Pentecost

“Setting Aside Our Fears”
Pentecost & Confirmation Sunday
May 27, 2007
Romans 8:12-17
A sermon by Rev. Dr. Christopher W. Keating


Paul reminds us that opening ourselves to being led by God sets us free from fear, changing our future from death to life.


Maybe you saw the Newsweek essay a few weeks ago by Paula Spencer, a mother in North Carolina whose pre-teenage daughter’s friends were amazed that her pantry was filled with regular potato chips and not soy chips. “Apparently,” sighs Spencer, “I’m not nervous enough.”

We protect kids from everything but fear, says Spencer.

She goes on, citing ubiquitous canisters of hand sanitizer, worries about obesity, or maintaining grade point averages, kids who are “A” students getting summer tutors to stay on top of their classes, parents hover too closely near their teenage children, rearranging schedules out of fear their son or daughter won’t know anyone in their math class--even playgrounds retrofitted to decrease injuries and The fears mounted all summer, writes Spencer, climaxing in a series of phone calls from mothers worried about declining test scores in a school district that consistently produces more “A” students than any other in the state. Spencer thinks that perhaps the biggest thing we ought to fear is the effect this “collective paranoia” will have on our youth.

Of course, we could add to the list: fear of terrorism, global warming, retirement, fear of aging, fear of illness, fear of paying for college (we’re going to have two offerings next year). There is, apparently, a lot we ought to be worrying about…most of it rooted in the worry that we will somehow be out of control.

But today is Pentecost, and I feel a new wind blowing.

Today is Pentecost, and I believe God is coming to us…to release us from our fears, to set us free from anxiety, and to lead us in becoming God’s children. Today, the wind of God’s spirit blows around us, challenging us to let go of old assumptions, inviting us to dream new dreams, reminding us of our identity as God’s children. The wind of the Spirit beckons us, and the question we must ask ourselves is, “Are we willing to be led as God’s children in shedding our fears and accepting God’s power in our lives?”

It is, I believe, the same question believers have always been asked. The early believers were gathered that Pentecost morning expecting something to happen, but unsure of what. Pentecost, of course, is a Jewish festival, derived from the Greek word meaning “fiftieth.” Fifty days after Passover, the Jews celebrated the “feast of the harvest,” one of the most important feast days in the Jewish calendar. Fifty days after the death and resurrection of Jesus the Spirit came upon the apostles, gifting the church for its ministry, inviting them to dream new dreams, and reminding those gathered of God’s transformational power. “Suddenly,” writes Luke, “from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, it filled the house where the disciples were sitting.” Power came upon each believer. Suddenly, the great diversity of people milling around Jerusalem that day were united in understanding each other’s language, reversing the curse of Babel. A new wind was blowing that day, inviting the church to be led by God in setting aside its fears and suspicions. That day, they were reminded that all God’s people are to be called children of the living God.

It must have been a startling, jarring experience. Their neatly ordered world collapsed in the presence of the Spirit. The surprising gift of God lifted them to new life, but also reminded them that they were not in control.

Yes, it is Pentecost, and we are out of control. And that, I believe, is good news.

It is good news because it shows us the truth: ultimately, we never were in control. We were pretending, the way children pretend to dress up in mommy’s shoes and jewelry. There’s only so long we can pretend to wear those high heels, and pretty soon we stumble around and fall down.

A new wind is blowing, and it is time to stop pretending we’re in control.

In one of his books, Michael Lindvall recalls seeing a New Yorker cartoon that caught his attention. Two wealthy “tycoon” types are standing on the lawn of an incredible estate. Swirling their cocktails, the two finely dressed men stare out toward the expansive sea…certainly the Hamptons…and then one says to the other, “You know, sometimes I wish someone else were captain of my fate and master of my soul.”[1]

The truth is this, says Lindvall, a Presbyterian minister: “Somebody else is.” Yes, A new wind is blowing around us today…it is the wind of God’s spirit reminding that we are not the center of the universe. The hot, holy breath of God blows into our lives, knocking us off balance, but also reminding us that we are not to fall back into a spirit of slavery, but a spirit of adoption. We are now God’s children. that God is at work in this world. The assurance, says Paul, is this: “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to you…”

God’s love so fills our lives that it causes us to set aside those long laundry lists of fears that we make on those nights we cannot sleep. We live with the full assurance that we are truly not the masters of our destiny, the captains of our fate.

If we open ourselves, and are willing to be led.

“All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

To me, that is what makes confirmation so important. Confirmation is important because it signifies a young person’s desire to open themselves to God’s presence. It is not just about learning stuff about the Bible, the Book of Order, or the Book of Confessions. It is the reminder that we are part of God’s family, that we have a place in this church.

Each year, when the students come to meet with the Session, you can always see fear on their faces. You can sense they’re worried about what questions they’re going to be asked, and whether or not they’ll have the right answers. Last week, before we met with the students, someone came up to me. He looked worried and anxious. He said he was concerned about how the meeting was going to go, and he wasn’t sure he knew what to say. This wasn’t one of the kids, it was Keith Campbell, one of our elders. Hannah, Lizzie, Merrill, Alex – you have learned some facts about faith. But now comes the real test: how are you going to open yourself to God? How are you going to let yourself be led by God?

Let me start by teaching you one more lesson. Here is something you ought to memorize, to remember forever: 63X-XXX-XXXX. It’s the church’s phone number. You dial it, and we’ll answer. It is important to learn your church’s phone number, because it is the number you can call when something goes wrong.

Most of you know that my mother had a stroke last Sunday. On Monday, as we were making lists of people to call, I instinctively grabbed a phone and began dialing 909-5XX-XXXX. It’s the number of the La Verne Heights Presbyterian Church in La Verne, California…the church where my family attends, where mother is a member, where she was an elder, where my father was an elder, and where I was confirmed. It is the church that took me to camp each summer, it is the youth group that taught me how to play sardines, where I had my first crush; the church where I fell in love with Jesus, where I first was invited to share in the leadership of the church, where I first experienced my sense of call to ministry. It was there that I grew in faith and learned that I, too, am a child of God. In crisis, who are you going to call?

Be willing to be led by the Spirit of God. Open yourselves to that Spirit, and remember that you are children of God. Amen.
[1] Quoted in The Christian Life by Michael L. Lindvall, (Lousiville, KY: Geneva Press, 2001), p. 28