A Mighty Wind
May 31, 2009

A sermon by

The Rev. Dr. Alan Kelchner

Well, let me be honest with you.  The uncertainty is killing me.  I go to bed with it at night, and I wake up with it in the morning.  It weighs on me.  And I know that the uncertainty is weighing on many of you as well. 

            The issue I’m talking about is:  Will we or won’t we build this new building and start our new preschool?  We are just two weeks away from a final decision, and nobody knows the answer to that question.  There are still too many unknowns, and too many variables hanging in the air. 

            Oh, there’s plenty of support for the project:  as a congregation, you have been so generous and supportive.  Big crowds turn out for meetings, and you ask tough questions – not in a hostile way - but good questions that show that you’ve been doing some thinking about this.  Which is great. The committees and leaders have worked so hard – and have done such good work.  One of reasons we chose Tim Mattheis as our principal architect is because he has done a lot of work with churches; so, it meant something when he said recently that he has never worked with a church like ours, that is so thorough, and on top of things, asking the right questions, and thinking ahead.  And when we made a presentation recently to a bank that does a lot of work with churches, they were highly impressed.

When we gave them a well-designed 100-page document of our financial statements, building plans, and our business plan for the preschool, their eyes got big, and a banker said, “This is not the kind of thing we usually see from churches.” 

And there are compelling reasons to go forward right now, at a time when contractors are desperate for work, and the local economy needs some stimulus.  We’d be doing our own stimulus package!

            However, let’s be honest:  there is also a great deal of FUD among us; that is, FUD - F,U,D: ,fear, uncertainty, and doubt.   Some things are simply beyond our control - including the faltering economy, job losses and job uncertainty in our congregation, and the reluctance of banks to loan money these days.  And no knows when this current recession will end.

            And then there are other things that perhaps ARE within our control, as a congregation, but are still unknown.  The annual stewardship campaign is lagging badly – as of today, we are still $80K short of funding our church program next year.  And the Phase II promissory notes campaign is supposed to end today, but we are only halfway to our goal.  These two things may stop us from moving forward on the building, even if a bank is willing to lend us the money.   

            Now, one thing that I have learned about the people of this church is that we do not tend to be passive observers of life!  Instead, you and I tend to be problem-solvers: we’re the sort of people who like to resolve issues, fix problems, and get things under control.  Which is terrific!

            But that also means that we don’t always do so well when things are out of our control.  And I’m not just talking about our building project.  For you, it might be it a health issue, a financial reversal, a broken relationship, concerns about your loved ones.  Whenever you and I are faced with a situation that is beyond our control, and we find that our usual problem-solving skills and coping mechanisms are not enough: then what?

            In the passage that was read for us today from Romans, Paul writes to the early Christians about waiting, about living at a time that was filled with fear, uncertainty, and doubt.  Those first Christians expected that Christ would have come again by now; they expected him to arrive at any moment to redeem all believers from their misery and oppression at the hands of the Romans.  But now, 30 years had gone by, and still, it had not come to pass.

            So, Paul reminds them that their current suffering is nothing compared to the glorious things that lay ahead.  He talks about all of creation “groaning in labor,” as we await the birth of the new age.  

            Paul reminds us that we live in hope.  He writes, “Now hope that is seen is not hope.  For who hopes for what is already apparent?  We hope for what we do not see, and we wait for it with patience.” 

            So, taking my cue from Paul, I am trying my best to live in hope - and, to wait with patience.  I’m not very good at it (!)

            But then, Paul goes on to remind us that we are not alone in our waiting, that God sends the Holy Spirit to be with us; and that this divine Spirit will show us how to pray for God’s strength and guidance.  And if we can’t pray, the Spirit will intercede for us, with “sighs to deep for words.” 

            And it is this Spirit, this sacred presence, which I want to talk about on this Pentecost Sunday. 

            A few years ago there was a movie, called, “A Mighty Wind.”  It wasn’t a big hit at the box office, but Susan and I thoroughly enjoyed it.  It was a mock documentary, long before the TV show, “The Office.”   But in this case, the subject of the satire was Folk Music groups from the Sixties, who were now supposed to be reuniting for a benefit concert.  It was very funny and creative.  The theme song of the movie, “A Mighty Wind,” might be described as a mash-up of “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “If I Had a Hammer” sung to relentlessly-upbeat rhythms of the New Christy Minstrels. 

            Now, the phrase “a mighty wind” also appears in today’s passage  from the Book of Acts.  The disciples were all gathered together at someone’s home, when “suddenly there came a sound like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled the entire house.”   

            Listen to these lines from poet Christina Rossetti:

 Who has seen the wind?  Neither I nor you. 

            But when the leaves hang trembling, the wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?  Neither you nor I. 

            But when the leaves bow down their heads, the wind is passing by.

            And listen to this from the third chapter of the Gospel of John, “The wind blows where it will.  You hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes.”

            You see, long before San Ramon started their annual event in Central Park, Pentecost was a wind festival.  It’s a day to celebrate the Holy Spirit.  But “spirit” is an abstract concept, unknown in the ancient world.  In the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible, the word which we now translate as spirit is “ruach.”  Ruach means the movement of air:  wind or breath.  In the New Testament, the word which has been translated as Spirit is “pneuma” (p-n-e-u-m-a) which also means air in motion, as wind or breath.

Our bodies are filled with air.  In fact, I’d like to ask you to cup your hands above your mouth, and blow into your hands, and just feel the warm air coming out of your body.  That’s pneuma or ruach.  We sometimes describe somebody as being “full of hot air”; but in fact, we are all filled with hot air.  To blow out air that has been warmed by your body is a reminder that you are alive.   This sanctuary is filled with air that is invisible, but unmistakably present among us.  And sometimes there are currents of air which cause the candle flames to dance and to burn faster. 

            Life is possible on earth because this planet is surrounded by air:  in fact, a 7-mile-thick layer of air, called the atmosphere.  The atmosphere is densest where we live, near the ground, and it becomes thinner as you get further from the surface of the earth.  And the atmosphere is constantly in motion, as heat and cold and moisture cause high-pressure systems and low-pressure systems, which create the wind and the weather. 

            99% of the air we breathe is made up of just two gases: nitrogen and oxygen, at about a 3-1 ratio of nitrogen to oxygen.  Carbon dioxide is a tiny fraction of air: less than 4/100 of one per cent.  But scientists tell us that the increase in this small amount of carbon dioxide, from burning fossil fuels, is causing massive changes in the delicate balance of the earth’s atmosphere. 

Who has seen the wind?  Neither I nor you.

            But when the leaves hang trembling, the wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?  Neither you nor I. 

            But when the leaves bow down their heads, the Wind is passing by.

            Now, the reason I’m talking about air and the movement of air, is because wind has deep religious significance.  Since time immemorial, people have used wind, and breath, as a way of talking about God.  The ancient Israelites drew a comparison between the wind and God:  both were invisible, mysterious, and powerful.  No one can control the wind.  Also, wind gives life, through the movement of air that we call breathing.  So, God and wind are both “ruach”: invisible, mysterious, powerful, life-giving, and beyond our control.

            Thus, in the first chapter of Genesis it says that, in the beginning, when the earth was without form and void, ruach, the wind of God, the breath of God, blew over the face of the waters.”  It’s as if God gave mouth to mouth resuscitation, and blew life into Planet Earth.  In Genesis 2, we are told that God created the first human being out of the dust of the earth; and then ruach, the Spirit of God breathed into the man’s nostrils, and he was filled with the breath of life, ruach.”

            Listen to these words from Psalm 139,

 “Where could I go to escape from your Spirit? 

Where could I go to get away from your Presence?

If I went up to heaven, you would be there. 

If I went down to the land of the dead, you would be there. 

If I went to the farthest place in the East

or the farthest place in the West, you would be there to help me.  Your spirit, your ruach, would be there to guide me."

            Thus, wherever you and I may go, the air is there, the wind is there, the breath of God is there.  No matter where we are, or what circumstances we find ourselves in, God is with us - wherever we are.

            On Pentecost Day, we celebrate how the Spirit of God was with the disciples in a very special way, like the “rush of a mighty wind,” and tongues of fire dancing on their heads.  It’s a very dramatic scene!  And then, all of the disciples begin to talk about Jesus at the same time, and in different languages.  I picture this moment as ecstatic and chaotic, and highly emotional for everyone involved.  

            However, I think that in most cases, the Spirit of God is more subtle - more like a gentle breeze than like a hurricane.   I believe that the Spirit works mostly through nudges and flashes of insight, and comes to us as a sense of well-being, or a comforting presence.  My guess is that for most of us, most of the time, our experience of the Spirit of God, Ruach, is more like the air we breathe, than something that is exotic and ecstatic. 

  Who has seen the wind?  Neither I nor you. 

            But when the leaves hang trembling, the wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?  Neither you nor I. 

            But when the leaves bow down their heads, the Wind is passing by.

            Wind is a marvelous metaphor for a God who is invisible, mysterious, powerful and life-giving.  It is a reminder that God is all around us, and within us, above us and below us, ever beside us.

            God is present with us, whether we are aware of it or not, whether we are thinking of God or not.  Whether we are being good or being bad, whether we are rich or poor, compassionate or indifferent, stressed out or relaxed, singing in the shower or hiking in the woods, in church or out riding our bikes, talking with a loved one or sitting in front of the computer, doing office work or housework or watching a movie - wherever we are, whatever we are doing, God is with us:  as surely as the air we breathe.                                    

            The Spirit of God, the wind of God, is a precious gift to us - but we cannot just sit idly by and watch.

            Imagine sitting on the shore of a beautiful lake.  There’s a nice breeze blowing, and you see a sailboat not far from shore.  But the boat doesn’t have its sails up; there is just the bare mast.  The winds become stronger and soon the currents push the vessel toward the shore until it runs aground.  Finally you see the captain’s head.

            Think how different the outcome would have been if the captain had simply raised the sails and worked with the wind.  Instead of being beached on the shore, helpless, the sailboat could have moved with the wind, working with that unseen power to overcome the forces of the earthly currents.

            The power of the Holy Spirit is blowing in each of our lives right now, but it requires us to put our sails up. Complacency just isn’t allowed.

                        One final New Testament image to leave with you.  In the 20^th chapter of John,  we are told that, when the Risen Christ appeared to his disciples, he breathed on them.  It sounds a little rude, doesn’t it?  But Jesus said, “‘Peace be with you; as God has sent me, so I send you.'  And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said, `Receive the Holy Spirit.’” That is, the sacred breath, the sacred wind.

               Dear friends, may we, too, experience that Holy Spirit, the sacred wind, breathing on us, and breathing in us.  May we recognize the subtle movements of the Spirit, nudging us toward wholeness, compassion, and love.  For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

               So, let’s return to the question we started with today.  What happens when competent problem-solvers like you and me find ourselves overwhelmed, paralyzed, by things that are out of our control?  a problem that seems too much for us?  What happens when we face something so unexpected and serious, that we feel helpless and afraid?  How do we have hope, when the situation seems hopeless?  And how do we find the courage of Paul and Peter, and all the rest of those first followers of Jesus? 

               Well, I think the place to begin is outside of ourselves, as we look for  strength that is more than we possess.  The key is to open ourselves to the Bold Spirit as it flows through our world, through our lives, and through the lives of others.  

               Humility, you see, is the starting point.  For what we must do is put our trust in the power that begins where our own power ends.  We must seek the divine presence, the Life Force, inspiration.  Then we can get into the flow of that powerful wind that it blowing, and allow ourselves to be carried along, toward wholeness and resolution.

            Dear friends, my prayer for you, and for myself as well, is that at those times, when we have exhausted all our prodigious problem-solving skills, and we come to the end of our rope; that we will be filled with sacred energy - Ruach, Pneuma, the Bold Spirit - that will give us the hope and the courage we need to move forward, to fight the good fight, to do what needs be done.