Wind Blown
Listen to this sermon here.
Gate Pa – Pentecost Sunday 2015
Readings:
Psalm Psalm 104:24-34, 35
First Reading:
Acts
2:1-21
Second Reading:
Rom
8:22-27
Gospel:
John 15:26-27
16:4-15
What I want to say:
Explore the wonder of the
languages, and the social justice basis for pentecost
What I want to happen:
People to be opened to the radical newness of what Pentecost
is all about
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
who felt earth move listened to Acts reading
left feeling bewildered, amazed, astonished or
perplexed?
guess is none of us
2000 years hearing
so familiar
too familiar
hearing different language from what occurred
in
when
occurred
what
written in
miss so much radical nature what Luke
describes
left with nice story
need birthday cake for the church
happy birthday church.
2. Language
experience of Maori class – operates in te reo
Maori
get a lot of what is saying
have to really focus
know lot I am missing a lot
don’t have vocab truly understand all being
said
not spent a lot time around marae and Maori
settings
don’t
get some idioms and phrases.
Langauge is tricky thing.
When on Iona 10 years ago
doing my after lunch duty woman grown up in
Glasgow
spent last 20 years in Perth
before coming to Iona
been home
as we swept she spoke to me
apparently we both were speaking same language
I had no idea what she said
spoke in Glaswegian once
which
translated at – we are a bunch of mucky pups
even
knowing that – no idea what she had said
language is tricky thing
so
much more that words and grammar
experienced that other way around
exchange students
whose English pretty good
whole lot of New Zealand slang they kept
missing
we used without thinking
left them with blank faces
teaching in Pacific Islands or Solomons –
people for whom English is not first language
always trying
keep
it simple
leave
out New Zealand isms
realise is that whole of language tied up with
where from
words
images
sayings
all which only make sense if know the assumed
knowledge that lies behind what is being said.
so while I am trying to learn te reo
unless immerse myself in te ao Maori
always going to be pretty superficial
bucket load of cultural images, stories,
sayings
not
get
never
use
leave my language impoverished
3. Translating
that makes translating work so hard
remember at peace event in Brazil where
Desmond Tutu was speaking about us being arms of Jesus
translated
as we are guns of Jesus
even harder when talking about translating
words written at least 2000 years ago in
very different language and culture
work translators made so much more difficult
too
often not really knowing that assumed knowledge
even
if do – trying work out how capture that in their work
all of which is why we are not feeling
bewildered, amazed, astonished or perplexed
a lot going on in this story that we just miss
4. God’s new thing
all which makes Pentecost such ground breaking
event
People heard their own dialect
Glaswegians would have heard
not
just English
Glaswegian
own language
with all little nuances from where came from
used their images
used their little sayings
they heard what a bunch of mucky pups when
everyone else heard gibberish.
not only hear it
heard it in their language of home
Remember friend mine talking about coming home
from OE
arrived airport in London
check in person said “sweet”
like she was home already
in this story today
people
hear their dialect
with
all emotion that evokes
of
family and land
sense
of belonging
of
rootedness
Gospel proclaimed to them
in
their language
just imagine how people felt as they heard
this
in their own language
hearing and understanding
with no strain of trying comprehend
in
this place where always having strain a little
response they are bewildered, amazed,
astonished or perplexed
are we?
5. Ramifications
At heart of todays readings is declaration
that God is doing a radically new thing
number radically new things
left those initially involved feeling bewildered,
amazed, astonished or perplexed
Most obvious is ..
there
is no one holy language
no God language
unlike just about every other religion around Jerusalem
and Roman world at time
Judaism – Hebrew is God’s language
holy
language
language of scripture
language of prayer -
places Israel and Jerusalem at centre of that religion
where you look to
other sects arose around that time
used
language of founders – sacred language
geographical
centre became home religion
600 years later – Islam arise out Arabic
Peninsular
language
of Prophet Mohammed Arabic becomes the language of God
language
worship
language
of scripture
Prophet
Mohammed’s Home of Mecca becomes centre of that religion
similar assumption among new group of
followers Jesus
good
Jews
Hebrew
continue to be language God
Jerusalem
with temple – be geographical centre
Pentecost explodes all those expectations
Book acts recounts story how all other expectations
feel
to one side as gospel spread
suddenly no language is more important that
others
no place is more important than others
eventually understood as
no
people more important
no
culture more important
God is shaking thing up here
literally
and figuratively
and still is
shaking up our assumptions
shaking up our notions how God operates and
who God works through
6. Pentecost
Pentecost is about Coming of Holy Spirit of
God
message is clear
Spirit of God is at work in every people,
place and language.
God will be known in new and fresh ways
not just here in the holiest of all cities
Jerusalem
but where you are from
God does not need to be taken there
God is there
at work
offering hope
creating new ways of being a society
all important
all cared for
God is doing a very different thing
God is breaking out all moulds God stuffed
into
Are we ready?
what moulds are creaking today
How are we hearing God’s words of life to us
afresh
in our language of home
Come Holy Spirit
shake the hearts of your faithful
fill the hearts of your faithful
and kindle in them the fire of your love
Send forth your Spirit
and we shall be created
and you will renew the face of the earth
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