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May 15, 2005; The Day of Pentecost, Year A
    The Rev. Harold "Skip" Comer, Rector

This morning I would like to begin my Pentecost sermon with a story about a car battery.  It is based on an article written by The Reverend Williamson Brown, of Frankfort, Kentucky.[1]

There once was a couple who went to the local Sears story to buy a shiny new Die Hard battery.  As they looked at the display of pretty black and white Die Hard batteries in the store, they agreed with each other that this was exactly what they were looking for.  When a salesman came by and asked if he could help them, they said, “Yes,” and pointed out which battery they wanted.  The salesman asked if they would like a mechanic to install the battery.  The couple looked at each other for a moment, and then the husband replied, “No, that is not necessary.  They were looking forward to doing it themselves.”  The couple drove home, took the battery out the trunk, and carried it into the house.  They took the battery into the den and set in on the mantel over the fireplace.  They then stood back to admire the battery, agreeing with each other that this was just the right accent piece for the den.  Even their friends admired their decorating flair.  For several years the battery sat on the mantle to be admired, and was never used for its intended purpose.

What’s wrong with this story?  Well, I’m sure that all of us would agree that it seems like a pretty stupid idea – setting a car battery on a mantel.  Some might even think what a waste of a good battery.  What do you think happened to the “charge” that the battery had when they bought it?

Now let me tell you another story.  There once was a man named Jesus who stirred crowds with his teachings and performed many miracles.  He was known far and wide in what we call the Holy Land.  Whenever people would hear that he was coming, a crowd would form and any that were sick would be brought to him.  The people marveled at the power he had to heal the sick and raise the dead.  He was able to quote the Hebrew Scriptures forwards and backwards, and his teachings, while often simple were so deep, so profound.

One evening when he met with his disciples he told them that everything he said – all of those teachings and parables, and all of the miracles that he performed – from walking on water to healing the sick, he did not do them, but God did them through him.  And now before he left, yes he was going away, he told the disciples that when that occurred he would send them the Holy Spirit.  He went on to tell them that when they received the Holy Spirit they would then be able to do the same things that he had done.  Just as he had received power for his ministry, so would they receive power to continue that ministry.[2]

What should we do, the disciples thought.  “Our leader is abandoning us.”  They asked him all sorts of questions that night, and he reassured them everything would be ok.  The next day he was crucified.  Jesus rose from the dead and spent the next forty days with the disciples, and then the day came for him to leave – what we call the Ascension.

What should we do, the disciples thought.  “Our leader is gone.”  They huddled together in the upper room for days reminiscencing about how great life had been with Jesus leading them.  And they thought to themselves, “Is it possible that we can continue what Jesus started?  Or do we only have the memories of Jesus to carry around with us?”

Today we celebrate Pentecost, the fulfillment of that promise – the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Christian community.  How do the two stories that I have told fit together on this feast of Pentecost?

Of course it is silly to go out and buy a battery, just to put it on a mantle or a shelf and let the charge die.   A battery is meant to be used to provide energy to accomplish some useful work – like starting and helping to run our cars so that we can come to church.  In the case of a car battery, it is re-charged as we are driving, so that there will be enough electricity to start our car the next time we want to go somewhere.

Isn’t it just as silly to expect God to give the power of the Holy Spirit to us so that we can just sit back and admire it – allowing the spiritual charge we have received just vanish into thin air over a period of time because we did not use it?

One of the actions that use to occur during confirmation was that the Bishop would slap the person being confirmed on the cheek.  Perhaps some of you remember being slapped.  The slap symbolized the stirring of the Holy Spirit in the individual for the living of a Christian life.   Perhaps we need to bring back this symbolic action of stirring up the Holy Spirit that we received at our baptism, as a reminder, that we do not live as non-Christians, but as Christians charged with the responsibility of, as Bishop Gepert said at the confirmation service on Thursday evening, the responsibility of being Jesus.  The responsibility of being Jesus.  We have all received a “charge” from the Holy Spirit, like the disciples at that first Pentecost, to continue the work of Jesus Christ.  We, all of us, are ministers of Jesus in the world today.

This is Paul’s message to the Christians in Corinth.  They have all received the Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  They are suppose to use them for what God intended – for the building up of the Body of Christ, the Christian community, as a witness to the transforming power of God through his Son. 

Someone once said that everything a parish needs to be a healthy and thriving parish is already present in its members.  They do not have to go on a recruiting drive to get people with certain gifts, abilities, or talents that they believe they lack.  God has given to each community the resources it needs to flourish.  The problem with the world, and all too often with congregations, is that they are not connected to the power source.  They look at it, even admire it, but believe that it is not for them.

Today we celebrate Pentecost, the promised gift of the Holy Spirit, not just on the disciples thousands of years ago, or upon just a chosen few today, but upon all of us.  We each have received the Holy Spirit to equip us for ministry in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Let us not set this day, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit, on a shelf to be admired, but allow the Spirit to work in and through us as God intended.

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