"A Moral Pentecost: Speaking in Tongues" - Acts 2:1-21 (June 9, 2019)

Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 

“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

__________________________________________________________________________________________

This month is LGBT+ Pride month (LGBT stands for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender).  As an ally of the LGBT+ community I’ve decided that part of my observation of Pride Month would be doing some research to better understand the roots of the Pride movement in this country.  As it turns out, this year is a major anniversary in the life of the LGBT+ community.

The LGBT+ rights movement began 50 years ago during an event that has come to be known as the Stonewall Riots.  This country was a dangerous place to be gay or transgender in the 1950’s and 60’s (indeed, there are still places where it is dangerous to be gay or transgender but it was especially so in those days).  At the time, 49 out of 50 states had laws prohibiting homosexuality; one, of course, being the commonwealth of Kentucky.  Because of this, there were very few places that homosexual or transgender folks could go in public and feel relatively safe.  One of the few places where they could feel safe, were bars.  There was a bar called the Stonewall Inn on Christopher Street in Greenwich Village in New York City that was a well-known haven for gay and transgender folks.  Despite New York’s anti-homosexuality laws, the Stonewall Inn was able to function in this capacity because, interestingly enough, it was owned by the mafia.  The mafia overcharged the frequenters of the Stonewall Inn and extorted the wealthy folks who came there, threatening to “out” them to their family or employers if they didn’t pay up.  In return, the mafia bribed the New York City Police Department to look the other way.

Well, this worked until a day that is now infamous in the LGBT+ community.  It all came to an end when the NYPD raided the Stonewall Inn in the early hours of June 28th, 1969, 50 years ago this month.  They lined up the customers and began to arrest folks for engaging in homosexual behavior and wearing “non-gender appropriate clothing.”  Then some of the customers started to resist the cops by resisting arrest.  Outside the bar, people started gathering by the hundreds and thousands and began a riot that lasted several days.

Such was the beginning of the LGBT+ rights movement that continues to this day.  Even today, the struggle continues.  As of April this year, transgender persons are not allowed to join the military, the current administration has declared that all service members must adhere to “the standards associated with their biological sex.”  There is a great deal of homophobia right here in the South, where so-called evangelical Christianity has done much to harm LGBT+ folks and exclude them from the Church.  Today, the LGBT+ rights movement continues.  Our denomination, the Presbyterian Church USA, has only allowed LGBT+ to be ordained and married in the past decade.  As I mentioned earlier, this church’s session voted unanimously to affirm same-sex marriage less than two years ago.  But it all began, 50 years ago this month when a diverse group of folks were emboldened to stand up and and stretch the moral imagination of this nation.

Friends, I call that a moral pentecost.  When the Spirit descends upon a group of people, people from varying backgrounds and ethnicities, of different languages, sexual orientation or gender identities, political affiliations or geographic backgrounds, to join in a movement that is larger than any one person, a movement that will bring justice and equality to those who need it.  Y’all, that’s Gospel work whether it’s done in God’s name or not.

Now, for the record, I am not advocating for violence as a means of achieving “justice.”  However, the Stonewall Riots were the beginning of a moral pentecost in which a group of diverse people came together to start a larger movement of love, compassion, inclusivity, and, really, basic human dignity.  The first gay pride parade happened on the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Riots on June 28th, 1970, and they’ve been happening every year since.  In fact, there will be a Pride festival last this month in downtown Lexington if anyone would like to join me to show our support.

But friends, this is not the first moral pentecost this country has had and it won’t be the last.  The anti-slavery movement of the 19th century was a moral pentecost.  The women’s suffrage movement of the early 20th century was a moral pentecost.  The civil rights movement was a moral pentecost.  The Black Lives Matter movement is a moral pentecost.  

And today’s passage from the Book of Acts bears uncanny resemblance to many of these moral pentecosts.  The people in that room, the people who, scripture tells us, had gathered from all around to worship Jesus, the people who had those tongues of Spirit-fire descending upon their heads, they were engaging in activities the state deemed illegal.  Just as the Commonwealth of Kentucky considered homosexuality to be threat punishable by fines and incarceration in 1969, so too did the Roman Empire consider Christianity to be a threat that must be extinguished by any means necessary.  Today’s passage is in chapter two of the Book of Acts.  Fast forward a couple more and we are introduced to a man named Saul who was paid by the Roman Empire to hunt down men and women who worshiped Jesus and have them imprisoned for sedition and treason.

The people in that room with the tongues of flames settling upon their heads knew the risk.  They knew that their actions were punishable by death, a death just as horrible as the death their savior had endured and conquered not that long ago.  So when the stakes were that high, Peter - remember Peter? - he stood up and decided to address the crowds outside that had amassed because of all the racket.

Peter stands up and quotes a passage from the book of Joel in what we call the Old Testament.  He speaks of days in which God will pour out God’s spirit upon all flesh, and all kinds of people, young and old, will prophesy.  So in order to have a moral pentecost, scripture tells us that we must be prophets - all of us - from pulpit, to pew, to public.  

On this Pentecost Sunday, we are reminded that we have all been anointed by the power of the Holy Spirit to be prophets.  Now, often when we think about prophets, we think that it is their job simply to predict the future.  But, I think that their job is often less about predicting the future and more about interpreting the present.  

A prophet’s job is - in the words of Karl Barth - to have the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.  On the one hand, we hold the stories of God’s truth, the stories that speak of freedom to the oppressed, food for the hungry, healing for the sick, hope to the hopeless, and righteousness for all people.  On the other hand, we hold the newspaper that often tells us different stories: stories of rampant injustice, stories of racism and xenophobia (from both sides of the political aisle, for the record), such stories of pain, mourning, and suffering.

We, as prophets, must interpret these events and expand the moral imagination of this nation in order that we might better embody the beloved community that God is calling us to be.  A community where none have to fear persecution because of the color of their skin, or who or how they choose to love, or the country in which they were born.  A community where the first are last and the last are first.  A community in which Jesus presides at the Table and all are welcome to the everlasting feast.

And in order to grow into that promise, the promise that we have in scripture that one day God will wipe the tear from every eye, we have to speak in tongues.  No, not literal tongues - although there’s nothing wrong with that if that’s your gig.  I’m talking about tongues of a more nuanced kind.  The type of tongues that are spoken when the world around you considers what you’re saying to be nonsense, jibberish, silly, idealistic.

You see, when you go out into a world that is filled with voices - loud voices - telling you the latest group of people you should be scared of, and you instead respond with words of hope and love, that’s speaking in tongues.

When the powers that be are doing everything they can to make America white again, and you tell them the story of Pentecost when God brought all kinds of folks together of different skin colors and languages to work together for the common good, people are gonna think you’re speaking in tongues.

When you meet hate and you respond with love, you’re speaking in tongues.

When you’re struck in the face and you turn the other cheek, you’re speaking in tongues.

Speaking in tongues is dangerous business, my friends, but it is the work of the Gospel.  

Today is Pentecost.  The day that the Church was anointed by the Holy Spirit to go out into this beautiful and broken world to share God’s grace relentlessly, to preach God’s mercy stubbornly, and to love all kinds of people - ALL kinds of people - ferociously!  That, my friends, is a moral pentecost!

So, you prophets of God’s moral pentecost, happy birthday!

Let’s go speak in tongues!

In the name of God the Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.  May all of God’s people say, “Amen!”

Comment

Stephen Fearing

Stephen was born in 1988 in Cookeville, TN, where his parents met whilst attending Tennessee Tech. Shortly after, they moved to Dalton, Georgia where they put down roots and joined First Presbyterian Church, the faith family that taught Stephen that he was first and foremost a beloved child of God. It was this community that taught Stephen that it was OK to have questions and doubts and that nothing he could do could every possibly separate him from the love of God. In 1995, his sister, Sarah Kate, joined the family and Stephen began his journey as a life-long musician. Since then, he has found a love of music and has found this gift particularly fitting for his call to ministry. Among the instruments that he enjoys are piano, trumpet, guitar, and handbells. Stephen has always had a love of singing and congregation song. An avid member of the marching band, Stephen was the drum major of his high school's marching band. In 2006, Stephen began his tenure at Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC where he majored in Religion and minored in History. While attending PC, Stephen continued to explore his love of music by participating in the Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Jazz Trio, as well as playing in the PC Handbell ensemble and playing mandolin and banjo PC's very own bluegrass/rock group, Hosegrass, of which Stephen was a founding member (Hosegrass even released their own CD!). In 2010, Stephen moved from Clinton to Atlanta to attend Columbia Theological Seminary to pursue God's call on his life to be a pastor in the PC(USA). During this time, Stephen worked at Trinity Presbyterian Church, Silver Creek Presbyterian Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and Westminster Presbyterian Church. For three years, Stephen served as the Choir Director of Columbia Theological Seminary's choir and also served as the Interim Music Director at Westminster Presbyterian Church. In 2014, Stephen graduated from Columbia with a Masters of Divinity and a Masters of Arts in Practical Theology with an emphasis in liturgy, music, and worship. In July of 2014, Stephen was installed an ordained as Teaching Elder at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church in Shelter Island, NY. Later that year, Stephen married the love of his life, Tricia, and they share their home on Shelter Island with their Golden Doodle, Elsie, and their calico cat, Audrey. In addition to his work with the people who are Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, Stephen currently serves as a commission from Long Island Presbytery to the Synod of the Northeast and, beginning in January of 2016, will moderate the Synod's missions team.