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11th May 2008 - Sermon for Pentecost Sunday by Pete Sandford |
| Let the words of my mouth And the meditations of our hearts Be acceptable in your sight O Lord Our strength and our redeemer Amen What a celebration it was as the bride and groom stepped out from under the chuppa having made their vows before God and the people. It was such a surprise and had happened so quickly. He wasn’t as young as he used to be and, though successful in other areas, he’d never been able to find the ‘right one’. Then she came, as if out of nowhere, the daughter-in-law of his aunt, Naomi. Ruth seemed strange and exciting to Boaz, but at the same time, he saw there was something deeper there. This foreign woman, leaving everything behind to follow not just Naomi, her mother-in-law, but her God, and to belong to her people. It all seemed to happen so quickly. He’d first seen her gleaning in the fields at the time of the Barley harvest, just as the days had begun to grow a little longer after the dark winter. He was already intrigued by this strange and beautiful woman, but when he heard her story, he made sure to welcome her. What he didn’t know was that he was about to be set-up, a match was being made. She’d always been very polite to him and accepted invitations to eat lunch with him and the overseers in the fields, but he had no idea there was anything more. After all, what interest could such a young and attractive girl have in him, no longer a spring-chicken? He was certainly in for a surprise! Not many days later, after the end-of-harvest celebrations had settled down for the night and Boaz had enjoyed just enough of the ‘fruit of the vine’ to fall into a slumber behind the grain pile, Ruth crept up and crawled in under his cloak and lay at his feet. He awoke with a shock and was overjoyed to find Ruth there with him. Within a few minutes, they were making plans for how they could be together. Just one obstacle to be overcome and the wedding could go ahead. She lay beside him until the early dawn, then ran back home to Naomi to share her joyful news and wait for news from Boaz. Hardly having slept, Boaz went to the market place and helped his much older relative understand how it wouldn’t be in this man’s interest to risk his sons’ inheritance by asserting his stronger claim to marry this newly arrived foreign woman. The agreement made, by handing over sandals before witnesses, there was now no reason in law why these two may not now be wed. The wedding day came around quickly and coincided with the celebration of completion of the wheat harvest – only fifty days after that first late-night encounter. It was a little longer than seven weeks before their first child was born, Obed, a son who in time grew up to father Jesse, who in time grew up to father David, the great king of Israel. This story continued to be told, and continues to be told, at the festival of Shavuot or Pentecost, fifty days after Passover. But why? We’re twenty centuries removed from the Church’s birthday, and double that from Ruth and Boaz. Israel / Palestine, though often before us on the news, is a long way from us. Sometimes that distance can feel too great to be crossed. But through story, these people and their narratives come to life. The significance of this romance for the people of Israel and for us as inheritors of the tradition is rich and deep. A few months ago, Murray told us the opening part of this story, how Ruth had committed herself to Naomi with the words “Where you go, I will go.” Ruth the Moabitess would have been considered a foreigner and outside the covenant of God with Israel. That she should become so central a character in the line of the great king David is a parable of how God’s promise to bless Abraham, and through him every nation on earth, is made real. One Jewish tradition from around the time of Jesus, revived early in the sixteenth Century and still alive today, is that on the eve of Shavuot, vigil would be kept as the Torah was read throughout the night. When the day of Shavuot (or Pentecost) had fully come, the celebration of presenting the first fruits of the harvest would begin. Perhaps we can imagine, or even remember (because this is our story too), the 120 gathered in the upper room, waiting for the coming of the promised Holy Spirit. Perhaps they remembered and retold the story of how, only a few weeks before, on the evening of the first day of the week, when every door to the room was locked, Jesus had come and stood among them. How he had said “Peace be with you” and showed them his hands and side. How recognising their astonishment, repeated, “Peace be with you!” Perhaps they questioned how they could be sent in the same way as Jesus had been sent. Perhaps they struggled to understand what Jesus had meant by breathing on them, saying “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Perhaps they spent the night working to understand Jesus’ teaching or fell asleep trying. We don’t know, but perhaps we’re like them too as we struggle to understand what it all means. What we are told is that “When the day of Pentecost had fully come, all the believers were gathered together in one place, when suddenly from heaven, there came the sound of a mighty rushing wind, filling the house where they were sitting. Tongues of fire came and rested on the head of each and the Holy Spirit filled them, giving them the ability to speak to people of other languages and nations.” Outside, the pilgrims, gathered from many nations to celebrate the harvest of first fruits, heard the noise and wondered whether these people had started their celebrations early and were drunk already on the new wine they should have waited to offer at the Temple. It was not long before Peter, with the eleven other Apostles (including the newly chosen Matthias) behind him, addressed the crowd. “These are not drunk as you suppose” What was happening, continued Peter, was “what was spoken by the Prophet Joel”. This was the gift of the Holy Spirit, now poured out upon all people, male and female, young and old, slave and free. The crowd of people before Peter not just carrying the first fruits, but being the first fruits of the new harvest, gathered in as an offering to God. That day, three hundred were added to the number of believers. Karen has already said how there are many ways that the Holy Spirit can be described. In Luke’s account, a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire. As the early Church reflected on Jesus’ teachings, particularly the parables of the bride and groom, they began to understand the Holy Spirit in a new way. Paul wrote of the Holy Spirit as the Arrabon, the down-payment or, in this context, engagement ring. Jesus had said that he would leave in order to return to claim his bride. He promised that he would send the Holy Spirit as comforter. So we find ourselves like Ruth waiting for Boaz, waiting for the groom to return for us. Jesus is not visible to us, but is present with us through the Holy Spirit as our engagement ring. Again we can feel distant from that First Birthday of the Church, but I believe there’s something here for us too, here in Norton Lees. We’re gathered here, like those early believers, perhaps a little confused and not understanding what it means to be sent by Jesus. Yesterday ‘Kids@’ had a great time here with 27 children at the Pentecost Celebration. Outside, there’s a parish of 16,000 people, with hundreds of children amongst them. 16,000 people perhaps even more confused than us, but with a longing to know God, even though they may not name it. Outside are our work colleagues, our friends, the parents at the school gates or our fellow pupils inside the school, all hungry to know of God. Perhaps, like Boaz, we’re intrigued by those people who seem different to us, seem to have a different language or culture. Perhaps some of us feel afraid to engage with that difference and would rather keep it at a safe distance or even push it away. Yet as the stories of Ruth and Boaz and of that first day of Pentecost tell us, these are the people to whom we are sent. Will we who have been gathered in by Jesus, who have received the gift of his Spirit in our lives, now heed his commission to go to these people loved by God? Pentecost is a day of celebration, but it is not yet the wedding day, that is to come when Jesus returns. Pentecost can perhaps be compared to the betrothal celebrations as we receive from Jesus the engagement ring as token of his return. What a celebration awaits us! We’re told that the celebration is joined by the angels in heaven for every one who recognises their need of God and turns to him. This is why we’re here – not just to be gathered, but to receive power to be sent. Amen |
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