| Lutheran Church of the Redeemer | Birmingham, Michigan |
Rev. Cary M. Richert Pentecost Sunday (Series B) June 4, 2006 Defining Moments Acts 2:32-33 December 7, 1941. November 22, 1963. September 11, 2001. Each of these dates represents a defining moment for a generation in our American history and culture ... a moment in time after which America became a different country. For my parents’ generation it was the bombing of Pearl Harbor ... the beginning of World War II. For my generation it was the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. And for our children’s generation it’s the day the World Trade Center was destroyed. Defining moments that changed the face of our nation. A "defining moment" is a moment or event that gives form or meaning or identity to something. Corporations have defining moments in their histories. Institutions of society have them. Families and individuals have them. April 29, 2006. The recent major heart attack of our oldest daughter, Rachel, is now a defining moment for our family. It’s become for us an event through which we’ve developed a whole new grasp and appreciation for the power of God’s love and eternal promises. We now see our relationships with one another in new ways. Our love for each other has taken on a new dimension. We think of our time together differently. Life’s priorities have been realigned and clarified for us. We think of God ... and faith ... and prayer ... and eternity in new and more personal ways. A defining moment such as we recently experienced is an important part of God’s work of love and faithfulness in our lives. Individuals have defining moments in their earthly lives ... moments that change significantly who they are ... how they think ... the way they relate. Marriage ... becoming a parent ... the death of a loved one ... a change in career. These and many other defining moments are like jigsaw puzzle pieces, that ultimately fit together to form the larger picture of our lives as God’s people. Each moment, or event, is important ... some only in ways that God knows ... and some, in ways that we’re privileged to see – but often only in looking back upon them! The history of our Lord’s Church has defining moments as well. These moments are highlighted throughout the Church Year at the great festival celebrations: Christmas, Easter and – today – Pentecost. Had Jesus not become flesh and dwelt among us, and suffered and died for our sins ... there’d be no Church. Had Christ not been raised from the dead, our faith would be in vain, as Paul writes, and we’d be lost forever in our sins ... and there’d be no Church. Had Jesus not sent His Holy Spirit on Pentecost, as He promised, He’d be a liar ... and there’d be no Church. The most important defining moments of our Lord’s Church are those connected to His own saving work on our behalf. Our text today is a portion of the first recorded sermon preached to the New Testament Church. The apostle Peter was the preacher. Jesus had suffered and died to redeem sinful mankind from God’s eternal wrath and punishment. He’d risen from the dead and ascended into heaven. And on that great day He’d sent His Holy Spirit upon His disciples. With great power and conviction Peter spoke: Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. [Acts 2:32-33]Peter directs his hearers – and us today – to the defining moments in God’s plan for saving sinful mankind from the punishment we deserve for our sins: Jesus’ incarnate teaching and preaching ministry ... His suffering and death at the hands of sinful mankind ... His glorious resurrection from the tomb ... and His outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The defining moments of the Lord’s Church are the anchors that keep His Church from drifting aimlessly on the wavy sea of ... ... false teaching and the worldly wisdom of the age, invented by sinful men, ... divisions brought about by sinful pride and arrogance, [1 Corinthians 3:1-15]... persecution by those who would seek to destroy the Lord’s Church, [i.e. Acts 7, Stephen]Peter’s sermon on the first Pentecost anticipated the challenges the Lord’s Church would face through the ages. Peter speaks words of comfort and hope, rooted in the Name of Jesus. He preaches the gracious love of Christ, now seated at the right hand of the Father. There our Lord pours out the gifts of His grace ... given by His Holy Spirit through the means of His holy Word and Sacraments. The defining moment in your life of faith? The day on which you were adopted by the Father as a child and heir of His holy family. The day on which all your sins were washed away. The day on which the Lord said to you: I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are mine, [Isaiah 43:1]. The day of your Holy Baptism!On that great and glorious day in your life, everything Jesus did for the world 21 centuries ago became personal for you! And in the defining moment of your faith-life, the same Holy Spirit Jesus poured out upon Peter and the other apostles ... He poured out upon you! That same Holy Spirit now lives in you! That same Holy Spirit brings you the Lord’s gifts of faith ... forgiveness ... new life ... eternal salvation. And that same Holy Spirit now gives you the strength and ability to live your life in a way that honors God and serves others. As Peter would later write in his First Epistle: Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us. [1 Peter 2:11-12]Dear friends, on this Pentecost Day of 2006 – as you have received the gift of God’s Holy Spirit – live trusting the Lord’s reassuring promise, that (nothing) in all creation, will be able to separate (you) from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, [Romans 8:39]. This promise has been the strength of the Lord’s Church at every defining moment of its formation. This promise was our family’s strength in the defining moment of our daughter’s heart attack. May it be your strength as well, in every defining moment of your life.May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit, [Romans 15:13]. Amen. |
|||