Windsurfing
Commentary
We've all seen them -- women and men, girls and boys, wrestling with huge sails attached to a small board, seeking to stand and balance and catch both the wind and the waves just right -- windsurfers. It is one of the hardest sports to learn and succeed at, but to those who have made it an art, it is one of the most rewarding experiences of freedom. One stands between heaven and earth, supported by nothing more than the fluid surface of a lake or ocean, and powered by the breath of this world's atmosphere. To catch the right breeze is a craft not easily learned. To merge with wind and surf and sky is a delight.
So it is today in our celebrations of Pentecost. We are spiritual windsurfers. We are people caught up in heaven's powers and gliding across earth's terrain with the wind of God blowing us along. Each of today's passages speaks of the power of the Spirit, and what it does to move and motivate.
There are two dangers with our yearly celebration of Pentecost. One is to overplay its ancient significance at the expense of its current influence; we can dwell on the wild passions and powers unleashed in the Acts story as if they are onetime unrepeatable experiences, and end up treating Pentecost as merely an historical museum piece. The other danger is to attempt a whipping up of excessive emotional fervor with supercharged music and testimonies in an attempt to prove that the pentecostal spirit is still alive and at work, with the result that our people feel exhausted by the day and discouraged by the morrow that doesn't prove as exciting.
The three passages for consideration today ought to balance our approach. The familiar story from Acts needs to come alive by locating it in the larger themes and movements of the book. Paul's theological reflection to the Corinthians keeps our attention on the processes of spiritual health that are more than just infrequent ecstatic experiences. And Jesus' own teaching in the Gospel of John reminds us that any pentecostal power is not isolated unto itself, but part of the great reconciliation ministry of God that restores in us a link to heaven's family through Jesus.
Acts 2:1-21
It is important not to jump into Acts 2 too quickly. Reread chapter 1 and recall these things: first, Luke clearly ties this second volume (The Acts of the Apostles) to his first (The Gospel According to Luke), and we ought to as well. In other words, there is no pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit except as a continuation of the work of Jesus.
Second, it is very important to hear Jesus' command to "wait" in 1:4. If we jump right into 2:1 we miss the important timing of God's and Israel's covenantal calendar. Jesus meets with his disciples for "a period of forty days" (1:3) before the events of Acts unfold. Clearly this is a reminder of the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai before bringing down to Israel the new covenant and kingdom order that would shape their lives in the promised land. This is affirmed by Jesus' talk about the "kingdom of God" (1:3) and the disciples' questions about its "restoration" (1:6). Furthermore, the Jewish traditions had come to identify Pentecost as the feast celebrating Moses' bringing down from Sinai the Law of God. In other words, Luke is giving us a clue that the "wait" command of Jesus (1:4) is deliberately setting up the pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit to coincide with a celebration of the fundamental revelatory act that had shaped Israel's religious, political, social, and missiological heritage.
Third, Luke insists that the rest of his second volume is to be read with an eschatological mind when he unfolds the scene of Jesus' ascension (1:9-11). Jesus leaves with the command of how to act while he is gone (1:8), and his removal is paired with a revelatory declaration that he will return (1:10-11). In other words, everything that happens from this time forward is driven by the mission command of Jesus, and played out on a field that displays a large eschatological clock counting down the hours toward Jesus' return. The events of Pentecost must be read in this light.
Fourth, in the replacing of Judas with Matthias (1:12-26), the circle of twelve is again restored. In some ways, this seems a meaningless gesture, since the ministry of Matthias is never again mentioned either in Acts or in the rest of the New Testament. But the symbolism is extremely important. If, in fact, the kingdom of God is being restored (1:4, 6), it must be in balance with the former expression of that kingdom through the life of Israel. The twelve tribes that settled in the land of Palestine now find their counterpart in the twelve apostles who will lead the charge out of the land to deliver the good news of the kingdom to the ends of the earth.
With these ideas in mind, it is much easier to understand what Luke means when he says, "When the day of Pentecost came" (2:1). This is exactly the time that Jesus had called his disciples to anticipate. The Jews gathered in Jerusalem were celebrating two things. First, as noted earlier, they remembered Moses coming down from Mount Sinai with God's new revelation. Today was a great day for God to unleash God's next great revelation. Second, depending on the cycle of the lunar years, sometimes Pentecost would coincide with the Feast of Firstfruits. It appears that this was likely the case in the year of Acts 2. The Feast of Firstfruits called Jews to offer the early fruit of the harvest back to God before the full harvest was ready to bring in. In this way the Jews made a religious declaration that the harvest belonged to God, and God would assure that the full harvest would be brought in.
These two ideas are exactly necessary to understand the significance of the event Luke recounts. A new era of divine revelation is indeed beginning this day. The last revelation planted Israel in the promised land to form a counter culture among the kingdoms of this world. The new revelation propels "Israel" from the promised land to form a counter culture among the kingdoms of this world.
Along with that, a harvest has begun. This harvest is God's harvest, so those gathered into the new community on this day are the result of God's special work (2:40-47), but the rest of the harvest will also come in if the reapers remain faithful to their task.
The "sound" of a blowing wind in verse 2 makes great sense when one realizes that the Greek word pneuma (and its Aramaic counterpart) means "wind," "spirit," and "breath" all at the same time. The people hear a wind, but they need interpreters to experience that wind's power and impact. Similarly the "tongues of fire" (2:3) fulfills the prophecy of John the Baptist (see Luke 3:16) that the great one to follow him would baptize "with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
We should not imagine that the first gathering who were converted under the bold preaching of Peter were other than Jews who had returned to Jerusalem for the festival (2:5-11). This is the time for harvest in the remnant of Israel; the great Gentile ingathering will follow later (Acts 10 and beyond). Furthermore, in a reminder that this is God's initial harvest, the miracle of hearing occurs -- the message Peter and the others bring is not suddenly spoken in a variety of language but heard in a variety of languages. This is reminiscent of the reversal of Babel (Genesis 11). There people who did not think they needed God were forced by God to be separated and scattered by means of the confusion of languages; here people who are usually separated and scattered because of their diverse language are suddenly brought back together by the same God who is establishing a new global kingdom that encompasses all people of all tribes and nations.
Finally, in Peter's quick reference to Joel's eschatological prophecy we find the emphasis that Luke laid already in chapter 1, that this is the end time, these are the harvest days of the kingdom of God, and the coming of God in the power of the Spirit is the beginning of the Messianic age.
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
Paul began his ministry with the Corinthian congregation in 50 A.D. on his second mission journey (Acts 17-18). Devoting eighteen months to the development of this congregation, Paul created connections that would last the rest of his life. His correspondence with the congregation began in late 51 or early 52. Paul was, at that time, on his third mission journey (Acts 19), with an extended stay in Ephesus, just across the Aegean Sea from Corinth. Paul had received word of splinters, tensions, and ungodly behavior in the Corinthian congregation and sent a letter of stern reproof (1 Corinthians 5:9). The aftermath was not pleasant. It seems that the congregation only became more polarized and many challenged Paul's authority to speak into their lives. Our 1 Corinthians is really Paul's second letter, as it begins with a blistering review of the fragmented character of the Christian community in Corinth (chs. 1-3). Paul renews his condemnation of immoral and inappropriate practices among the membership (chs. 4-6), and then begins a series of answers to questions that the leaders of the Corinthian congregation had sent to him by way of Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Achaicus (7:1; 16:17). The lectionary passage for today is found in this section of Paul's letter, and is in response to their specific questions about the nature, character, purpose, and expression of "spiritual gifts" (12:1).
Paul's teaching is summarized in the body image that emerges in verse 12 and is expanded in verses 14-27. Leading up to the body image is a reminder that whatever the Holy Spirit does is "normed" and shaped by the lordship of Jesus. Jesus is the head of the church (implicit in vv. 13-27; explicit in other Pauline writings, such as Colossians 1:18), and the Spirit is like the nervous system of the body, motivating each organ through signals from the brain, and interconnecting all of the organs by means of coordination and signals of pain and pleasure.
In this image there can be no grandstanding of spiritual gifts. The Spirit communicates the life of the body. If any element of the body seeks to become an isolated entity, even out of great strength and capabilities, it suddenly loses connection with the head of the body and therefore its source of life. Furthermore, it loses sense of itself, since it only exists in the symbiotic interrelationships of the body. Therefore, according to Paul, each spiritual gift exists in order to serve the greater good of the body. And the head of the body remains the Lord of the body, Jesus Christ (v. 11).
The implication is clear. Spiritual "success" is not an individual matter; it is the result of Jesus working through the whole of the community. No part is more important than another, no gift is greater or more significant. Christianity is neither an individual nor communistic matter; it is rather a body enterprise of mutual interdependence of unique and gifted members.
When Charles V grew tired of ruling the unwieldy Holy Roman Empire, he turned the beast over to his son, Philip II, and sequestered himself at his palace to play with hobbies and recent inventions. He tried to get the clocks scattered throughout his palace to display exactly the same time and chime in unison. It proved impossible, because the mechanisms driving each clock were independent, and functioned at varying rates. In disappointment, Charles V compared his inability with the clocks to his tiredness in ruling over the increasingly independent and restless ethnic groups, states, and regions of the Holy Roman Empire. With no common source of energy or coordinated drive for their mechanisms, no unity of identity could be found.
Contrast Charles' experiences with today's clocks that can be constantly reset and monitored over computer connections and an entirely different picture emerges, one which elaborates upon Paul's picture. It is possible today to have a single source of time that keeps others in harmony when they are joined by connections of electrical impulse. Since the nervous system of our bodies is similarly a network of nerves that transmit electrical impulses, Paul's teachings about the body, members, and the lordship of the head of the body have a very real analogy.
Don't forget that 1 Corinthians 12-14 forms a single literary unit, with chapter 14 giving the practical out-workings of Paul's teachings in chapter 12, and chapter 13 expressing the quality of love that needs to drive the whole.
John 7:37-39
Most commentaries will outline the wonderful and extended water ceremonies that were part of the Feast of Tabernacles which sets the stage for this powerful teaching of Jesus (see 7:2). Jesus' words were likely declared just as the climax of water ceremonies brought torrents flooding down the temple steps.
John, of course, is reading back into Jesus' words (which were likely misunderstood or simply didn't register at the time) from his experiences in the Pentecost empowering of Acts 2. In his words found in verses 37-38 Jesus uses the materials at hand -- water and celebration dances -- to represent the meaning of his ministry. The Feast of Tabernacles recalled Israel's forty years of wandering in the Sinai wilderness, often on the edge of adequate resources. During the feast, God's providential care would be rehearsed, and the value of water reiterated. So Jesus, coming to the world wandering in the dark wilderness of sin and its effects (see John 1:1-18), is the source of divine light and life. "Living water" signifies a self-renewing source of water, which is much different from the dead stillness of a draining cistern or a muddy pond.
John's added commentary in verse 39 ties Jesus' teaching directly to Pentecost. John, of course, has his own small version of the coming of the Spirit to the leadership team in 20:22, but that should not diminish the significance of connecting this teaching with the greater expression of the Spirit's coming at Pentecost.
Application
How do we get our congregations to "windsurf"? Perhaps by starting with the idea of a party. Most of us like a good party. God loves a good party, too, and Pentecost offers us an opportunity to make it happen in our communities. Some years ago, a church created the "Reject Prom" for all the kids who weren't popular in school. At the "Reject Proms" people were not judged for their clothes or their accomplishments, or by the athletic stature of their dates, but were welcomed for being themselves. Within several years the "Reject Prom" became more popular than the regular prom because it was more authentic!
Wouldn't it be incredible if the church sponsored "Reject Proms" in every community around the world? Those who make the guest list in the celebration of halls of heaven are often, as Jesus said, the lowest and the last and the least. We know this is true theologically, but we often allow our churches to become insulated communities where the divisions that plagued the Corinthian congregation diminish the power of the Spirit among us.
One strategy would be to plan neighborhood parties each summer, and ensure that at least one-third of those who come are our neighbors who are otherwise disconnected in society -- elderly folks who don't have family around, homeless people who hang around our parks, single-parent homes where needs always outstrip resources. This would be in harmony with the windsurfing of Pentecost, and would help flood our neighborhoods with the life-giving water of Jesus' spiritual pledge in John 7:37-39.
An Alternative Application
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13. Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 12 has some other specific applications. First, he reminds us that "spiritual gifts" are a sign of God's personal love for us (v. 6). It is God's good and pleasing will that we become transformed in mind by Jesus (see also Romans 12:1-2). Most parents find it hard to give good gifts to their children, even though they want to. Many gifts are less than memorable because they are merely tangential to our basic identity and character, toys we can use, break, or throw away without altering anything in our lives. But those gifts we treasure, like the birth of a baby in a marriage, or a promotion that exactly matches our skills, arise out of a profound connectedness to who we truly are. In this way, the gifts of God to us are an expression of his personal love for each of us.
Second, Paul teaches us that the "spiritual gifts" that God gives us are a deepening of our personalities (vv. 7-11). God does not call us to be someone else. When Alexander Papaderos was asked a "foolish" question -- "What is the meaning of life?" -- he told of a mirror shard he picked up during WWII. His new toy was most wonderful when used to reflect the light of the sun into dark caves and corners. We are like the many pieces of a broken mirror, said Papaderos; while we cannot see the full scope of a life unbroken by sin, we can each reflect the light of God in our own way to chase the shadows of evil. God's love comes alive in our lives when we more fully understand ourselves and then allow him to channel his care through us in ways that make sense.
Third, Paul confirms this in his poetic prose on love (ch. 13). We become gifted when we try not so much to be something (titles, diplomas) or do something (achievements, trophies), but when we simply love others through kind living, focused outward.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
"All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all." Such is the message of Psalm 104, which celebrates the wonders of God's creation -- in particular, the animal kingdom. While the psalm does not follow the structure of Genesis 1 in a formal sense, it does seem to echo God's ecstatic delight in the creatures. In the words of James Luther Mays, "It reads as if it were a poetic version of God's repeated appraisal of his work in Genesis 1: 'And God saw that it was good.' The psalm is so full of wonder and joy at what God has made -- the joy of the psalmist and the joy of God." (Psalms, Interpretation Commentary Series [Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994], p. 331.)
In Medieval and Renaissance times, it was fashionable to produce books called bestiaries, which included descriptions and drawings of a wide variety of creatures, both real and imagined. On the ancient vellum of these illuminated manuscripts, the lion and the eagle take their place beside the minotaur and the griffin. All this is to the glory of God: illuminated bestiaries were favorite projects of cloistered monks, who in their daily pursuits were anything but wandering naturalists, sketchbooks, and specimen jars in hand. Quite the contrary, they spent their lives (when not holding pen in hand) behind cloister walls, singing praises to their Maker. Psalm 104 is a sort of Hebrew bestiary: we see both the young lions roaring for their prey (v. 21) and the sea-monster Leviathan "sporting" amongst the waves (v. 26).
A strong sense of providence suffuses this psalm: All creatures great and small look to the Lord "to give them their food in due season" (v. 27). More than merely dropping food pellets into the cosmic fish tank, the Creator enjoys a close and intimate communion with the creatures. God's presence is life itself: "When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust" (v. 29). The God in Psalm 104 is very much a sustainer.
Here, perhaps, is a logical link to a Pentecost theme. The Holy Spirit is often described as the sustainer (as in the alternative Trinitarian formulation of creator, redeemer, sustainer). The Holy Spirit is life itself: the force by which God continues to keep creation moving forward, unfolding its wonders anew in each generation. The response of the psalmist to all this is worship: "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live!" (v. 33).
In the words of Jewish theologian Martin Buber, "Spirit is not in the I, but between I and Thou. It is not like the blood that circulates in you, but like the air in which you breathe. Man lives in the spirit, if he is able to respond to his Thou" (Martin Barber, I and Thou, translated by Ronald Gregor Smith [New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958]). In Psalm 104, God is as ubiquitous as the air we breathe -- which is, of course, the root of the word "spirit" in both Hebrew (ruach) and in Greek (pneuma).
So it is today in our celebrations of Pentecost. We are spiritual windsurfers. We are people caught up in heaven's powers and gliding across earth's terrain with the wind of God blowing us along. Each of today's passages speaks of the power of the Spirit, and what it does to move and motivate.
There are two dangers with our yearly celebration of Pentecost. One is to overplay its ancient significance at the expense of its current influence; we can dwell on the wild passions and powers unleashed in the Acts story as if they are onetime unrepeatable experiences, and end up treating Pentecost as merely an historical museum piece. The other danger is to attempt a whipping up of excessive emotional fervor with supercharged music and testimonies in an attempt to prove that the pentecostal spirit is still alive and at work, with the result that our people feel exhausted by the day and discouraged by the morrow that doesn't prove as exciting.
The three passages for consideration today ought to balance our approach. The familiar story from Acts needs to come alive by locating it in the larger themes and movements of the book. Paul's theological reflection to the Corinthians keeps our attention on the processes of spiritual health that are more than just infrequent ecstatic experiences. And Jesus' own teaching in the Gospel of John reminds us that any pentecostal power is not isolated unto itself, but part of the great reconciliation ministry of God that restores in us a link to heaven's family through Jesus.
Acts 2:1-21
It is important not to jump into Acts 2 too quickly. Reread chapter 1 and recall these things: first, Luke clearly ties this second volume (The Acts of the Apostles) to his first (The Gospel According to Luke), and we ought to as well. In other words, there is no pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit except as a continuation of the work of Jesus.
Second, it is very important to hear Jesus' command to "wait" in 1:4. If we jump right into 2:1 we miss the important timing of God's and Israel's covenantal calendar. Jesus meets with his disciples for "a period of forty days" (1:3) before the events of Acts unfold. Clearly this is a reminder of the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai before bringing down to Israel the new covenant and kingdom order that would shape their lives in the promised land. This is affirmed by Jesus' talk about the "kingdom of God" (1:3) and the disciples' questions about its "restoration" (1:6). Furthermore, the Jewish traditions had come to identify Pentecost as the feast celebrating Moses' bringing down from Sinai the Law of God. In other words, Luke is giving us a clue that the "wait" command of Jesus (1:4) is deliberately setting up the pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit to coincide with a celebration of the fundamental revelatory act that had shaped Israel's religious, political, social, and missiological heritage.
Third, Luke insists that the rest of his second volume is to be read with an eschatological mind when he unfolds the scene of Jesus' ascension (1:9-11). Jesus leaves with the command of how to act while he is gone (1:8), and his removal is paired with a revelatory declaration that he will return (1:10-11). In other words, everything that happens from this time forward is driven by the mission command of Jesus, and played out on a field that displays a large eschatological clock counting down the hours toward Jesus' return. The events of Pentecost must be read in this light.
Fourth, in the replacing of Judas with Matthias (1:12-26), the circle of twelve is again restored. In some ways, this seems a meaningless gesture, since the ministry of Matthias is never again mentioned either in Acts or in the rest of the New Testament. But the symbolism is extremely important. If, in fact, the kingdom of God is being restored (1:4, 6), it must be in balance with the former expression of that kingdom through the life of Israel. The twelve tribes that settled in the land of Palestine now find their counterpart in the twelve apostles who will lead the charge out of the land to deliver the good news of the kingdom to the ends of the earth.
With these ideas in mind, it is much easier to understand what Luke means when he says, "When the day of Pentecost came" (2:1). This is exactly the time that Jesus had called his disciples to anticipate. The Jews gathered in Jerusalem were celebrating two things. First, as noted earlier, they remembered Moses coming down from Mount Sinai with God's new revelation. Today was a great day for God to unleash God's next great revelation. Second, depending on the cycle of the lunar years, sometimes Pentecost would coincide with the Feast of Firstfruits. It appears that this was likely the case in the year of Acts 2. The Feast of Firstfruits called Jews to offer the early fruit of the harvest back to God before the full harvest was ready to bring in. In this way the Jews made a religious declaration that the harvest belonged to God, and God would assure that the full harvest would be brought in.
These two ideas are exactly necessary to understand the significance of the event Luke recounts. A new era of divine revelation is indeed beginning this day. The last revelation planted Israel in the promised land to form a counter culture among the kingdoms of this world. The new revelation propels "Israel" from the promised land to form a counter culture among the kingdoms of this world.
Along with that, a harvest has begun. This harvest is God's harvest, so those gathered into the new community on this day are the result of God's special work (2:40-47), but the rest of the harvest will also come in if the reapers remain faithful to their task.
The "sound" of a blowing wind in verse 2 makes great sense when one realizes that the Greek word pneuma (and its Aramaic counterpart) means "wind," "spirit," and "breath" all at the same time. The people hear a wind, but they need interpreters to experience that wind's power and impact. Similarly the "tongues of fire" (2:3) fulfills the prophecy of John the Baptist (see Luke 3:16) that the great one to follow him would baptize "with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
We should not imagine that the first gathering who were converted under the bold preaching of Peter were other than Jews who had returned to Jerusalem for the festival (2:5-11). This is the time for harvest in the remnant of Israel; the great Gentile ingathering will follow later (Acts 10 and beyond). Furthermore, in a reminder that this is God's initial harvest, the miracle of hearing occurs -- the message Peter and the others bring is not suddenly spoken in a variety of language but heard in a variety of languages. This is reminiscent of the reversal of Babel (Genesis 11). There people who did not think they needed God were forced by God to be separated and scattered by means of the confusion of languages; here people who are usually separated and scattered because of their diverse language are suddenly brought back together by the same God who is establishing a new global kingdom that encompasses all people of all tribes and nations.
Finally, in Peter's quick reference to Joel's eschatological prophecy we find the emphasis that Luke laid already in chapter 1, that this is the end time, these are the harvest days of the kingdom of God, and the coming of God in the power of the Spirit is the beginning of the Messianic age.
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
Paul began his ministry with the Corinthian congregation in 50 A.D. on his second mission journey (Acts 17-18). Devoting eighteen months to the development of this congregation, Paul created connections that would last the rest of his life. His correspondence with the congregation began in late 51 or early 52. Paul was, at that time, on his third mission journey (Acts 19), with an extended stay in Ephesus, just across the Aegean Sea from Corinth. Paul had received word of splinters, tensions, and ungodly behavior in the Corinthian congregation and sent a letter of stern reproof (1 Corinthians 5:9). The aftermath was not pleasant. It seems that the congregation only became more polarized and many challenged Paul's authority to speak into their lives. Our 1 Corinthians is really Paul's second letter, as it begins with a blistering review of the fragmented character of the Christian community in Corinth (chs. 1-3). Paul renews his condemnation of immoral and inappropriate practices among the membership (chs. 4-6), and then begins a series of answers to questions that the leaders of the Corinthian congregation had sent to him by way of Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Achaicus (7:1; 16:17). The lectionary passage for today is found in this section of Paul's letter, and is in response to their specific questions about the nature, character, purpose, and expression of "spiritual gifts" (12:1).
Paul's teaching is summarized in the body image that emerges in verse 12 and is expanded in verses 14-27. Leading up to the body image is a reminder that whatever the Holy Spirit does is "normed" and shaped by the lordship of Jesus. Jesus is the head of the church (implicit in vv. 13-27; explicit in other Pauline writings, such as Colossians 1:18), and the Spirit is like the nervous system of the body, motivating each organ through signals from the brain, and interconnecting all of the organs by means of coordination and signals of pain and pleasure.
In this image there can be no grandstanding of spiritual gifts. The Spirit communicates the life of the body. If any element of the body seeks to become an isolated entity, even out of great strength and capabilities, it suddenly loses connection with the head of the body and therefore its source of life. Furthermore, it loses sense of itself, since it only exists in the symbiotic interrelationships of the body. Therefore, according to Paul, each spiritual gift exists in order to serve the greater good of the body. And the head of the body remains the Lord of the body, Jesus Christ (v. 11).
The implication is clear. Spiritual "success" is not an individual matter; it is the result of Jesus working through the whole of the community. No part is more important than another, no gift is greater or more significant. Christianity is neither an individual nor communistic matter; it is rather a body enterprise of mutual interdependence of unique and gifted members.
When Charles V grew tired of ruling the unwieldy Holy Roman Empire, he turned the beast over to his son, Philip II, and sequestered himself at his palace to play with hobbies and recent inventions. He tried to get the clocks scattered throughout his palace to display exactly the same time and chime in unison. It proved impossible, because the mechanisms driving each clock were independent, and functioned at varying rates. In disappointment, Charles V compared his inability with the clocks to his tiredness in ruling over the increasingly independent and restless ethnic groups, states, and regions of the Holy Roman Empire. With no common source of energy or coordinated drive for their mechanisms, no unity of identity could be found.
Contrast Charles' experiences with today's clocks that can be constantly reset and monitored over computer connections and an entirely different picture emerges, one which elaborates upon Paul's picture. It is possible today to have a single source of time that keeps others in harmony when they are joined by connections of electrical impulse. Since the nervous system of our bodies is similarly a network of nerves that transmit electrical impulses, Paul's teachings about the body, members, and the lordship of the head of the body have a very real analogy.
Don't forget that 1 Corinthians 12-14 forms a single literary unit, with chapter 14 giving the practical out-workings of Paul's teachings in chapter 12, and chapter 13 expressing the quality of love that needs to drive the whole.
John 7:37-39
Most commentaries will outline the wonderful and extended water ceremonies that were part of the Feast of Tabernacles which sets the stage for this powerful teaching of Jesus (see 7:2). Jesus' words were likely declared just as the climax of water ceremonies brought torrents flooding down the temple steps.
John, of course, is reading back into Jesus' words (which were likely misunderstood or simply didn't register at the time) from his experiences in the Pentecost empowering of Acts 2. In his words found in verses 37-38 Jesus uses the materials at hand -- water and celebration dances -- to represent the meaning of his ministry. The Feast of Tabernacles recalled Israel's forty years of wandering in the Sinai wilderness, often on the edge of adequate resources. During the feast, God's providential care would be rehearsed, and the value of water reiterated. So Jesus, coming to the world wandering in the dark wilderness of sin and its effects (see John 1:1-18), is the source of divine light and life. "Living water" signifies a self-renewing source of water, which is much different from the dead stillness of a draining cistern or a muddy pond.
John's added commentary in verse 39 ties Jesus' teaching directly to Pentecost. John, of course, has his own small version of the coming of the Spirit to the leadership team in 20:22, but that should not diminish the significance of connecting this teaching with the greater expression of the Spirit's coming at Pentecost.
Application
How do we get our congregations to "windsurf"? Perhaps by starting with the idea of a party. Most of us like a good party. God loves a good party, too, and Pentecost offers us an opportunity to make it happen in our communities. Some years ago, a church created the "Reject Prom" for all the kids who weren't popular in school. At the "Reject Proms" people were not judged for their clothes or their accomplishments, or by the athletic stature of their dates, but were welcomed for being themselves. Within several years the "Reject Prom" became more popular than the regular prom because it was more authentic!
Wouldn't it be incredible if the church sponsored "Reject Proms" in every community around the world? Those who make the guest list in the celebration of halls of heaven are often, as Jesus said, the lowest and the last and the least. We know this is true theologically, but we often allow our churches to become insulated communities where the divisions that plagued the Corinthian congregation diminish the power of the Spirit among us.
One strategy would be to plan neighborhood parties each summer, and ensure that at least one-third of those who come are our neighbors who are otherwise disconnected in society -- elderly folks who don't have family around, homeless people who hang around our parks, single-parent homes where needs always outstrip resources. This would be in harmony with the windsurfing of Pentecost, and would help flood our neighborhoods with the life-giving water of Jesus' spiritual pledge in John 7:37-39.
An Alternative Application
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13. Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians 12 has some other specific applications. First, he reminds us that "spiritual gifts" are a sign of God's personal love for us (v. 6). It is God's good and pleasing will that we become transformed in mind by Jesus (see also Romans 12:1-2). Most parents find it hard to give good gifts to their children, even though they want to. Many gifts are less than memorable because they are merely tangential to our basic identity and character, toys we can use, break, or throw away without altering anything in our lives. But those gifts we treasure, like the birth of a baby in a marriage, or a promotion that exactly matches our skills, arise out of a profound connectedness to who we truly are. In this way, the gifts of God to us are an expression of his personal love for each of us.
Second, Paul teaches us that the "spiritual gifts" that God gives us are a deepening of our personalities (vv. 7-11). God does not call us to be someone else. When Alexander Papaderos was asked a "foolish" question -- "What is the meaning of life?" -- he told of a mirror shard he picked up during WWII. His new toy was most wonderful when used to reflect the light of the sun into dark caves and corners. We are like the many pieces of a broken mirror, said Papaderos; while we cannot see the full scope of a life unbroken by sin, we can each reflect the light of God in our own way to chase the shadows of evil. God's love comes alive in our lives when we more fully understand ourselves and then allow him to channel his care through us in ways that make sense.
Third, Paul confirms this in his poetic prose on love (ch. 13). We become gifted when we try not so much to be something (titles, diplomas) or do something (achievements, trophies), but when we simply love others through kind living, focused outward.
Preaching The Psalm
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
"All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all." Such is the message of Psalm 104, which celebrates the wonders of God's creation -- in particular, the animal kingdom. While the psalm does not follow the structure of Genesis 1 in a formal sense, it does seem to echo God's ecstatic delight in the creatures. In the words of James Luther Mays, "It reads as if it were a poetic version of God's repeated appraisal of his work in Genesis 1: 'And God saw that it was good.' The psalm is so full of wonder and joy at what God has made -- the joy of the psalmist and the joy of God." (Psalms, Interpretation Commentary Series [Louisville: John Knox Press, 1994], p. 331.)
In Medieval and Renaissance times, it was fashionable to produce books called bestiaries, which included descriptions and drawings of a wide variety of creatures, both real and imagined. On the ancient vellum of these illuminated manuscripts, the lion and the eagle take their place beside the minotaur and the griffin. All this is to the glory of God: illuminated bestiaries were favorite projects of cloistered monks, who in their daily pursuits were anything but wandering naturalists, sketchbooks, and specimen jars in hand. Quite the contrary, they spent their lives (when not holding pen in hand) behind cloister walls, singing praises to their Maker. Psalm 104 is a sort of Hebrew bestiary: we see both the young lions roaring for their prey (v. 21) and the sea-monster Leviathan "sporting" amongst the waves (v. 26).
A strong sense of providence suffuses this psalm: All creatures great and small look to the Lord "to give them their food in due season" (v. 27). More than merely dropping food pellets into the cosmic fish tank, the Creator enjoys a close and intimate communion with the creatures. God's presence is life itself: "When you hide your face, they are dismayed; when you take away their breath, they die and return to their dust" (v. 29). The God in Psalm 104 is very much a sustainer.
Here, perhaps, is a logical link to a Pentecost theme. The Holy Spirit is often described as the sustainer (as in the alternative Trinitarian formulation of creator, redeemer, sustainer). The Holy Spirit is life itself: the force by which God continues to keep creation moving forward, unfolding its wonders anew in each generation. The response of the psalmist to all this is worship: "I will sing to the Lord as long as I live!" (v. 33).
In the words of Jewish theologian Martin Buber, "Spirit is not in the I, but between I and Thou. It is not like the blood that circulates in you, but like the air in which you breathe. Man lives in the spirit, if he is able to respond to his Thou" (Martin Barber, I and Thou, translated by Ronald Gregor Smith [New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1958]). In Psalm 104, God is as ubiquitous as the air we breathe -- which is, of course, the root of the word "spirit" in both Hebrew (ruach) and in Greek (pneuma).
