Pentecost 2024
I want you to think for a moment about our musicians. Each week, they come to our church and produce some very beautiful music. At some of our services, and particularly at occasional services like weddings and funerals, we might only have 1 or 2 musicians. On many Sundays, we may have up to 10, and at Christmas and Easter that number swells even more, perhaps as many as 20.
When we listen to the music, we often forget the fact that them musicians are dependent on a conductor to ensure they are in time, and hopefully in tune if he has rehearse them well! The conductor also controls the tempo and dynamics, and it is his, or her, interpretation which we may come to love. I can think of a number of recordings of my favourite choral works which I would always go to listen to first, and they would be the benchmark I would compare other performances to.
The conductor in most of the opera houses I worked in was known as “maestro”. He or she is literally the master of music, and is responsible for everything musical that occurs. I don’t want to give Tom ideas above his station, but he is our Maestro!
The thing is, although the conductor is the visible sign of unity, that is to say he keeps everyone together, he is actually reading a score, which was produced by someone else. It is the composer who actually creates the music in his or her mind and shares it in written form for others to play. Some composers deliberately allow conductors to interpret their works broadly, giving them freedom to explore dynamics, tempo, phrasing and other aspects of the piece. Some composers leave detailed notes of exactly how they want their piece performed: Olivier Messaien, whose organ work we heard last week is a good example of the latter.
But we, the people in the pews, or the audience in the opera house, don’t see the notes the composer has written, or the instructions he has left to the musicians. We just listen to the beautiful music that is created for us, and we don’t often think about all of the people who have actually been involved in creating it.
The church is somewhat like this. Here on earth, we have people who are called into particular positions of leadership. They are often ordained, as I am, but not always. They sometimes hold positions which claim to be a visible sign of unity: the Pope, The Archbishop, The Bishop. They all have a role in leading the church and we, have a role in following.
One of the key ideas we should think about today is how the Holy Spirit features in our understanding of the leadership of the church. If we think about catholic order, we understand the idea of those who are called into specific ministries as being ordained, and ontologically changed. That is to say, that at the laying of hands, a bishop, priest or deacon, is changed indelibly by God’s Holy Spirit. They are literally marked by God, and believe me that is no small thing!
Of course, not everyone who goes to church believes this, and that becomes particularly relevant when we see those in positions of church leadership who don’t exactly seem to live up to the call placed on them. Confusingly, there are many in the Anglican church who don’t believe in ontological change, they see ordination as a merely a historic formulary that will allow them to take up a job role.
And that’s the most complicated part of all of this; Bishops, priests and deacons do a job. But it is a job unlike any other I have had, in that the accountability, as I understand it, is primarily to God, and to a bishop acting on his behalf. Again, some Anglican’s disagree on this; many would follow a more congregationalist view and see that they are primarily accountable to their congregation. But that is not a catholic understanding of the church or of Holy Orders.
Whoever you look to, be it the Pope, the archbishop, or the bishop, understand that the Holy Spirit has marked them out and they are called to lead. And as sheep follow a shepherd, so we are called to follow them. That is never an easy task, particularly when we disagree on their interpretation, but, as all our musicians will tell you; there is only one conductor.
Today, on Pentecost, we should consider how the Holy Spirit formed the church, and how it continues to do so. When the spirit descended on Peter, when he preached to the church, he began what we now call the messianic age.
These events are set against the backdrop of the celebration of Shavuot in Jerusalem. Shavuot is celebrated 50 days after Passover, and has a joyous theme giving thanks to God for the first fruits of the harvest. The streets would have been busy, and there would have been noisy parties taking place.
Acts 2 tells us the disciples "were all together in one place" on the "day of Pentecost" and the Greek verb used in Acts 2:1 to indicate the arrival of the day of Pentecost carries a connotation of fulfillment.
A mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire appear. It sounds terrifying, but the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues. There is much debate amongst scholars about the meaning of this: some would say it is about communicating in a wide range of languages, but others go with the idea of glossolalia as being an ecstatic language of the heavens. Over the last 200o years many Christians have come to understand this event as evidence of the fulfilment of the prophecy that Jesus will baptize his followers with the Holy Spirit.
Peter preaches to the crowd, speaking of the Resurrection and indicating the fulfillment of prophesy and the start of the age of the church.
Just like the first followers of Christ, we find ourselves looking for leadership in our church. We seem to spend so much time arguing about power, when really we should be focusing on the need to live out the Gospel commandments.
Peter was the focal point for unity in the early church. That brings us back to the original theme of today’s sermon – where do we look for leadership, for unity?
Look closely in your hearts and listen to God. Stop worrying about who is in charge, and see that God is the great composer whose tune we delight in. We invite the Holy Spirit into our hearts and our lives each time we pray to God and when we receive the sacraments of the church.
Let his grace lead you, let his love for you shine to others as we build his church