Pentecost 2009: David Moore

Sermon for Pentecost, 31st May 2009

David Moore*

I guess many of you will have noticed that I am not much of a singer. I have plenty of volume but I am somewhat inconsistent when it comes to the tune! I am also equally hopeless at doing accents. I just do not appear to have the facility for picking up and replicating sounds. Consequently I am thoroughly English when it comes to languages. When Dorothy and I travel abroad I push her ahead of me in the shops and restaurants. She, being a singer, is much better with the shapes and sounds of words. She is the audio/language member of our partnership and I am the visual/spacial counter balance.

So when it comes to Pentecost and people hearing in their own languages my heart leaps with delight, but also with incomprehension! What did happen on the day of Pentecost? How could it be that all these people could comprehend what was going on? I discovered an answer which made sense to me - by looking rather than listening.

Many moons ago a Jesuit friend of mine rang me one Friday evening and said "Be ready at 9.30 in the morning and get dressed to look as much like a Catholic as possible!" That was all he said - but the underlying excitement in his voice intrigued me and I agreed to go on some mysterious trip without further question.

The journey from my home was not long - a mile and a bit. It was to the local Catholic Centre - Pope John House. I was being taken to a private function attended by priests and nuns and hosted by the Roman Catholic Bishop of East London. I did not think I was doing much of a job of being a Catholic look-alike as none of the 150 or so priest and nuns were sporting large beards!

The guest of honour and speaker was Archbishop Helder Camara from Recife in Northern Brazil. Helder Camara a legend in his own life time! He was a household name around the world in 70/80s. His voice was not strong and I could not hear all that he said; at times his Brazilian accent was impossible to decipher. When he was lost for the English word, he simply slipped into Latin – which was not much help to me! However, he made an outstanding speech covering a range of topics and mysteriously I heard it all - somehow he was living a message and I saw and heard it all! But this was much more than being an enthusiastic or effective communicator - what he was saying 'came through'.

At one point in his speech he spoke directly to the Sisters - all head to toe in black. He told them – 30 years ago - that he was sure that one day their great church would ordain women as priests…. "Not in my life time and not in your life time, but we are people of faith, we live and work for what we will not see." Then with a mischievous twinkle in his eye he continued: "My dear sisters you can begin this very day your preparation for that great day. You can begin now by refusing to allow the male priest to boss you around. You can start living the future." You do this and others will take your place and take the next steps - live the future. As you can imagine, the atmosphere was electric. It was at that point I twigged - this was a Pentecostal moment. The electric - the flames - were as much to do with the resistance to the message as it was to the power of the speaker!

Pentecost pushes us to explore new boundaries, new relationships, new ways of being people in community. Pentecost rearranges our furniture, taking no account of our desire for neatness and order, even church order. Pentecost exposes fault the lines in society and in us as individuals. Think for a moment what it meant to a predominantly Jewish community of Christians to witness that Parthians, Medes, Elamites; inhabitants of Mesopotamia, of Judea and Cappadocia, of Pontus and Asia , of Phrygia and Pamphlyia, of Egypt and the districts of Libia; visitors from Rome both Jews and proselytes; Cretes and Arabs. In effect, virtually the whole known world.

Making sense of the cross-culturalism implicit at the Day of Pentecost makes the boldest adventures of our ecumenism appear modest, to say the least. We can but guess at the stresses and conflicts which had to be worked through for such a diverse group of people to seriously make sense of their life in Christ.

We face no less a task in our society. It would be all too easy for us today to shift all woes of the present time upon bankers or members of Parliament or the BNP. We Christians are part and parcel of the host culture of this land and we have hardly begun the serious work that is needed to sustain safe, inclusive multi-ethnic, multi-faith communities. On Tuesday this week the Dosti Lunch club will meet here in the Guildhall- all members from the Indian Subcontinent - I wonder what they have been feeling earlier this week with the British National Party broadcasting it views on prime time television. The majority of the members Dosti are older people - do you think they know deep in their hearts that if racial trouble occurred in MK we would be actively supporting/defending their interests. Standing with them against their enemies? Christians didn’t do much of a job defending the Jews when the Nazis broke the Synagogue windows.

If the Dodsti members do not know we are for them, then Pentecost is passing us by - for they will not have heard in their own language the love and grace we carry as the Body Christ for all people - in particular to those who come from distant lands - for they also are part and parcel of Pentecost! Pentecost is multinationalism!

I am not calling for knee jerk reactions - but for serious consideration of what Pentecost means for this City Centre Church. Are we a safe and welcome refuge for those whose traditions and cultures are different from our own - and if we are how are we communicating it?

Let me return to my encounter with Archbishop Helder Camara. When he finished speaking, the meeting room was being made ready for a Mass. The Archbishop wandered around talking to people. My friend dragged me off to meet him and introduced me as the only Protestant present. This slight man turned to me and embraced me with a hug far greater than his stature. Then pushing me away he asked what kind of Protestant. When I replied Methodist, he yelped like a puppy with delight, hugged me again, kissing me on both cheeks repeatedly. A few moments later he returned with a prayer book and said "we Catholics are very sinful people and you Methodists are so holy - I want you to lead us in the Mass by taking the confession and announcing absolution. He thrust the book into my hand saying, "your friend will explain it to you" and with that he was gone.

With more than a little trepidation I did as I was asked! Then when it was time for communion I remained in my seat - but he searched me out with his eye and beckoning me with his finger and I was the first to receive communion - bread from an archbishop and wine from a bishop! I tell you that not to arouse discontent as to the rules and customs under which we operate here - but to ask how we explore the possibility of such hospitality and grace to those outside our walls and especially toward those who faith is different to our own or of none?

I could add to all this by exploring the Milton Keynes Leipzig link and the content of our second reading - but you take home the service sheet and make time to read and think about it. This Church as progressive as we wish it to be, has hardly cut its milk teeth, there will be much tougher meat to chew in the years ahead. Only you can welcome the Christ of Fire into your inner self.

The Christ figure you passed on the way in to the worship was made for Pentecost 2000 and raises the question how we honour and respect other faith traditions whilst honouring and celebrating the dying/rising Christ. That will take a lot of listening and a lot of looking by us all.

The startling element of Pentecost is that it is a thumping welcome for all. Turning that welcome into practical political reality was as real a task for the infant church as it is for us. What an honour - we stand in the tradition of the apostles. But with diligence we have to learn our own lessons as did they!

*David Moore is a woodcarver and a Methodist minister and the preacher at the morning services at Christ the Cortnerstone on Pentecost Sunday. Prior to retirement he was the City Centre Chaplain in Milton Keynes