May 11, 2008; The Day of Pentecost Readings: Numbers 11:24-30; Psalm 104:25-35, 37; Acts 2:1-21; John 7:37-39.   The Rev. Dr. Hilary B. Smith The Creative Love of God After escaping from Egypt, the Hebrew people wandered in the desert; they were hungry and thirsty. Moses was having leadership problems. They asked Moses why they had even bothered to leave Egypt; yes, they had been slaves, but at least they had food. The people had not yet been introduced to the concept of shared or mutual ministry, so, when they were unhappy, they simply complained to Moses. All of the complaining began to weigh on Moses and he asked God for help. God's response, as described in Numbers, was to take some of the Spirit that was on Moses and put it on the seventy elders, the spirit rested on them, and they prophesied - spoke with divine wisdom. The Spirit also rested on Eldad and Medad, and they spoke with wisdom as directed by God. The reaction to Eldad and Medad from some of the official leaders was negative. "Stop them" demands Joshua, one of the chosen, the assistant to Moses. "Who do they think they are?" Those in authority perceived that order was being threatened. They are not in the right place for prophesying, and so on. But Moses, who was glad to share the leadership, prayed that all of the Lord's people would be prophets and that the Lord would give them the Spirit. "Would that all of the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!" Today we celebrate the Day of Pentecost - the Day that the Holy Spirit moved mightily among the followers of Jesus and empowered them for ministry, empowered them to be the church. In our reading from Acts we hear that the Holy Spirit rested on everyone - but not before causing a great disturbance and messing everything up with the wind. The Spirit gave the people abilities that they did not have previously. The Spirit gave the people the ability to understand each other. The Church was born, and the Church has grown, and the ministry continues, not because of one or two talented human leaders in each generation, but because God acts through everyone. Everyone has been given gifts for the common good. The gifts are different, but equally important. The Spirit rests on everyone. Today we celebrate the Spirit - God at work in our lives and in the world. We have been called and claimed by God for the ministry - to be God's hands in the world. It is unfortunate when people limit the gifts of the Spirit to a few. As each person is unique, so is the way God calls and empowers each one of us for ministry. What is ministry? It is easy to take for granted that we all know what we mean by that word because we are sitting in a church. But it was not too long ago that people thought ministry was what the priest or pastor did - and the lay people received that ministry as if buying a service from a professional. Such an understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit severely limits the creativity of God, who seeks to bring fullness of life to all through you and I. It takes all of us with all of the faith we can muster, to be the church in the world, not as an organization, but as agents of transformation. As much as you and I get from church, we are not here for ourselves alone, but also for those God gives to us - to be their friend, to give them hope, to help them in the ways that we can. Unlike an organization one joins and participates in as one chooses, we are here because God has chosen us, and chosen us for others. The work of the Holy Spirit is creative work that seeks to bring fullness of life - hope and healing - to all people through you and me. That is what the church is about; that is what our ministry is broadly considered. Does that sound too amazing; does that sound too ambitious or idealistic? When you think about the faith that we have received, and all that God has done in history to reach us and to save the world, our calling may be ambitious to some but to Christians engaged in ministry, it is part of our daily life. We start to find that as we live as Christians in the world, all of our tasks can be ministry when we act with an awareness of God and God's hope for the world. Thinking small, thinking in limited ways about the church, limits the creativity of God. When we think small we become like Joshua who could not value the contributions of those who seemed out of step with the structures. When we "think small" about the Holy Spirit and the church, we run the risk of seeing the church as an institution. Now, not everything about the church as an institution is bad, but when we think of an institution, we often think of an organization that is stuck in the past. If all the people who don't like "organized religion," could see us as agents of transformation, led by the Spirit, embracing everyone's gifts for the good of the world - maybe they would be inspired to join us. Today we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. e celebrate the birth of the church - not the birth of an institution, but the birth of a movement that turned the world upside down. May we be filled with a sense of the awesome nature of God's gift to us. May we be witnesses to the transforming love of God. Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your spirit and we shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth. O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy consolations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (A prayer from the Cursillo movement)