A Breath of Fresh Air

And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. (Acts 2:2 ESV) The audio-visual effects of the Day of Pentecost remind us that while the Spirit cannot be controlled, His presence and power are certainly evident to all on whom He rests. Today at International Lutheran Church, we celebrate the birthday of the church and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost even as our lives are filled with the “fresh air” of God’s presence with us here and now.

Luke records for us the events of that 50^th day following the Passover when the Spirit was manifest upon God’s church. This is the “birthday” of the church as the Spirit gives life to the faith and witness of not only the first disciples but even us today. This connection with the church today is through the same Good News that is proclaimed in our midst. While we may not be wondering over a strange sound or sight, we too have gathered today to hear the same message that Peter proclaims: the Good News of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Yes, God is doing something new even as He is fulfilling what he promised long ago.

Perhaps our struggle is to see any real change in our world today. Even as we make advances in medicine and technology, we also see just how destructive we can become. This is true not only on a national scale but even more often on a personal one. Our desire to control and reach for the unattainable never stops. It is as if the more we are able to accomplish, the more destructive its final purpose. This isn’t a new problem. It was evident already in the plains of Shinar not long after the days of Noah (Genesis 11:1-9). Thus, the confusion and scattering of the nations, lest this limitless ability be wrecked upon all flesh.

Yes, we need a fresh start, but it can’t come from us. We know ourselves to be corrupt and corrupting. So the Father sends the Son. And together the Son and Father send the Spirit that now dwells in us. This is the fresh start, the “fresh air” of Pentecost. We aren’t breathing something stuffy, polluted, or dangerous, but something that is new, fresh, and life giving. The Holy Spirit is the one who gathers us together, brings us into community and gives us the new language of forgiveness and mercy. What was once a call for justice and vengeance is now turned to see that justice and vengeance met on the cross in the body of our Savior. Jesus bore all our sin and the punishment of that sin for us that we can live in Him and in the forgiveness of our sins.

But even as the Spirit gathers us together, so He also sends us out to the ends of the earth to make known the riches of His grace. This truth is sung in our liturgy as we leave the Lord’s Table. Not only have we seen God’s glory in the face of Christ as revealed to us by the Spirit, but the Spirit now sends us to make that glory known to all. Today, while we celebrate the birthday of the church and the ingathering of God’s people in this place, we also celebrate this day as “Sending Sunday.” International Lutheran Church is a unique community that regularly receives, equips, and sends God’s saints from this place to the ends of the earth. We are a mission post, a sending site, a launch pad from which those who have sojourned here will go out into all the world. In our Spirit-given vocations, we daily give testimony to Christ. The life-giving Spirit sends, guides, and directs our witness. This year a fewer number of families will be leaving our midst. Yet many of us will also be taking advantage of the summer holidays to travel and visit family and friends we may not have seen for some time. By the grace of God, you and I can become that breath of “fresh air” in the lives of our families, place of work or study, our neighborhoods, and even in the new communities to which the Spirit sends us as we share the good news of God’s love in Jesus.

Yes, the Day of Pentecost is lived out in you and me today. Just as the Spirit is sent, so we are sent to make known to all the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Father for all people.

Pastor Carl