Sun. May 11, 2008 (Grant Hill)

Grant Hill’s Pentecost message to us on “The Wristwatch of Humbleness” began with the Pentecost story of the faithful who were instructed to wait in Jerusalem for the blessing of the holy spirit. This blessing, a spontaneous act of creation by God, was unlike any other event before or since, and it was not in their control Can you imagine a drunken Dolly Parton speaking in perfect French? Yet the Jews of the time expected just that when they supposed that these uncouth Galileans were merely drunk when speaking in the tongues that were the blessing of God. Grant noted that this event divided the time of God before, from the time of God after, and gives us a choice in how we choose to respond. This is not just another miracle like the Babel story, and to treat it as such leads to two pitfalls. This event divided the time before when God spoke only to an elect few, from the time now, when God speaks to all, each in one’s own age and place. We cannot expect God’s message to us now to have tongues of fire resting on our heads - that was a unique event that divided the time before from the time after. Grant asks us to take care to place ourselves in the proper time - neither before the proper time, living as if Jesus had not blessed us personally with tongues of fire, therefore we are not yet saved - nor after the proper time, to live in complete freedom as if things which are yet to come, are already here. The Babel story was not the result of human sin - God created division and the people were scattered. The Pentecost story was not the result of human grace - God through Jesus created redemption and the people have the opportunity again to choose. The promise is not that we are saved, but that we shall be saved. Therefore, measure not spirituality in tongues, as that was only a foretaste of the world to come. And live not in the past, as though you have no control - you never did. Only God does, and the message of Pentecost is an invitation to choose to follow - in humbleness, aware of our time. We are free to humble ourselves, or to rebel; we are filled with the power of the holy spirit, but have not been given control. It is this lack of control that is hardest for us to accept, in this age that demands proof and security, for the trust in God to raise us up on the last day. [AP] Listen to the sermon audio MP3 recording from Sunday May 4th using your browser's preferred media player.