SUNDAY, 23 MAY, 2021 · 16:05

Grace with no buts

Reading

Acts 2.1–21

We are constantly trying to catch up with the Spirit and keep pace with a God who is calling forth the new
creature in the Spirit. That new creature in the Spirit collapses diaspora and empire into each other and
seeks to weave together a breathtaking joining. Yet the Spirit is being resisted by flesh and the desire of
God is being denied by women and men both inside and outside the church. We have yet to hear the
message of Acts of an erotic God who seeks to place in each of us desire for those outside of us, outside
our worlds of culture, clan, nation, tribe, faith, politics, class, and species. — Willie James Jennings,  Acts:
A Theological Commentary on the Bible
———————-

On the Day of Pentecost, the Spirit is poured out upon all flesh. Peter reminded the crowd
that the prophet Joel had promised:

In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh …
What will the Spirit cause to happen?

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.

Fair enough. These are the kinds of people God’s Spirit was poured upon in ages past. Upon
men, young and old. And upon women. If you’re wondering who the women are, think of
Miriam and Jael, think of Deborah and Ruth, think of Mary the mother of Jesus, and of Mary
Magdalene, Lydia and Dorcas.

For me, the real surprise is at the end:

Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy. [Acts 2.17–18]

Slaves were nobodies. They weren’t citizens of course, but they weren’t even considered
human, really. They were commodities, items, objects that could be bought, sold, and
disposed of.

Pentecost is an eternal reminder that God pours the Spirit out upon slaves. God values and
honours slaves. God speaks through slaves, whatever their gender. Grace is given to slaves.
Hashtag: Slave lives matter.
And looking at the Day of Pentecost itself — as the Spirit comes as wind and fire upon the
apostolic group, others share in the experience, hearing them speak in their own language.
They ask ‘how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?’

Who were the people who heard the proclamation in their own language? Luke, the writer
of Acts, calls these people ‘devout Jews from every nation under heaven’. They were part of
the ‘diaspora’, the ‘dispersal’. They were Jews who had been forced to live in other lands.
For example, over 600 years before this Pentecost, many Jews were deported to Babylon.
When they were allowed to return to Jerusalem, most didn’t. They stayed in Babylon.

We know about diaspora today, don’t we? How many refugees are forced to leave their
homes and countries? How many live in exile? How many long for a home and a time they
can never return to?

These people are ‘devout Jews’. Yet they spoke in other languages. I think the Jews of
Jerusalem would have felt a cut above them. They lived around the holy places, they
maintained the traditions, they spoke the language of the ancestors.

That’s not hard to imagine, right? How many Aussies look down on people who speak
accented English, not thinking that English is the second or third or fourth language of so
many Australians?

The Spirit comes also on these people from the edges of exile. Grace is poured out upon
them. Hashtag: Diaspora lives matter.

You will be aware that there is a diaspora from the church today. People are leaving the
church in the West, including Australia.

Some of us may have been part of that diaspora at one time or another. Yet we have found
our way here today. It seems to me that the story of Pentecost connects us to some of the
reasons so many people have left church.

There’s a more important issue for today, the Day of Pentecost, though. Why have a few
found a home here?

Firstly, the fire of the Spirit sends the church on the outward-looking mission of God. The
flow of the Spirit is towards the world, towards reconciliation and justice. We are looking
towards a partnership with Rachel’s Place next door, and possibly helping them expand
their work of child care. We are talking about youth work in the area. We are offering this
space as a music venue. The next event will see The Sunday Bests and A Country Practice
here this Saturday. Members are assisting refugees and asylum seekers. We offer lunch on
Tuesdays to people who come. We have found a place in which we can share God’s mission.

Secondly, this has become a church of refuge, particularly for LGBTIQ people and their allies.
Many have found that the message they were hearing was one of ‘grace, but’: God is
gracious, but … God loves you, but … God wants to bless you, but …

But you have to toe the line.

You have to fit into the box we have for you.
You have to believe what we tell you, and do as you are told.

There is an LGBTIQ and allies diaspora, and West End Uniting Church is a place of refuge.

So when we say our affirmation, it is not a doctrinal statement, but a statement of who we
are and who we aspire to be:

We are embraced by LOVE, so

we embrace
Inclusion Empathy
Compassion Dignity Diversity
we embrace
Community Kindness Integrity
Honesty Respect Justice Peace
we embrace the Earth
we embrace Humanity
we embrace Love.

Finally, people heard the Good News in their own language. What an amazing thing that is!
There are people working on Bible translation in Australia and across the world. They
translate the Scriptures into indigenous languages, perhaps only spoken by a few people.
When they finally hear the Good News in their own tongue, many testify to a release of the
Spirit in their hearts.

The Gospel must be proclaimed in many tongues, in many ways. It may be proclaimed by
word — the obvious language. It may also be proclaimed in a practical language, in acts of
kindness and compassion.

Proclaiming the Good News through compassionate action is a more easily understood
language than through words. Tuesday lunches speak a universal language. Making this
place a hospitable venue for musicians is easily understood.

We have to be more careful when we’re using words. Words can be misunderstood, or their
real meaning can be hidden behind other words.

So: when we say the word ‘grace’, we mean grace. Full stop. Not ‘grace, but …’ When we say
God’s love is unconditional, we don’t put any conditions on it.

So, and when people come for a feed or to listen to music, there’s no hidden agenda. It is
hospitality, not a hostage situation.

The language people hear the Good News in must be the language of GRACE. Whether it’s in
words, like now, or whether it’s in acts of care. Grace is the heart language we are longing to
hear.

To draw towards a close: the Spirit is poured out upon all flesh. The Spirit, the Giver of life,
renews all creation.
This is what the Book of Acts is about: the Spirit directing the mission of the church. It’s not
our mission; it’s God’s mission. It goes from Jerusalem, here everything is known and
familiar, to Samaria, to the Ethiopian eunuch, to the gentile centurion Cornelius, and
eventually to Rome, the centre of their world.

The Good News of grace with no buts has reached us too. Why are people leaving the
church in the west? I’m no expert in sociology, but I do know one reason is ‘grace, but …’
Conditional acceptance. A place to belong, but you must conform.

What are we doing? We’re not doing anything radically new. We are not departing from the
Good News of Jesus. We’re trying to see how we can be a church where ‘grace’ simply
means ‘grace’. With no buts.

We are embraced by LOVE, so … we embrace Love.

West End Uniting Church, 23 May 2021