PENTECOST.06  Acts 2:1-11; Acts 10:44-48  “Interpreters for Christ” INTRODUCTION                                                                                                            Communication can be a challenge.  There was an older man, Bud, and his wife, Millie, who lived out in a rural area and didn’t make it into town very often.  One day his wife obtained a copy of a ladies’ magazine that touted the benefits of taking a milk bath. She decided that this was just what she needed to make her feel beautiful and sent her husband to a neighboring dairy farm to purchase the milk. When he arrived, Bud told the dairy farmer that he wanted to purchase enough milk for his wife to take a milk bath.
The dairy farmer asked, “Do you want the milk pasteurized?”
“No,” replied Bud, “up to her neck will do just fine.”                                                    Communication is a challenge.  About a year ago, the European Union expanded its membership to include 25 countries.  When the EU is in session, 57 trilingual interpreters are needed to deal with the twenty different languages. Translation services cost about $1.6 billion in 2005.                                                                                                       How are we at communicating our faith?  We Presbyterians are noted for our running the church “decently and in order.”  Presbyterians have also been accused of being wound too tightly, of being too intellectual, too legalistic, and too judgmental.  Perhaps some of these descriptions are appropriate. Maybe we need to be more open to the movement of the Holy Spirit.                                                                                                                       THE DAY OF PENTECOST                                                                                                                                                                                       
            On the Day of Pentecost in Jerusalem, 3000 people became Christians because they miraculously heard the Gospel proclaimed in their own languages. Jews from all over the known world had gathered in Jerusalem for the Jewish Feast of Weeks, Pentecost, which fell 50 days after the Passover.  It marked the beginning of the offering of the first fruits.  “Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs ….” heard the disciples speaking in their own languages.  No trilingual translators were on hand—only the Holy Spirit.  People couldn’t believe their own ears.  “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?” they wondered.                                                                        TRANSLATORS AND INTERPRETERS
            It was a miracle—instant translation.  On the Presbytery trip to Guatemala, the leader who helped those of us who didn’t speak Spanish understand what was being said, was careful to point out that he was interpreting, not translating.  There is a difference between the two.  The people at the Pentecost event heard the gospel translation.  But they were “amazed and perplexed.”  Can you imagine hearing the Gospel for the first time?  It would be difficult to accept that someone who had been crucified as a criminal was the Savior of the world. Peter stepped forward to interpret, to unpack the message, for them, so that they not only heard the words, but understood their meaning.  The Economic Union and the United Nations seek people who can not just translate words, but interpret meaning.  In order to do this it is necessary for interpreters to understand the culture as well as the language of a country or region.  These organizations employ specialists who can translate and interpret at the same time.                                                                                                                                          At the day of the Christian Pentecost, the Holy Spirit translated, but Peter interpreted.  During the Annual PCUSA multicultural conference that Karen and Phillip Spain, Eva, and I attended, the youth visited Wordspring, an interactive museum about the Wycliffe Bible translators.  They learned that though the Bible has been translated into many languages, there are still hundreds of places where there is no Bible available in the vernacular.  Translation is still needed in sharing the gospel with the world.  Just as important is the need for interpreters.  Peter spoke to the Pentecost crowd from his personal convictions and experience with Christ.  Interpreters are needed today to witness to the value of Christ in our lives, to explain from a personal perspective what the Bible means.
            People go to school for years to learn to be good translators and interpreters, but being an interpreter for Christ doesn’t require great skills.  Those of us who have attended seminary are not the only interpreters.  Every Christian is called to be an interpreter of the Gospel.  We do this by simply describing our own experience with Jesus.  What has your faith led you to believe, change, and do?
The following are some examples of what some people say about their faith in Christ:
• “I can no longer be comfortable with my prejudices.”
• “I have real peace that stays with me, even when everything is going wrong.”
• “I am less judgmental and more able to forgive.”
• “I never knew a time when I was not a Christian, but I’m convinced it enlarges my            spirit.”
• “I know a joy and contentment in my life I never knew before.”                                        “My natural inclination is to think only of myself. But because of Christ, I can no longer ignore the needs of others.”
• “The guilt I lived with has been taken away.”
• “It has put a song in my heart.”
• “I cannot sin in peace.”
• “Christ has given my life a purpose.”[1]                                                                   RELUCTANT WITNESSES                                                                                                          Many of us are reluctant to be interpreters because we don’t want to appear pushy about faith.  If someone is doubtful about what we say, we become discouraged and give up talking about it.  Some don’t share because they assume that everyone around them has a faith of their own.  Out of respect, we don’t want to force our religion on others.  However, your interpretation of Jesus to others is as important as the Bible.  If you don’t speak about your faith, someone may never hear the Good News of Jesus.  You may be the only person who can say what you believe in such a way that it prompts the faith of another.       Let me tell you a story: One summer, midway through seminary, I was on a weekend vacation in a little town in New England. I decided on Sunday to go to hear a visiting preacher in a little town’s chapel. I heard the worst sermon I could ever have imagined. I sat in the pew thinking, “He’s going against every rule they’re teaching us about preaching. What a waste of time!”                                                                                   That’s what I thought until the very end of the sermon when I happened to see the person beside me with tears in her eyes, whispering, “He said exactly what I need to hear.”  It was then that I knew something very important had happened in that service. The woman beside me had come in need. Somehow the words of that poorly crafted sermon had been translated into a message that spoke to her heart.
            On the other hand, I had come in judgment and I heard nothing but the faults.  It was a long time before I realized it, but that sermon’s effect on the person beside me turned out to be one of the great lessons of my life. Thanks to that preacher and listener in need, I now know that the space between a person doing his or her best to deliver a message of good news and the needy listener is holy ground. Recognizing that seems to have allowed me to forgive myself for being the accuser that day. In fact, that New England Sunday experience has fueled my desire to be a better advocate, a better “neighbor,” wherever I am.
Guess who told this story?  Fred Rogers, aka, Mister Rogers, Mr. Neighbor himself!                                                                                                                  WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT GETS THERE FIRST                                                                                                                           The second story we read from Acts this morning occurs some time after the Pentecost event.  While Peter is preaching, the Holy Spirit comes upon a crowd in Caesarea.  He didn’t even have a chance to finish his sermon!  The Spirit of God blows where it will, at God’s discretion.  It is not up to us by our words to persuade people to come to faith.  God’s playful, dramatic, and often disorderly Spirit prompts faith. God’s Spirit is at work in people before we even think to say a word.  And sometimes we don’t even have to say anything to witness to God’s love.                                                                                                 The following story came to me via email. His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans, and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college.  He is brilliant and an excellent student.  Bill becomes a Christian while attending college. Across the street from the campus is a conservative church with a well-heeled membership. They talk about wanting to develop a ministry to the students but are unsure how to go about it.                                                                                                                              One Sunday morning Bill decides to worship at this church.  He walks into the sanctuary in his usual attire-- no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started, but Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat.  The church is full and no one scrunches over to make room for him in a pew.  By now, people are really looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit, and when he realizes there are no seats, he just plops down right on the carpet. 
            By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.  About this time, the pastor spots way at the back of the church, a deacon slowly making his way toward Bill.  The deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit.   He is one of the pillars of the church and very dignified.
He walks with a cane and, as he starts walking toward Bill, everyone is saying to themselves that you can't blame him for what he's going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor? It takes a long time for the deacon to reach the front. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man's cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can't even hear anyone breathing. The pastor can't even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do.  And now they see this elderly man drop his cane on the floor. With great difficulty, he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships with him so he won't be alone.
            Everyone chokes up with emotion When the pastor gains control, he says, "What I'm about to preach, you may not remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget."
The story ends with this advice:  "Be careful how you live. You may be the only Bible some people will ever read!"                                                                                                 THE CHURCH FOR ALL PEOPLE                                                                                      One of the amazing aspects of Pentecost is that from its very birth, the church included people from all over.  The Holy Spirit didn’t come just to a particular ethnic or language group.  It is a faith for anyone from anywhere.  Who better to partner with the Holy Spirit in spreading the Good News of God’s love in Christ than those of us at Hunting Ridge Church, who by our very nature reflect the Pentecost event.  Communication is everything.  Go forth and be an interpreter for Christ.  Amen.