Sermon for Pentecost Day 2017

Pentecost A- June 4

Acts 2:1-21

            It was 1979. I had been at my new job as Quality Mgr. for a small injection molding company to 2 horrible weeks. The rest of the management team was from the company’s home base in Massachusetts & had been doing their jobs for years. I, on the other hand, had leaped several management levels from a lowly quality technician at a lawnmower factory to the top spot of manager. I was frustrated, lonely, & scared.

            That morning I told my wife of my frustrations & that I wanted to return to my old job. She called my best friend Terry, who had been my immediate supervisor at Lawn-Boy; & he came over to talk. I told him how I felt & asked if I could get my old job back. He looked me in the eyes & said, “I’m sorry, Rick; but we’ve already hired your replacement. You’re going to have to work through this.”

            So I did. It was rough for a while; but ultimately it was very rewarding professionally & personally. By the way, Terry later told me that he had lied. I could have gotten my job back; but he knew it wasn’t what I needed to do. I needed to get out of my comfort zone & grow.

            Fast-forward 15 years to my 1^st church after seminary. It was in Chester SC. I had been there for 2 years as an intern & was called to stay on as its Redevelopment Pastor. It was a thrill & a challenge, esp. since I had really pictured myself as anything BUT an evangelist when I had entered seminary 4 years earlier.

            The thought of going out & knocking on doors terrified me. Believe it or not, I am by nature an extreme introvert.  I would have much preferred to find a nice, solid established congregation where I could love the people & be love in return. But God had other ideas. The congregation was soon growing, as I became a prominent faith leader in Chester, involved in many areas—most prominently in bring the black & white communities together.

            All of this was far outside my comfort zone; but as I look back I see that, even though racial reconciliation in Chester faded after we moved, I was able to positively impact many people. 20 years later there are now other white leaders who are speaking out on significant racial issues. I see many of the young people with whom I worked at the church, as a coach & as a mentor who are now fine young adults with good careers, growing families, & strong faith.

            Getting out of one’s comfort zone. I have had to do that so often during my metamorphosis from a shy, introverted nerd into the more gregarious, innovative older nerdy I am today. And I believe that the changes have brought a positive influence to many people along the way. But this sermon is not about me; it’s about the disciples, about our graduates, & about the Lutheran church in Ehrhardt SC.

            It was 50 days after the resurrection & 10 days after Jesus’ ascension & his instruction to the disciples to “Go to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father & of the Son & of the Holy Spirit.” And where are the disciples? They are “all together in one place”—still hiding away in Jerusalem. That was their comfort zone, their safe place. But not for long!

            Soon the Holy Spirit crashes through the walls, overwhelms their lives, & drives them out onto the dangerous streets of the city. And the rest is history! The Spirit transforms the bumble-brained Peter into an eloquent orator & 3000 people that day believe! These 12 shepherds, fishermen, & otherwise unschooled followers of Jesus suddenly break out of their comfort zones & create the beginnings of a Church, which today numbers in the billions!

            Graduates, you may have an idea of what you want to do or it may still be something of a haze; but God has plans for you that may well make you uncomfortable. Allow God’s Spirit to be a guide for you. Keep God ever at the fore in your life. God can, & will do great things through you.

            And people of the Ehrhardt Lutheran Parish God has, is, & will do marvelous things through you; but only IF you allow the Spirit to guide & teach you. Too many folks in churches across our nation today are content to stay “all together in one place”—usually a church sanctuary on Sunday morning. The thought of going out there, reaching out to others, interacting with people who look, think or act differently is disquieting to them…to us…to you. But God the Father, Jesus, & the Holy Spirit all insist that it is what we are called to do.

            Obviously we cannot become a mega-church, worshipping thousands each week. But we can be a more positive influence in our community, in our state, & in our world, sharing the gifts that God has given us, opening our hearts--& our doors—to black & white, rich & poor, all those in need of hope. We can be true followers of Jesus Christ, who refuse  to hide comfortably behind closed doors, but instead allow the Spirit to lead us to where God is already at work. Amen.