Before the cross exists our regrets; beyond the cross exists our possibilities; Pentecost Sermon 2019

Rev. George Miller
June 9, 2019
Acts 2:1-4

Once upon a time there was an ordinary hardworking man named Peter, who simply wanted to earn a living.

He worked tirelessly as a fisherman alongside his brother Andrew.

One morning, after a long night of fishing, Peter was washing his nets, when Jesus stepped into his boat, asked Peter to go out a little, and Jesus taught, using Peter’s boat as a pulpit.

Later, Jesus told Peter to let down his nets, and when Peter saw how many fish they caught, his response was to sell himself short and say “I am a sinful man, unworthy of such a bounty of blessings.”

Peter’s time with Jesus had some highs- being there during the transfiguration, being told he was given the keys to the kingdom.

Peter also had some lows, like the time he tried to walk on water but sunk like a stone.

Or the time Jesus said “Get behind me, Satan- you are getting in my way.”

But perhaps worse of all was the last night of Jesus’ life, in which Peter denied Jesus three times.

While Jesus was taken away, Peter sat freely beside a fire. When a servant girl said “Didn’t I see you with Jesus?” Peter’s knee jerk response was “No.”

By the third time Peter was asked this simple question, he blurted out a bold face lie- “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

After Peter realized what he had done, he went away and wept like a baby, filled with shame and regret…

…if the story of Jesus ended there, at the cross, and if the crucifixion was all there was, this is what Peter would’ve been known for:

The man who sunk like a stone.

The man who was called a stumbling block.

The man who squandered the keys to the kingdom by denying Jesus not once, not twice, but three times.

But as we know, the story of Jesus did not end at the cross, but continued on with the resurrection.

For though things seemed to end on Good Friday, Easter Sunday came along to say “Things are just beginning.”

Because somehow, someway, something happened in which the resurrected Christ was met by Mary in the garden.

The resurrected Christ was met on the road along the way.

The resurrected Christ was experienced at the table.

The resurrected Christ was experienced on the mountaintops and at further gatherings of the disciples.

So 50 days later, when the Festival of Pentecost came along, and the Holy Spirit poured down upon the people, not only was there wind and fire and foreign languages, there was something else amazing that took place:

Peter stood up, and he spoke…

Peter spoke, and the man who once denied Jesus 3 times before a fire, ended up giving the world’s first Christian sermon.

Peter spoke and even though he may have been filled with fear and worry, gone were any signs of sinking stones, stumbling blocks, or words of denial.

Before hundreds, thousands of men from all over the world, Peter stood with the confidence of a natural man…

Peter spoke from his authentic self.

He spoke his wisdom; he spoke his knowledge.

Peter spoke his TRUTH.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter did not sink.

He did not stumble.

He did not deny.

Peter, empowered by the Holy Spirit, spoke…

…and because of that, 1,986 years later we are here, remembering his Spirit filled soliloquy.

That’s the power of the resurrection.

Our stories do not stop at the cross.

Our stories do not stop at defeat.

Our stories do not stop with regretful last words, or sinking into the water, or being labeled as a stumbling block.

Our stories do not stop when the world says so…

…The power of the resurrection is that our stories begin when God says “GO!”

The power of the resurrection is that just like Peter, our stories may lead to the cross, but they do not end at the cross!

Our stories continue beyond the cross…into the garden…into the road to Emmaus…to the tables…to the mountaintops…to the gatherings of the saints and the apostles…

The power of the resurrection is that thanks to God’s grace and mercy we are pulled through.

We are pulled up, out of the waters.

We are pulled beyond the words we’ve said.

We are pulled off from the cross.

We are placed down upon new, fertile paths we could never have imagined.

The power of the resurrection is to realize that all things come through the Holy Spirit of God.

And if the Holy Spirit wants to break down walls, it will break down walls.

If the Holy Spirit wants to make sure what’s said is heard, it will be heard.

If the Holy Spirit wants to unite folks from the north, south, east, and west, it will unite folks from the north, south, east, and west.

If the Holy Spirit wants to take your sinking, stumbling, denying self and make you speak up, speak out, and shine…it will.

If the Holy Spirit wants to empower you to visit, feed, clothe, care, love, or endure…it will.

If the Holy Spirit wants you to be still…it will.

Before the cross exists our regrets; beyond the cross exists our possibilities.

And the Holy Spirit is ready to rain down and fill us up.

Are you ready for a miracle?

Are you ready to receive, to believe, and to act?

In Jesus Christ, let us say “Amen!”