Rev. Tessie Mandeville
May 27, 2007
Christ Covenant MCC
Decatur, GA 30033
What an exciting day! The day of Pentecost! The day the early disciples were immersed in the Holy Spirit and the Christian church began. Pentecost is probably my favorite day of the Christian year and part of what it makes it exciting for me is that I was ordained on the day of Pentecost five years ago.
The day of my ordination is something I will never forget. Many of you met Penny Nixon, my friend and mentor, back in February. She preached on the day of my ordination and said, “What an appropriate day for you to be ordained—the day of Pentecost—the day a wind blew and tongues of fire descended and all the people began to speak with a southern drawl!” (Penny is from New Hampshire and I am from South Carolina and we often teased each other about our accents.)
Penny left me with an image on that special day. She said, “In St. Catherine’s Orthodox Monastery, which is built on Mt. Sinai, there is an icon that depicts Mary, the mother of Jesus, as the burning bush speaking to Moses. She is pictured as the theokotos, the God-bearer, who can bear the fire of God without being burned up.” Penny challenged me to be the same God-bearer, to bear the fire of God, and to set the world on fire.
I took what she said to heart. Soon after my ordination I moved to Oklahoma City to begin my first pastorate. The MCC I pastored worshipped at the First Unitarian Church because we didn’t have our own building. The season of Lent came upon us and I started a Taize service. It’s a contemplative, candlelight service with beautiful songs and prayers in it.
On one particular evening, we, too, were all together in the upper room of the church which was the chapel. As we were singing and praying, I looked up and saw a tongue of fire coming from the candlelit cross. I had placed the candles too close together. They ignited one another and caught the hardwood floor on fire. Instead of having a peaceful, contemplative Taize service, we had to get the fire extinguisher and put the fire out. When we did this, it wreaked havoc, scattered powder and wax all over the beautiful chancel area, and we had to pay to refinish the hardwood floors! Thankfully no one was hurt.
You can imagine that this was a stressful event. There’s nothing like pastoring your first church and almost burning the building down! I called Penny after the service and said, “I know you told me to set the world on fire but I don’t think this is exactly what you had in mind.” And my friend, Mark, the pastor at the Unitarian Church summed it up best by saying, “Tess, you should’ve known that you just can’t burn a cross in a Unitarian church!” I learned a lot about wind and fire in Oklahoma City.
The day of Pentecost came as a surprise to the disciples. Truth be told, the disciples were a mess at that time. They had spent the last three years of their lives following Jesus, promising loyalty at all costs, and then they watched their friend die a violent death. After the crucifixion, they had many encounters with the risen Christ—and they needed them. It took Jesus some time to get this scattered and broken people back together. It took time to mend their hearts and restore their faith. They knew that Jesus was anointed to preach the good news and to release the captives, and that they in turn were entrusted with the same ministry. They were supposed to go into the world and do what Jesus did. But I’m sure Jesus’ crucifixion frightened them. They were probably trying to figure out how they could succeed in this mission now that their leader was gone. I’m sure they were wondering where they would get the strength and the power to go on.
That power came to them at Pentecost! Our story tells us that they were gathered in the upper room of a house and they were praying. A mighty wind blew so fiercely that it shook the house, and at the same time, a passion burned so deep inside them that they described it as “tongues of fire that descended on them.” What they experienced in their bodies, they tried to explain with some of the most powerful and dangerous images for description—wind and fire.
After living in California, I know all too well how dangerous wind and fire can be. I have witnessed wind and fire raging across lands and through forests. Even here in Georgia recently, and Florida, we’ve seen the devastation that wind and fire can cause. And I learned while living in Oklahoma City, otherwise known as tornado alley, that the last place I want to be when a violent wind blows through town is in an upper room!
Wind and fire are a dangerous combination. They are uncontrollable and unpredictable. I think that’s exactly what God had in mind on that day. There are times when the Spirit of God moves in a subtle manner, even a whisper. And there are pivotal times in our lives when the Spirit chooses to move in a dangerous way. And when those times come, you can be sure that life will never the same. It will be transformed.
The disciples’ experience of the Holy Spirit was so powerful and profound that it transformed them. The scriptures tell us that they spoke different languages and that Peter preached his first sermon. They were filled with a boldness that they had never felt before. The Holy Spirit took a scattered and broken group of people and filled them with power. This power united them, gave them a purpose, and pointed them in the direction they needed to go. Their purpose was to start the Christian church as we know it and 3000 people joined the church in one day! That’s amazing. Of course, I also think it’s amazing that Peter apparently only preached about a three-minute sermon! I don’t want you to get any ideas from that! On that day, the world was transformed.
The wind blew mightily on that day so long ago in Jerusalem and ignited the spark already in the hearts of the people gathered there and those people set the world on fire. But that’s not the only time the Spirit of God blew through town.
In 1859, the Spirit blew through Harper’s Ferry in Virginia and a slave revolt took place. John Brown was a man with fire deep inside him, and he not only led this insurrection, he gave his life for it. It was this revolt that eventually led to the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves. The Spirit took a scattered and broken people and filled them with power. This power united them, gave them a purpose and pointed them in the direction of dignity and freedom. The world was transformed again.
In 1969, the Spirit blew through Los Angeles, CA, and tongues of fire came to rest on a group of 12 men gathered in an upstairs room at a bar. These were men who were thrown out of their churches because they were gay. The Spirit took these scattered and broken people and filled with power. This power united them, gave them a purpose and pointed them in the direction they needed to go. This gathering of 12 men in a bar was the first church service held for the denomination that would become MCC. We now have over 250 churches world-wide which minister primarily to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, though we are always thrilled and honored when our straight friends and allies join us.
The Spirit of God blew through New York City on June 28, 1969. On this day a group of gay people were gathered in a bar known as the Stonewall Inn. The police showed up once again to harass them but this time, they fought back. The people were filled with the fire of indignation that said, “You cannot mistreat me because I am gay. I am still a human being.” The Spirit took a scattered and broken people and filled them with power. That power unified them, gave them a purpose and pointed them in the direction of liberation. This event at the Stonewall Inn sparked the gay liberation movement that continues to transform the world today.
The Spirit of God blew through Decatur, GA, in May 1992. On this day, a group of people joined together and said, “We need a church that embraces liberation, feminist and inclusive theologies.” The Spirit saw a passionate and dedicated group of people and filled them with power. That power unified them, gave them a purpose and pointed them in the direction they needed to go. Christ Covenant MCC was born and is still transforming the world.
The book of Acts is the only New Testament book to tell the story of the church. The story is not meant to point backward to the church but to point forward to the ongoing work of the Spirit in the church! According to the scripture, everyone is able to understand ‘the mighty works of God.’ The Holy Spirit doesn’t work in a way that bypasses us human beings. It works with us and in us to accomplish the mighty works of God!
We are the church alive! We are called to reach into people’s scattered and broken lives to offer them hope for transformation. We are not only called to reach into but we are called to speak to them. It’s not an accident that the disciples described the phenomenon as ‘tongues of fire.’ We use our tongues to speak and to communicate God’s Spirit. God says that when the Spirit is poured upon us, we will prophesy! In order to prophesy, we must speak! We need to speak our stories of hope and transformation. We need to speak about a God whose love is inclusive. We need to speak about Christ Covenant, a place where whoever you are and wherever you’re from, you are welcome here. On the day of Pentecost, the Church was born. We are the church alive today! We are the theokotos—the bearers of the fire of God. Christ Covenant MCC, bear the fire of God. Let it consume us fully and let us set the world on fire. Amen.
Copyright © 2007 by Rev. Tessie Mandeville. Permission granted for non- profit circulation with attribution of author and venue. Other rights reserved |
