“THE SECOND GREAT DAY IN YOUR LIFE”

ACTS 2:1-18

2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.

2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.

3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

5 Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven.

6 And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.

7 And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

8 And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language?

9 Parthians and Medes and 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, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”

12 And all were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?”

13 But others mocking said, “They are filled with new wine.”

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.

15 For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 

16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel:

17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit on 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 on my male servants and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy.

William Barclay, the famous biblical scholar, once said that there are two great days in a person’s life.  Do you know what they are?  The first one is the day you were born and the second one is the day you discover why.

That makes a lot of sense to me.  How about you? First of all it’s always a great day when a baby is born and to tell you the truth babies have it made. When you’re a baby the world revolves around you.  People are there to change you and feed you and bathe you.  They play with you and make silly goo-goo sounds and do their best to make sure you’re happy.  Simply put, when you’re a baby it’s all about you.

Of course, it can be dangerous if you go through life with the attitude that it’s always going to be about you.   Consider if you will a letter that appeared many years ago in the London Daily Telegraph.  The letter was written by an eleven-year-old boy to his mother.   The boy must have come from a very well to do family because the letter was written while he was on vacation in Switzerland.   In his letter the boy wrote, “Dear Mom, yesterday the instructor took eight of us to the slopes to teach us to ski.  I was not very good at it.  So I broke a leg.  Thank goodness, it wasn’t mine!  Love, Billy.”

The first great day in your life was the day you were born but then the world starts to get bigger. It stops revolving around you and what you want.  So, you have to grow up and start doing things for yourself.  You have to take your own bath and make your own bed and do your own homework.  You have to leave paradise and you could end up feeling the same way a little boy felt one day.  It happened when his mother was teaching him how to tie his shoes.  After several days of watching and trying the little boy finally got it right.  When he did his mother was thrilled.  The little boy though didn’t share in the thrill of the moment.  He looked up at  his mother with a tear in his eye.  “What’s the matter?” she asked.  “What’s wrong?”  The little boy whimpered, “I just realized that I’m going to have to do this every day now for the rest of my life!”

There comes a moment in your life when you suddenly realize that the world wasn’t made to revolve around you and what you want.  When that happens you can get angry.  Or you can pout and complain or you can begin the journey to the second great day in your life.  That journey begins when you ask the question why?  Why am I here?  Why was I born?

Peter found his answer to the question why on the Day of Pentecost.  In order to understand what happened that day you have to turn the clock back about seven weeks. After Jesus was crucified Peter was lonely and lost, lifeless and listless.  Why am I here?  What do I do now?  Then the Holy Spirit came upon him like tongues of fire on the Day of Pentecost.  Suddenly the Peter who denied Jesus after he was arrested boldly stood up and started to proclaim the Good News. “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and give ear to my words.”

The Day of Pentecost was the second great day in Peter’s life. On the Day of Pentecost Peter understood why he had been born!  He discovered that Jesus wanted him to be an apostle and to share the Good News with people near and far. 

Today Mitchell and Conner, Rory and Andrew, Jen and Mitch, TJ and Kyle are taking a step toward that second great day in their lives.  You will find the answer to the question why here in the love of the God who rejoiced the day you were born; the God who will help you discover why you were born.

God wants you to find that second great day in your life so that you can know the peace that passes all understanding.  God wants you to find that second great day in your life so that you can experience the joy that is complete.  God wants you to find that second great day in your life so that you can be embraced by the truth that will set you free.

God wants you to find that second great day in your life so that you don’t end up in the same shoes that the students in a middle school band found themselves in one day.  It all started when the principal of the school scheduled a concert for the band without discussing it first with the music teacher.  The music teacher wasn’t sure that her young musicians were ready for a concert in front of the entire school.  She tried to talk the principal out of going ahead with the concert but the principal wouldn’t listen.  So, just before the concert was to begin the music teacher leaned forward and whispered, “If you’re not sure of your part, just pretend to play.”  The music teacher then stepped back and picked up her baton.  Then with a wave of her arm brought the baton down with a great flourish and no one played a single note!

God doesn’t want you to go through life with a song that isn’t sung or a gift that isn’t shared.  When you think about it you really didn’t have a choice when it came to the first great day in your life but you do have a choice when it comes to the second great day in your life.  Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

May 23, 2010 – Pentecost Sunday