Sermon: "Pentecost's Power"
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg
Third Bishop of East Tennessee

[This sermon was delivered at Bishop vonRosenberg's home parish (St. John's Episcopal Church) in Fayetteville, NC, where he was invited to preach and to dedicate a new building. ed]

It is an honor for me to have the opportunity to preach today - and I am grateful for it. Thank you. I am also grateful to Bishop Daniel for allowing me this privilege. Indeed, as I stand here, I am aware of many blessings I have received as a result of this place and this community of faith.

For instance, I was baptized in that font in November, 1947, and so, in a very real sense, my Christian life began right here. The blessings of that journey in faith have abounded ever since that day. But, it is important for me to remember - and to give thanks for - the beginning of the journey. Then, I was confirmed at the altar rail behind me some twelve years later by Bishop Thomas Wright. And, in recent years, the occasion of confirmation has taken on a special significance for me - a weekly significance, in fact. Some years later, my sister was married in this place. And, most notably, since the mid-1940's, my parents have participated in the life, mission, and witness of St. John's Church. Therefore, through the years, my family has gathered in this church building, with this community, for nurture and support, for celebration and challenge, and for all kinds of expressions of our humanity in relationship to God the Creator. I do give thanks for this place and people.

Today, we are all here for a special celebration, on a special day. We will dedicate a new building - a symbol of the generous efforts of many people. As we concentrate on the building today, however, we need to remember that the ministries it will enable and the lives it will enrich really are the reasons for the building, after all.

Appropriately, we gather today to dedicate the new building on the feast day of Pentecost. I suggest to you on this occasion that the day of Pentecost has everything to do with the power to build up the church of Jesus Christ. And, therefore, it is our blessing and our honor today to participate in the call and the power of Pentecost. Let me repeat that, for it defines what we do on this occasion. It is our blessing and our honor today to participate in the call and the power of Pentecost!

The first thing to notice about the power of Pentecost is that it comes from God. It is not ours. We did not create this power. We cannot control it. The power of Pentecost is a gift … a gift from God … the gift of the Holy Spirit.

One of the prayers for Pentecost begins this way: "Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth…" The power of Pentecost is not our power. It is God's gift. And we are blessed to receive it.

Therefore, we need to pray for faithfulness in our stewardship of God's gifts to us. Remember that the power does not originate with us, nor does the glory of the exercise of that power appropriately come to us. For, as we often say, "All things come of Thee, O Lord." That states our proper affirmation as God's stewards, for God's sake. May we be faithful in our stewardship of God's generosity.

Secondly, the power of Pentecost does not identify specific recipients for its blessing. Listen to part of that Pentecost prayer again: "Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation." This gift is inclusive, not exclusive. It is general, not specific. It is abundant, not frugal.

And this, my dear friends, is new - brand new. In all of our salvation history, God has not acted this way before. God chose Adam and Eve to share the blessings of human life. God chose Noah to survive the flood's destruction and to carry on the relationship between creature and Creator. God chose the Jewish people, as His own people, to be a light to the nations. God chose Jesus as the way, the truth, and the life. But now - at Pentecost - God spreads the abundance of the gift of His blessings "to every race and nation" … to the whole world.

Therefore, we need to pray that we remember God's intent of abundant generosity as we encounter the many nations and races represented in this country and, indeed, in this community today. Again, may we be faithful in our stewardship of God's generosity.

Thirdly and finally, the power of Pentecost is a gift from God, given to many people, so that the work of Jesus Christ may continue on earth. There is a purpose and an intention to this gift of the Spirit. "Jesus said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained" (Jn 20:23). That is, you who receive this gift of the Holy Spirit, you are to carry on the mission and ministry of Christ.

We have a reason for being here, my friends. We have a purpose. There is a reason that the new building at St. John's has been built. We are called to do the work of Jesus Christ. We have been empowered by the gift of the Holy Spirit to carry out that work. And we are blessed today - not by a sign of human accomplishment, but by a clear indication that we are gifted by God and that we have work to do in the name of Jesus Christ.

Therefore, we need to pray that we will continue in the power of Pentecost to be faithful in our calling to follow Jesus and that the new building we dedicate will be a monument not to St. John's but to the generous graciousness of God Almighty. Once again, may we be faithful in our stewardship of God's generosity.

In conclusion, then, at this exciting time in the history of St. John's Church, we are reminded of the blessings that have been ours because of this place and this community. At this time, we also claim the wonderful blending together of our celebration and the Day of Pentecost. On this occasion, we remember that the power of Pentecost comes from God, not from ourselves. We recognize that this power is offered to all people - to every race and nation of the world. And, we acknowledge that Pentecost's power has a purpose for which we are stewards - the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. To him - to Jesus Christ - be honor and glory, at St. John's Church and throughout the world, now and forever more! Amen.

Copyright © 2002 The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee