Expecting the Unexpected
based on Acts 2:1-21
by Rev. Dr. Cynthia Huling Hummel

The other day a fire truck pulled up in front of a nearby house. I have to admit that I was curious and so I wandered down the street to see what was going on. A crowd was gathering and pointing to a large oak tree. I looked up and saw a woman sitting there holding on to a branch for dear life. The firefighters had raised their ladder and two of the them climbed up to help the woman get down from a tree.. You might wonder what the woman was doing in a tree. (I did.) Well, she had climbed the tree to get her cat and found that she couldn't get down.

It's been a while since I've climbed a tree, but my sense (and remembrance ) is that it is that going up is a lot easier than going down. The woman was frozen in fear and no doubt embarrassed.. I know that I would have been too. What about you? Have you ever been paralyzed by fear? That's how it was for the disciples that first Easter. They locked themselves up in a room. They were terrified of what had happened and what might happen. And so they hid.

Today is Pentecost Sunday, a day when we celebrate the birth of the church and the power of God's Holy Sprit in our lives. It is also a day when we celebrate sharing the love of Jesus Christ with one another: Luke tells us in the Book of Acts that two things happened that extraordinary day! The first thing that Luke reports was that there was a sound from heaven: like a rush of violent wind- and secondly, that there were tongues of fire that rested on the heads of Jesus' followers. In other words there was both an audible- and a visible sign- - of God's presence among the believers.
Something incredible happened that day: each of them began to speak in other languages- as the Spirit gave them ability. And the crowd that had gathered was both amazed and astonished. It must have been wild with all the different tongues: a cacophony of sound: much like the "United Nations" Some in the crowd who witnessed the event were perplexed and others were pessimistic- saying "they're drunk" But the disciples weren't drunk. (It was too early to be drinking! ) It was, after all, just 9:00 in the morning! But Peter realized what was going on- and he explained what was happening to the crowd- that this event was in fact a fulfillment of what was spoken by the prophet Joel: "that God would pour out God's spirit upon all flesh- and your sons- and your daughters shall prophesy. Your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams."
Before they received the Holy Spirit, the disciples hid. They were afraid of the authorities. They were afraid of being caught. They were afraid of the consequences, afraid to share the gospel, afraid to act.

But Pentecost was the turning point for them. When the wind blew through that room, it blew away their fear. And they were empowered. They were energized. They were excited. Everything changed on Pentecost. Everything changed when they were filled with God's Holy Spirit. The disciples spoke about God's amazing power. They spoke of God's amazing deeds. They shared their faith with anyone and everyone who would listen- and those in the crowd- heard them and understood their message! Amazing!

God's Holy Spirit is still at work and is blowing out fear and breathing new life- new opportunities - new beginnings into our lives and into the lives of our churches. Several months ago, I preached in a small country church that had no Sunday School, because there were no children. And not having children made everyone feel discouraged. The session looked for ways to get families with children to come to church- but nothing was working.

Well, one Sunday, a family with five children showed up and everyone was so excited to see "children in the church!" They invited the family to stay for coffee hour and showed them all around the church. Well, the three older kids asked if they could sing in the adult choir. The choir director said “sure” and following Sunday, those three children were in the first row of the choir, singing their hearts out. The following week, two more children showed up at church and wanted to know if they too could join the choir. When I visited the church recently, there were seven children singing in the choir! And it gets better! The church now has two Sunday School classes: one for little kids and one for big kids.

A few of the children asked if they could light the candles and read scripture. And one of the elders has been coaching them… and the children have been doing a GREAT job. They love reading into the microphone. They love taking up the offering. They love to be involved. The children all feel loved and valued and the church is alive with their laughter, their energy and enthusiasm. God is at work here and it has been wonderful to watch it unfold.

But it could have been different. Suppose the choir director had said “no” to the children’s request to sing in the choir. Or suppose that the children were told that they couldn’t read scripture until they were confirmed. Sadly, I’ve visited too many churches, where the church motto is: “We’ve never done it that way before.” But the folks in this little country church, have been open to God’s Holy Spirit and the church has come alive in new ways. They weren’t afraid to try something new and different. Here’s my question for you this morning: How might God be working in our midst? What ministries might God be calling us to? I want you to think about this question because it may be in a way that’s unexpected- and God may just surprised us.  With God we always need to expect the unexpected!

I think of that woman who was stuck up in a tree,, and yes, she got down safely. I know that some of you are wondering about her cat- and yes, the cat climbed down, as the firefighters climbed up. But I think how she was paralyzed with fear. I think that everyone I know is afraid of something. And some of us are afraid of trying something new. Some are afraid to take a chance. Some of us are afraid of failing. There’s a wonderful saying: If we always do, what we’ve always done, then we’ll always get, what we’ve always gotten. (it's true)

Yes, I'm here to tell you that God's Holy Spirit alive and at work in our churches and communities " Just as the Holy Spirit blew through Jerusalem some 2000 years ago, God's spirit is blowing through this community- blowing through our church and our lives: blowing away fears- and breathing in new energy and life that we might continue to do the work God has called us to do: to spread the good news of Jesus the Christ. Amen