Pentecost: Drenched in Grace

I don’t want you to miss Luke’s joke. He IS joking, or at least using irony.

First, the set up. It’s the Day of Pentecost. And we have seen the Holy Spirit fall on the disciples with a mighty wind and tongues of fire. They have preached the Gospel to the assembled crowd, and each one has heard it in his or her own language. Yet some scoff at the spectacle and insinuate that the disciples are “filled with new wine.”

Now, the punch line. Readers of Luke’s Gospel, of which Acts is the sequel, remember that Jesus has compared the Kingdom of God to “new wine.” He said that wine would stretch and break old wineskins. That they wouldn’t be able to hold it. And so, the disciples are indeed filled with new wine. Only it is the new wine of the Gospel. They are filled with God’s grace—with the Holy Spirit, the living love of God. They have experienced God’s forgiving, cleansing, and healing work. And God’s Spirit, living in them, has changed their lives forever.

The fire has fallen, and the Spirit is pushing them into action. So Peter makes use of the occasion to preach. In his sermon, he appeals to the prophet Joel, who told of a coming time when God would break down the barriers that divide us and restore the gift of prophecy:

In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.

Joel goes on to list different people who will be filled with God’s Spirit. Men and women. Slave and free. Old and young. In the last days, God will pour out the Spirit upon ALL flesh. And EVERYONE who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. Throughout the Book of Acts, the apostles proclaim salvation in the Name of Jesus to all people.

This reminds me of a beloved verse from the fortieth chapter of Isaiah. Many of us know it from Handel’s Messiah. “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.” Each year, as we prepare for the birth of Christ, we hear this promise. Now, on the Day of Pentecost, we see it fulfilled, and Jesus sends chosen witnesses to share the Good News.

According to the Gospel, God’s mercy extends wider than we can imagine. The wind and fire of the Spirit are too wild and powerful to contain or control. At Pentecost, God throws us a curveball. The Spirit works among us to keep the Gospel FRESH and NEW. In ways we can scarcely anticipate or understand, the Spirit falls on us with the shocking boldness of Christ’s love.

Today, by water and the Spirit, we baptize Lizzie and Sarah Lamb. God has already been at work in the lives of these children, and those of their family and friends, long before they were brought to the baptismal font. God’s Spirit has been poured out on ALL flesh. And the Spirit has CERTAINLY been poured out on Lizzie and Sarah. Today, we gather to receive and celebrate this gift. We reenact and represent it to make it tangible in their lives. We also renew the promises of our own baptisms.

Like the Holy Spirit, every child is a surprising and uncontrollable gift from God. Children present us many challenges, many joys, many sorrows. Each one reminds us of God’s mystery and the sacredness of life. Today, we immerse Lizzie and Sarah in the dying and rising of Jesus. We seal them with the Holy Spirit. And we mark them as Christ’s own forever.

It’s not that God has parceled out just enough grace to wash these children clean…to eliminate the effects of so-called original sin. Rather, we believe that the whole world is awash with God’s love. Wild, prodigal love, which we stifle or deny at great cost. And so we are publicly claiming this love for Lizzie and Sarah. We hope that, whatever life brings either of them, she will come to remember her baptism as a sign of God’s love and promises.

The whole community is responsible for keeping this day’s memory alive for Lizzie and Sarah. Parents and godparents have a special responsibility. As they grow, please don’t forget to share with them the story of their baptism. As often as you can, tell them and show them that God loves them. Tell them and show them they are precious children of God, sealed with the Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever And remind them also of the promises that shape their walk with Jesus.

Remind them of their commitment to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship—to regular worship and prayer. Remind them of their lifelong vow to turn from sin and accept God’s forgiveness, whenever they stumble or fall. Hold them accountable to their promise to share the Gospel by what they say and what they do. Encourage them “to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving their neighbor as themselves” and “to strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being.”

When we’ve lived for any length of time, we know the world is not always kind. As Lizzie and Sarah live their lives, they will each confront a world that does not always value love, justice, or human dignity. Our task as a community is to be for them a sign of God’s never failing love. It is also to invite them, as Gandhi did, to “become the change you want to see in the world.”

So many of us become jaded and scoff at the possibility of love. We are not prepared to accept the love of Jesus. We have a hard time accepting love when it is offered or sharing it with one another. Baptism reminds us of the earth-shaking gift of the Spirit, who even now makes another world possible, namely the world of brotherhood and sisterhood in the Kingdom of God.

In the Name of Christ and his Church, I charge Lizzie and Sarah, and everyone present today to live out the promises and challenges of Holy Baptism, a sacrament which renews the world—and each one of us—as God’s beloved creation, redeemed in Christ, and drenched in grace.

In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.