Acts 2:1-21 NRS Acts 2:1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs-- in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" 13 But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine." 14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
Graduation Day
6-12-11
Pastor Beth Graham
Today we are celebrating both our graduates and Pentecost and you may wonder how I’m going to put them both together in a sermon. But, as I thought about our Scripture for the morning, I decided the 2 subjects really have a lot in common.
Let’s start from the beginning- Graduation is the culmination of 4 years in high school plus elementary and middle school before that. At graduation, all the graduates gather in one place for special graduation ceremony and maybe a party to celebrate the accomplishment. It is a day that marks the end of one period of education and symbolizes the beginning of time on your own in the real world.
The same thing happened to the Disciples. They studied at the feet of Jesus for 3 years. Then, God provided a special graduation celebration for them at the end of their studies. It was called Pentecost. Here’s the proof: Acts 2:1 “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.” Only this was a graduation ceremony like no one had seen before. But still, it symbolized the end of their education with Jesus. He had died, risen from the dead, and had ascended into Heaven. It was their time to brave the world on their own.
But, before you were able to graduate, you had to take some exams. In High School, you had to take the exit TAKS test and probably some final exams. I know it can be challenging to pass both of those requirements in order to graduate. Sometimes it doesn’t happen and alternative ways have to be found to graduate. Sometimes you need to try again. But graduate you did!
Here are some answers that were found on some exams of some students who really didn’t get it and probably didn’t graduate:
An active verb shows action; a passive verb shows passion.
A census taker is a man who goes from house to house increasing the population.
Water is composed of two gins. Oxygen and Hydrogen. Oxygen is pure gin. Hydrogen is gin and water.
A triangle which has an angle of 135 degrees is called an obscene triangle.
The spinal column is a long bunch of bones. The head sits on top and you sit on the bottom.
One of the main causes of dust is janitors.
A scout obeys all to who obedience is due and respects all duly constipated authorities.
The four seasons are salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.
The word "trousers" is an uncommon noun because it is singular at the top and plural at the bottom.
Syntax is all the money collected in church from sinners.
Henry the 8th by his own efforts increased the population of England by 40,000.
The blood circulates in the body by flowing down one leg and up the other.
In the middle of the 18th Century, all the Morons moved to Utah.
A person should take a bath once in the summer and not so often in the winter.
It’s bad manners to break your bread and roll in your soup.
The death of Francis Macomber was a turning point in his life.
Three kinds of blood vessels are arteries, vanes, and caterpillars.
Abstinence is a good thing if practiced in moderation.
You can listen to thunder after lightning and tell how close you came to getting hit. If you don''t hear it, you got hit, so never mind.
In order to have different seasons, we had to get the earth tilted over on its axis. But it has been worth it.
Adolescence is the stage between puberty and adultery.
You know, the Disciples didn’t get what Jesus was trying to teach them most of the time. Peter failed the test of not denying Jesus. Almost all of them ran away and hid when Jesus was arrested and crucified. Thomas failed the test of believing Jesus was alive without seeing him. But yet, they were given a second chance. They were given a graduation ceremony anyway.
When you graduated, you probably get a few gifts, like the Bibles we gave you today. You probably also get other books, things for a new apartment or dorm room, or money. Basically, you receive things that are designed to help you out succeed in the real world.
The Disciples got a gift too. Their gift was the Holy Spirit. In Acts. 2:2-4 it describes the giving of that gift: “2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” See Jesus knew that the Disciples would need a gift to help them out in the world without him. He knew that they would need a very special gift to help them face the hardships and persecution that they would encounter.
You received the gift of the Holy Spirit too to help you along in the real world if you have been baptized. But, even if you have not been baptized, just remember, you can always count on Jesus to see you through the hard times!
When you graduate, you wear a special outfit- a cap and gown. It’s kinda of a silly looking outfit and I could never get my cap to look right on my head, but it’s purpose is to set you apart as someone special. It lets everyone know that you have completed a course of education.
Believe it or not, the Disciples were also provided with a something special to wear to set them apart as being special. Verse 3 says “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.” Now, if that is not something that signifies that you are something special, I don’t know what is!
At the graduation ceremony there were probably a few people that gave speeches. They were supposed to be inspirational speeches to give your encouragement. However, you were probably a little giddy and silly sitting there through those speeches. Probably you were just waiting for the diploma part and when you get to throw your cap in the air.
The people that were there at Pentecost also got a speech from Peter only they got the speech because they thought the Disciples were drunk, but it was also meant to be encouraging. He said, “"Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 'In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
On side note, I bet some of you parents thought that the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious day of your child’s graduation.
I want to close with a commencement speech that was addressed to Harvard's Senior Class. On the morning of their graduation, seniors gather in Memorial Church to hear the minister offer words of solace and encouragement as they leave "the Yard" to take their places in the world.
The 1998 senior class heard the unvarnished truth from the Rev. Peter Gomes, minister at Harvard and the author of several books on the Bible. Doctor Gomes took no prisoners that day. He began: "You are going to be sent out of here for good, and most of you aren't ready to go. The president is about to bid you into the fellowship of educated men and women and, (and here he paused and spoke each word slowly for emphasis) [but] you know just - how - dumb - you - really - are."
The senior class cheered in agreement.
And worse than that," Doctor Gomes continued, "the world - and your parents in particular - are going to expect that you will be among the brightest and best. But you know that you can no longer fool all the people even some of the time. By noontime today, you will be out of here. By tomorrow you will be history. By Saturday, you will be toast. That's a fact - no exceptions, no extensions."
"Nevertheless, there is reason to hope," Doctor Gomes promised. "The future is God's gift to you. God will not let you stumble or fall. God has not brought you this far to this place to ABANDON you or leave you here alone and afraid. The God of Israel never stumbles, never sleeps, never goes on sabbatical. Thus, my beloved and bewildered young friends, do not be afraid."
And so, on this day of Pentecost know that you have been given a very special gift just like the Disciples received. You have been given God’s special blessing and protection and that is something that no money can by. Amen.
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