Breaking Down Barriers: Sermon Acts 2:1-21 Penecost Sunday

Dear God, take our minds and think through them; take our hands and feet and work through them; take our lips and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire for you. Amen

The first time I traveled to Michigan to visit Angie and meet her parents it was about mid-March, I was on spring break, but spring had not yet broke in Michigan. It was my first experience with snow banks, snow plows for sale, icebergs in Lake Michigan, and frozen ponds for ice skating. I knew it was going to be cold so I packed appropriately, sweatshirt, jacket, gloves, and a knit hat that I always knew as a toboggan. So, a few days after I arrived we went to visit her mom and dad. Now I was already a little nervous, I think most guys would be in that situation. Not to mention Angie has a very large family and they were all there in that small house. I am used to a small family gathering of about 4 maybe 5 or 6 people, there were 21 one people from 2 months on up. Needless to say I was a little intimidated. So her dad and brother were making conversation with me, asking me what I thought of the weather. I said that it cold in Tennessee but we usually do not have much in that way of snow. I told them I had brought a heavy coat, gloves, and a toboggan for my head. Everyone within the sound of my voice stopped dead in their tracks and turned to me with puzzled look. Her dad chuckled and said “You brought a what to but on your head?” I said I brought a toboggan, a wool, woven cap that you can pull down over your ears. They all began to laugh, because in their minds a toboggan is not a knit cap, but a snow sled. Her brother said that he had a toboggan in his garage but he never thought of putting it on his head. So everyone had a good-hearted laugh at the expense of the southern boy and we went on to have a lovely dinner.

I think we can all look back and think of a time when words have brought confusion. We might all speak the same language in the United States, but we often times use words in different ways and they often have different meanings. This can be dangerous if one uses words carelessly and without the thought of the consequences they might cause. Sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me. We often say this when it is the words that have hurt us and they do hurt us often cutting deep and sometimes leaving lasting scars.

Language and culture have become controversial in today’s day and time. We have seen a great influx of immigrants and migrant workers in this country and especially in this area to help work the fields, do construction and landscaping. Many of these people do not speak English very well and this often causes confusion and frustration, especially if you are a cashier at a store or a police officer. I am not going to be talking about any pending legislation or political movement that may or may not be made. I use this as an example of how language and in my case culture can be a barrier in life.

As Christians we are called to spread the gospel of Christ, to make disciples. This requires us to engage in conversation with other people, sometimes it is friends and family and sometimes it might be a total stranger. We must be aware that the words that we use, especially when we talk about Jesus are powerful. We are dealing with people’s immortal souls, this is serious business. We must be aware of the barriers, including but not limited to language as we engage in the work of the Church.

Today’s story has to do with the encountering of barriers while doing God’s work. This story is familiar to us as the Day of Pentecost, the day when the Church, the Body of Christ was born and was given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Before this happened the disciples lead by Peter encounter a barrier of language. Pentecost is not unique to the Christian tradition but started out as the Jewish Festival of Weeks after Passover. So Jerusalem was filled with Jews from all over the area most of whom spoke different languages depending on where they were from. I can imagine it was confusing and frustrating to the merchants and the locals when all these out-of-towners came into Jerusalem. I can also imagine that it was a bit intimidating for the disciples. They were suppose to begin a new church, to increase their following, tell people of the miracles they had seen and the Savior they had seen die and resurrected. This Festival of Weeks, this Pentecost would be a perfect opportunity to do this, but how could they spread the Gospel to those who could not understand them? There was a barrier of language.

Language was not the only barrier there that Pentecost morning. There was also a barrier of disbelief. When the Holy Spirit had come and gave the gift of language to the disciples those who heard them were astonished. Some gazed in wild wonderment while others scoffed in disbelief. “They are drunk!” some shouted. Some I am sure thought they were crazy, out of their ever loving minds.

We encounter disbelief in our own work as the Body of Christ. In fact one could say that we live in a disbelieving world, a world that, like the good state of Missouri wants a show me. The world, like Thomas that Resurrection morning, wants proof, hard evidence that this whole God and Jesus show is real, and unfortunately it is proof that we cannot scientifically offer. We often deal with disbelief in our own spiritual journeys. When something bad happens when we lose a loved one, when we are overwhelmed by our problems we often question our faith in God. We wonder if our lives have been wasted in our belief in God. We all have faced the barrier of disbelief.

Another barrier we face is fear. We become intimated by people, we are shy, we fear the reaction that people might have in our proclamation or Christian deeds. They might react harshly like Paul and Silas found out in our story last year. I think that fear is the number one reason why Christian do not share their faith. I can remember a time right after I answered the call to ministry. I was taking my best friend’s dad to Hillside Hospital for some blood work and the lab is on the same side of the hospital as the emergency room. So while he was having blood drawn I was flipping through magazines and watching TV in the waiting room of the hospital. While I was there a couple of seats down from me there was a lady waiting to be seen by the emergency room doctor. She was visibly upset and crying. I do not know what was wrong with her, but I knew she was terrified of what she might find out. Something inside of me told me to talk to her. Not necessarily to give my testimony but simple to offer some comfort. I resisted, I was afraid of her response, I was afraid she might reject me, she might even cause a scene and make fun of me, she might react angrily and cuss me out. I had all these fears within me and I fought and fought and just when I had mustered enough courage to speak, they called her back. I missed an opportunity. I could have helped her, but fear was a barrier.

So how do we break down these barriers? We can follow the same path as the disciples did on the Day of Pentecost. The primary way to break through these and other barriers is with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave the disciples the gift of language, the ability to speak to the people in their own language. The Holy Spirit is God working through us and with us. God gives us the strength to break down the barriers that prevent us from doing God’s work. However, we have to utilize it, we can block the call, we can ignore the guidance of the Spirit, but if we embrace God’s Spirit, like the disciples did then we too can achieve great things.

Like with the disciples, we are given gifts by the Holy Spirit. Paul lists these gifts in his letter to the Galatians, Gal 5:22. One of the most important gifts or fruits of the Spirit is love. Now you have heard me talk about love a lot, and it is because I believe that love is the central focus of God’s relationship with us. God loves us unconditionally and requires us to love God and each other in the same way. Love for all people despite what language they speak and what culture they are from. It was love that gave Peter the strength to face the crowd. It was love that gave Peter the strength to explain to the crowd that they were not drunk. When we encounter barriers it is love, the love from God and the love we have for God and for one another which is also a gift and grace from God, that pushes us through any barrier we might face.

There is also patience. In the midst of that disbelieving crowd Peter did not grow angry, but instead calmly explained that this was not a drunken display or a group of loonies but it was an act of God that had given them the ability to speak in different languages and it was a fulfillment of the Scriptures. We all need patience in our lives; I am speaking to myself right now more than anyone. As I have said over and over again we are examples to the world and although God forgives our shortcomings sometimes all it takes is one mistake to turn someone off to the Church. Patience can help us break through the barriers and allow us to wait upon the right moment that God has prepared for us. Remember in last week’s story that Paul and Silas had the patience to allow God to make an opportunity out of a bad situation.

This leads to another fruit of the Spirit which is confidence or faithfulness in God. We can become disheartened when people react harshly to our words or our acts as Christians. When people slam the door in our face when our work to make disciples in the world seems to be for naught, when the world is crashing down upon us we need to feel like God is with us and God is still working in us despite the state of the world around us. We increase that confidence through personal Scripture reflection, prayer, Church traditions, and even hymns tell the stories over again that can help us to be strengthened in our faith. These acts and others deepen our relationship with God and as that relationship deepens so does our confidence. We are strengthened to shake the dust from our feet when people reject us and to move on to other places and other people.

We cannot escape barriers in our work as Christians. Language/culture, disbelief, and fear are just three examples of the barriers we face. However, if we like the disciples before us rely on God and God’s Holy Spirit then we can break down these barriers and work toward making disciples for Christ. We have to allow the Spirit to do its work; we have to surrender our wants and our desires for those of God. We have to stop making excuses and start breaking down barriers.

Let us pray…

Grant, O Lord,

that what has been said with our lips we may believe in our hearts,

and that what we believe in our hearts we may practice in our lives;

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.