Acts 2:1-21

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’ All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

“In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.
And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

Rites of Passage

Miles, Sara, Val, this sermon is for you. The others here might get something out of it, but this day is important for you.

It’s really a rite of passage, in a way. And, rites of passage are important because they signify – to yourselves and to the community – that you have passed an important milestone in life. You are, in essence, a deeper, more mature person. You are a changed person… even if you don’t really feel like it.

We actually don’t have many rites of passage in our modern culture. They were much more prominent in more traditional cultures. Maybe you’ve heard of the Vision Quest, where Native American children, about your age would head out into the wilderness – totally alone – for several days without food and water and wait for a vision. Hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, they are expected to sit there and wait until they receive a vision that reveals something key about who they are to become as an adult. How’s that for intense?

Or, consider the Bar Mitzvas and Bat Mitzvas of our Jewish sisters and brothers. At right about the same age you are, they are expected to memorize a significant portion of the Bible in Hebrew and then – in front of all of their friends and family in the synagogue – chant it… all by themselves. To know the scriptures – by heart – is to be a mature adult in the Jewish faith.

And you thought it was hard getting to the eight sessions of confirmation class we’ve had since January!

Confirmation class

Though we may have lacked the intensity of other, traditional rites of passage preparation, we learned a lot. And, we actually had fun, didn’t we?

For those of you who don’t know, we shared a joint confirmation class with the First Presbyterian Church of Wappingers Falls. Twice a month we gathered, alternating between Beacon and Wappingers Falls, with our classmates, RJ, Wesley, and Haleigh, as well as the Rev. Lindsay Borden.

We kicked off our first session by focusing on the answer to question #4 of the study catechism, or Q4 as we called it:

By the Holy Spirit, I am made one with the Lord Jesus Christ. I am baptized into Christ’s body, the church. As a member of this community, I trust in God’s Word, share in the Lord’s Supper, and burn to god in prayer. As I grow in grace and knowledge, I am led to do the good works that God intends for my life.

We played a game to help us learn this – where there were a variety of ways of sharing the clues, from acting them out to drawing them. And somehow in the process of drawing people in the clues, a very unique four-armed person emerged that became a signature style for all future drawings.

We had a retreat with the Rev. Aqueelah and confirmands from other churches at the Holmes Camp where we learned about God’s purpose for our lives. We talked about what it means to be Presbyterian and we learned about serving others through a visit to Habitat for Humanity. We learned about prayer, and we led worship at our last Revive service, with a version of the Lord’s Prayer and a special skit about prayer. At our last class, we were given special sound effect machines by Rev. Lindsay to remind us of the learning and laughter we shared together. Did anyone bring theirs?

Public proclamation

All of that learning and laughing and sharing was to prepare you for today… Sara and Val, as you join the church Universal by being baptized, and Miles and Sara, as you join this particular church. You will come forward and proclaim what you believe. You will renounce evil in the world and you will declare your faith in the form of a statement of faith that we wrote together as a class.

It all feels like pretty important stuff… and it is. But, don’t feel badly if it doesn’t feel like you totally understand what’s going on. While this is an important rite of passage, it’s a part of a life-long process and formation in faith.

I was in shock and dismayed when a youth leader from another church told me that the majority of the youth in their confirmation class had been told by their parents that if they do the class – and join the church – their parents wouldn’t make them go anymore! Those parents were totally missing the point.

Being confirmed isn’t the end of the journey of faith… it’s the beginning! And, the place where our faith is nurtured and sustained is in the congregation, those people who will pledge to supporting you. So, keep coming to church. Not only so you can grow, but because you have much to offer this church.

It may be hard to believe, but, as much as you need this church to grow in your faith, this church needs your gifts. Each of you has been given gifts – by the Holy Spirit – that, when nurtured, will be a blessing to this congregation and to the community.

If all of this is too much to make sense, the bottom line is trust. Trust that God is working in you and that God has a plan for you. In our scripture today, the disciples of Jesus weren’t sure how they were supposed to go forward after he died, rose again, and ascended into heaven. They were alone… or so they thought.

But, it this wonderful story, the Holy Spirit came in the sound of a rushing wind, disrupting everything… kinda like those crazy noise machines you got. And, tongues of fire were seen above their heads as they were given the ability to speak about God in ways they never could before. And, when they were being criticized for this, Peter, through the power of the Holy Spirit, made his first public profession of faith… telling all about the power of Christ. And after his sermon, which today’s scripture only shares a part, three thousand people turned to Christ and had their lives changed.

Was it because Peter was a great preacher? Was it because Peter was a great disciple? You may remember that he was the one who denied Jesus – his teacher and his best friend – three times.

Peter was able to preach and share and change lives because of the power of the Holy Spirit. That’s what we celebrate on Pentecost and as you plan to come forward and profess your faith publicly – the power of the Holy Spirit in the church and in your lives.

Miroslav Volf, one of my favorite theologians, said: "Christians believe...that neither what we do nor what we suffer defines us at the deepest level...Even more, by opening ourselves to God's love through faith, our bodies and selves become sanctified spaces, God's 'temples,' as the Apostle Paul puts it..The flame of God's presence, which gives us new identity, then burns in us inextinguishably.”

Sara, Val, Miles… all of us here… may the power of the Holy Spirit burn in you. May you trust that God is, indeed, at work in your life… whatever stage of life you might be in. May the Spirit bring comfort and hope and, most importantly, a new identity in Christ. May it be so. Amen.