and touching them affectionately, but not talking to them.

There was a distinct change in the quality of the baby’s sounds. What had been nasally noises without vowel sounds became distinct consonants with vowel sounds. The radio report gave us a sampling of the sounds and I could hear the difference. The sounds went from n-n-n to da da da. Babbling became language.

The beauty is that this is the way of things for babies and moms. Most people naturally respond to a baby’s babbling by touching them affectionately. We don’t have to do anything abnormal to teach our children, just love them.

Maybe that is how God is as well. God responds to our babbling attempts at living according to God’s way by loving us. And when we realize that God loves us, we try even harder to imitate the ways of God. On Pentecost, God translates with love. (Draw a picture of a heart.)

Earlier in the week as I watched the announcements coming from the Middle East summit, I was struck by the image of Colin Powell with earphones on his head. "They must be the earphones that allow for translations in multi-national settings," I thought to myself, yet, he seemed to have them on when Sharon and Bush spoke in English. Given the many negotiations that have gone sour in the past, earphones might be needed even to understand the English.

Perhaps the most important quality that would move these discussions forward is trust from all sides. Both Palestinians and Israeli camps have factions that do not want to move to peace. These factions have managed to control the other more moderate Israelis and Palestinians by disseminating a culture of suspicion and mistrust.

But on Pentecost, God translates with trust. (Draw a picture of a hand shake.) God’s love and trust teaches us to love and trust others. But its not just a learning by example, on some occasions we experience the Holy Spirit and we are moved to love and trust others even though we think it not possible.

On Pentecost, we celebrate the birthday of the church. (Draw a birthday cake.) But this birth day of the church was not the first Pentecost. For several hundred years before Christ, the Jewish people had been celebrating the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. This holy day had a dual purpose, to mark the first fruits of an early harvest and to re-covenant to be in relationship with God. After a long, hungry winter where food was scarce, because they did not have freezers or refrigerators or canning processes, the Feast of Weeks meant that people could fill their empty stomachs again. The early harvest at times made the difference between life and death.

In typical fashion, the early Christian church transformed the Jewish holiday. It was still a re-committing to God, but rather than offering to God the first fruits of the harvest, God offers to the people the first fruits of the Holy Spirit.

For the first disciples, and early listeners to this story, the experience of the flames of Pentecost would have brought to mind the Sinai experience of Moses. He too had an encounter with flames that did not burn. A few months ago, during our Worship Arts Program we were telling our children the story of the burning bush and I was struck again by the mystery of this meeting with God.

Our meetings with the flames of God’s spirit are kind of like the friendly fire used by farmers. "Old farmers know that some burning is good for the plant and good for the soil. … Friendly fires create appropriate fertilizer, strengthen root systems and remove debris that thwarts vigorous growth."

Even wild blueberries produce a more abundant crop from a hardier root system after a good burn. I remember from my childhood the occasional burns of the wild blueberry fields that were near my home. The neighborhood got all excited when there was a fire in the blueberry field. We were excited because of the danger and all the fire equipment. But we were also excited by the promise of an extra good harvest in August when the blueberries would ripen.

Today, "Farmers on high-wheeled tractors slowly tow steel trailers under mounted with down-turned propane jets shooting wide flames, burning plants, blackening acres. Years of burning sanitizes fields of unwanted weeds as flames crisp and consume berry tops, encouraging root growth hidden to the eye but evident to the tongue for years to come."

In a similar manner, the friendly flames of the Holy Spirit can burn away the things that choke us and keep us from living our lives to the fullest. We can turn over to God the undergrowth that keeps us from growing strong. We can have our souls renewed and our hope enlivened when we let God’s spirit guide us in new directions.

According to The Message, Eugene Peterson’s translation of the Bible into contemporary language, Romans 8:22-23, our second lesson reads: "All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simple birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs." The presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is the first fruit of the birth that is to come. Giving birth involves effort, struggle, creative force, and more.

Miraculously, on this day when first fruits were offered in sacrifice to God, the gathered people received the first fruits of the Spirit. On Pentecost, God gives us the first fruits of the Holy Spirit. (Draw a picture of your favorite fruit.)

This morning we recognize the presence of God’s Spirit in the lives of six of our young members: Annika, Katie, John, Wesley, Tyler, and Bob. They will stand before you and acknowledge the work of God in their lives. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, asked his first followers "What is the spirit of God doing?" It is a question that reveals expectation. He did not ask when or if, he asked what, expecting an answer that would itemize the work of the Spirit in our lives.

So I ask the confirmands and all of us "What is the spirit of God doing?" What are the first fruits in your life? What are the blessings you have received from God in the last few days? What blessings could we name? Birth, new career moves, marriages, a possibility for peace in the Middle East. What are some of our other blessings that we would name and testify to before God? Commit yourself to speak about them with someone, giving God the credit and praise.

All of these blessings are our first fruits; think of the second, third and fourth fruits that will come as you open yourself to God. God’s amazing Holy Spirit works in our lives for good that we might continually be active in birthing the world that God intends.