Message: An Estuary of the Spirit / Acts 2:1-21

 About 2,500 years ago, the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “A great country is like an estuary, the gathering place of the world, the mother of the world.” He saw something remarkable in the lowest part of a river, a place where many living beings gather and new life is born.

An estuary is where a river meets the sea. It is one of the richest ecosystems on earth. Because fresh water and salt water come together there, many forms of life can live and grow. Estuaries provide food, shelter, and habitat for many living creatures, becoming an important foundation for a great city or nation.

This insight is supported by modern research. In his 1995 book Introduction to Oceanography, David Ross notes that 22 of the world’s 32 largest cities are located on estuaries. Places rich in resources tend to attract people who are seeking new opportunities and a better future. Biodiversity leads to cultural diversity. Just as fresh water and salt water meet in an estuary, different ways of life come together there. People exchange ideas, learn from each other, and create something new together.

In this sense, the earliest church was an estuary of the Holy Spirit. On this Pentecost Sunday, the book of Acts shows us how the Spirit breaks through walls of division and brings a new community to life.

After the risen Jesus ascended, the disciples gathered in one place in Jerusalem. They waited and prayed for the Holy Spirit Jesus had promised. During one of the great Jewish festivals, the Festival of Weeks, also called Pentecost, they experienced the Spirit. Acts describes the moment through powerful images, including a sound like a strong wind from heaven and divided tongues of fire resting on each person. Filled with the Holy Spirit, they began to proclaim the gospel in other languages.

In the Bible, the Spirit is often described as God’s breath and wind. We cannot see or hold the wind, but we can feel it. It shakes trees and stirs waves. It gives birds strength to fly farther. Through its movement, the air becomes fresh again. No human border can stop the wind. In the same way, the Spirit moves beyond the lines we draw and brings new life where we may not expect it.

The Spirit is also like fire. Fire gives light and warmth, and it draws people to gather around it. It can kindle what has grown cold and help us see what was hidden in the dark. One small flame can light another, and the light grows without being diminished. The fire of Pentecost did not rest on one leader only. It rested on each person. This fire does not destroy people. It awakens them.

This movement of the Spirit soon became visible in the crowd outside. At that time, Jerusalem was crowded with people who had come for the festival. They did not all speak the same language. Even though they were Jewish people, many had lived in different regions, with different languages and ways of life. They came to Jerusalem for a shared religious celebration, yet there were still barriers that made it hard for them to embrace one another as one people. Language was one of those barriers.

When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, they began to speak in different languages. People from Parthia, Media, Elam, Mesopotamia, Cappadocia, Egypt, Libya, Rome, Crete, and Arabia heard them and understood.

The story of Pentecost shows the kind of world the Holy Spirit leads us toward. The Spirit broke through the barrier of language and brought together people from different backgrounds in the grace of God. The Spirit does not gather people by forcing one language or one voice on everyone. Instead, the Spirit opens many tongues, so that each person may hear God’s love in a language close to their own heart.

May is Asian Heritage Month. The United Church of Canada encourages each congregation to celebrate this month in its own way. As a person with Asian heritage, I find this meaningful.

Since I came to Canada, I have also become more aware of some barriers within myself. There are moments when I cannot fully express what I want to say in English. I do not always understand every part of Canadian culture, such as small talk with strangers, the constant “sorry,” or the strong passion for hockey. However, I have also experienced that these barriers do not have to block the love of God. Through my experience in this congregation, I have come to realize that love can be heard even when words are not perfect. 

Celebrating Asian Heritage Month is not simply about respecting different cultures. No culture is perfect. Each has its own beauty, and each also has limits. The work of the Spirit is not about relativism. The work of the Spirit is transformation. The Spirit helps us discover the beauty in one another, breathes life into it, and leads us toward the Kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit is not only about a powerful emotional experience. The book of Acts shows how the early church continued to become an estuary of the Spirit after the day of Pentecost. Even though the community had experienced the Spirit, there were still problems among them. In Acts 6, Greek-speaking widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. This was a real wound in the community. The Spirit led the church to face it honestly. The community changed the structure of its ministry, and new people were appointed so that those who were being left out would receive the care they needed. This shows that the Holy Spirit helps the community see what has been hidden, listen to voices that have been overlooked, and change its life for the sake of love.

The Spirit also changed Peter and made his heart more open. Even after Pentecost, Peter was still bound by certain food customs. These customs had become a wall between him and people from other cultures. Then he saw a vision. Something like a sheet came down from heaven, filled with animals his tradition had taught him not to eat. Then God sent him to the house of Cornelius, a Gentile. Peter entered the house, listened, and witnessed the Holy Spirit being poured out there too. Finally, he said, “I truly understand that God shows no partiality.” The Spirit moved Peter beyond closed custom toward open love. He discovered that God was already at work beyond the boundaries he had known. The church became more faithful as it became more open to the movement of the Spirit.

This is what it means to become an estuary of faith. Through the Spirit, the church was born as a place where all are welcomed in the name of Jesus Christ. In Christ, the walls between Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female began to break down. The United Church of Canada has also been on this journey. When three very different churches, Congregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian, chose to become one in 1925, that was already an act of trust in the Spirit. They believed that different streams of faith could become something richer together than apart.

That journey has not always been easy. There have been mistakes and times when the church has not fully followed the way of Christ. But the Spirit has kept leading. The church has sought to welcome all people regardless of race, age, disability, gender identity, or sexual orientation. In 2016, it adopted the “Vision for Becoming an Intercultural Church,” rooted in the belief that different cultural experiences deepen our faith. Because God is greater than any one culture, our understanding of God grows richer when different stories and ways of seeing the world come together.

We are called to be a church like an estuary of the Spirit, a place where streams meet, where grace flows, and where diversity can become a gift rather than a threat. It is a place where many histories are held in the love of Christ, and where the Spirit brings abundant life.

So today, Pentecost invites us to trust the Holy Spirit again. The Spirit still comes like wind, moving us beyond fear. The Spirit still comes like breath, giving life to what has grown tired. The Spirit still comes like fire, warming our hearts and lighting the path before us. The Spirit still comes as wisdom, teaching us how to listen. The Spirit still comes as courage, helping us love one another. May the life of God grow abundantly among us, for the sake of the world God loves. 

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Rev. Min Hwang