Pastor Lynn's
Weekly Sermon
Drunk
Nashville UCC, June 11, 2017
The Bible takes a dim view of drunkenness. That should be a surprise to no one. And it’s not a recent development, either. It started with Noah, way back in the book of Genesis. You may not know that after the great flood, one of the first things that Noah did was to plant a vineyard. Now, there’s nothing wrong with planting a vineyard. When that vineyard produced grapes, he made wine from them. There’s nothing wrong with that, either. (You wine lovers don’t have to worry!) The problem was not that Noah drank wine, but that Noah drank too much of that wine; and he got so drunk that he passed out, which caused a huge problem for his family. (Interested in the details? You can read the story in Genesis 9:20-27.) And that’s not the last time that drinking too much got someone in trouble. The book of Daniel tells us that King Belshazzar of Babylon got drunk and decided to use the goblets from the Jerusalem Temple for his feast. That made God so mad that he took the kingdom away from Belshazzar and gave it to the Persians (Daniel 5:1-31). If you know the story of Judith (which is in the Apocryphal book of Judith), you know that the Persian general Holofernes got drunk; and when he passed out, Judith cut off his head! One of Jesus’ parables even warns us not to behave like servants who get drunk and aren’t ready to serve their master when he comes home (Luke 12:42-46).
Yeah, getting drunk can lead to real problems. It can cause you to do all kinds of crazy things, because when we get drunk, we lose our inhibitions. We do things that we would otherwise never do. Think you wouldn’t dance on a table with a lampshade on your head? Get drunk and see what happens! And when we’re drunk, we say what we’re really thinking. You might even tell your boss that he’s an arrogant, boated windbag with terrible fashion sense and a worse management style! Getting drunk leads to folks doing and saying things that they would not usually do or say. That’s why some of the people who witnessed the behavior of Jesus’ disciples on the first Pentecost were convinced that they were drunk. After the disciples began speaking in other languages, “Some [people] made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’” (You can read the whole story in Acts 2:1-13.) Peter was quick to respond that they weren’t drunk, because it was still early in the morning. But, you know, Peter was wrong. The disciples were drunk! Oh, they weren’t drunk with wine. They were drunk with God’s Spirit. It filled them after the Spirit’s wind swept through the room where they were gathered and the Spirit’s fire settled on each one of them. They were as drunk on the Spirit as some folks get on Margaritas at La Fiesta!
And it got some of them into trouble. I’ll bet that you know the story of Stephen (Acts chapters 6 and 7). Stephen was one of the first Christians. The book of Acts tells us that he was “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5), and that he did “great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8) But because the Jewish authorities didn’t like Stephen preaching that Jesus was the Messiah, he was arrested and put on trial. When he was asked what he had to say for himself, he gave a magnificent sermon that related the entire story of the Jews beginning with Abraham. But he didn’t end his story by praising the ones who had arrested him, even though that would have been the smart thing to do. No, because he was drunk on the Spirit, he told them exactly what he thought of them: that they were stupid, stubborn, and violent; that they had ignored what the prophets had to say; and that they had murdered the Messiah! Oh, he spoke his mind, all right! And after that… well, things didn’t go so well. They dragged Stephen outside and stoned him to death. And it just so happened that a young Jew named Saul was in the crowd. He approved of what they did to Stephen. Later, though, when Saul was on the road to Damascus, he met the risen Christ. When he did, he must have recalled the day that Stephen was murdered. He must have remembered Stephen’s courage in speaking his mind despite knowing that it would get him into trouble. And soon enough, Saul would be drunk with the Holy Spirit himself. He changed his name to Paul; and he traveled all over the world doing things that got him into trouble and saying things that he never in a million years thought that he would say. That’s what happens when you get drunk with the Holy Spirit.
Now, even though the Bible warns us against getting drunk on wine, it is delighted with folks who get drunk with the Holy Spirit! “Do not get drunk on wine…” says Ephesians (5:18). “Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” In other words, don’t put a lampshade on your head and dance on the table; but do go do things in the name of Jesus Christ that you might not otherwise do! And say things that you would normally keep to yourself. But don’t insult the neighbor you can’t stand. Talk to the man in line at the grocery store, instead! He might be looking for a new church home. And for goodness sake, risk getting into trouble for the sake of the gospel! If you are offended by a joke that makes fun of blacks or Hispanics, don’t laugh. Say that you don’t like it; and say why you don’t like it. You might be opening someone else’s eyes to the fact that God loves other people who aren’t just like we are. If you see that other people are being mistreated because of their economic status or their ethnic heritage, speak up! Remind other people that God is on the side of those who are the most vulnerable. And if you are concerned about hungry children or homeless families, get involved with something that can help them! There are all kinds of ways to do that.
When was the last time that you were drunk with the Holy Spirit? Was it last week? Last month? Last year? When did you last do what you had to do and say what you had to say without worrying where the chips would fall after you did? This week, I invite you to have a Happy Hour with the Spirit. It may be one of the best things that you ever do!
Nashville UCC, June 11, 2017
The Bible takes a dim view of drunkenness. That should be a surprise to no one. And it’s not a recent development, either. It started with Noah, way back in the book of Genesis. You may not know that after the great flood, one of the first things that Noah did was to plant a vineyard. Now, there’s nothing wrong with planting a vineyard. When that vineyard produced grapes, he made wine from them. There’s nothing wrong with that, either. (You wine lovers don’t have to worry!) The problem was not that Noah drank wine, but that Noah drank too much of that wine; and he got so drunk that he passed out, which caused a huge problem for his family. (Interested in the details? You can read the story in Genesis 9:20-27.) And that’s not the last time that drinking too much got someone in trouble. The book of Daniel tells us that King Belshazzar of Babylon got drunk and decided to use the goblets from the Jerusalem Temple for his feast. That made God so mad that he took the kingdom away from Belshazzar and gave it to the Persians (Daniel 5:1-31). If you know the story of Judith (which is in the Apocryphal book of Judith), you know that the Persian general Holofernes got drunk; and when he passed out, Judith cut off his head! One of Jesus’ parables even warns us not to behave like servants who get drunk and aren’t ready to serve their master when he comes home (Luke 12:42-46).
Yeah, getting drunk can lead to real problems. It can cause you to do all kinds of crazy things, because when we get drunk, we lose our inhibitions. We do things that we would otherwise never do. Think you wouldn’t dance on a table with a lampshade on your head? Get drunk and see what happens! And when we’re drunk, we say what we’re really thinking. You might even tell your boss that he’s an arrogant, boated windbag with terrible fashion sense and a worse management style! Getting drunk leads to folks doing and saying things that they would not usually do or say. That’s why some of the people who witnessed the behavior of Jesus’ disciples on the first Pentecost were convinced that they were drunk. After the disciples began speaking in other languages, “Some [people] made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’” (You can read the whole story in Acts 2:1-13.) Peter was quick to respond that they weren’t drunk, because it was still early in the morning. But, you know, Peter was wrong. The disciples were drunk! Oh, they weren’t drunk with wine. They were drunk with God’s Spirit. It filled them after the Spirit’s wind swept through the room where they were gathered and the Spirit’s fire settled on each one of them. They were as drunk on the Spirit as some folks get on Margaritas at La Fiesta!
And it got some of them into trouble. I’ll bet that you know the story of Stephen (Acts chapters 6 and 7). Stephen was one of the first Christians. The book of Acts tells us that he was “full of faith and of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 6:5), and that he did “great wonders and miraculous signs among the people.” (Acts 6:8) But because the Jewish authorities didn’t like Stephen preaching that Jesus was the Messiah, he was arrested and put on trial. When he was asked what he had to say for himself, he gave a magnificent sermon that related the entire story of the Jews beginning with Abraham. But he didn’t end his story by praising the ones who had arrested him, even though that would have been the smart thing to do. No, because he was drunk on the Spirit, he told them exactly what he thought of them: that they were stupid, stubborn, and violent; that they had ignored what the prophets had to say; and that they had murdered the Messiah! Oh, he spoke his mind, all right! And after that… well, things didn’t go so well. They dragged Stephen outside and stoned him to death. And it just so happened that a young Jew named Saul was in the crowd. He approved of what they did to Stephen. Later, though, when Saul was on the road to Damascus, he met the risen Christ. When he did, he must have recalled the day that Stephen was murdered. He must have remembered Stephen’s courage in speaking his mind despite knowing that it would get him into trouble. And soon enough, Saul would be drunk with the Holy Spirit himself. He changed his name to Paul; and he traveled all over the world doing things that got him into trouble and saying things that he never in a million years thought that he would say. That’s what happens when you get drunk with the Holy Spirit.
Now, even though the Bible warns us against getting drunk on wine, it is delighted with folks who get drunk with the Holy Spirit! “Do not get drunk on wine…” says Ephesians (5:18). “Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” In other words, don’t put a lampshade on your head and dance on the table; but do go do things in the name of Jesus Christ that you might not otherwise do! And say things that you would normally keep to yourself. But don’t insult the neighbor you can’t stand. Talk to the man in line at the grocery store, instead! He might be looking for a new church home. And for goodness sake, risk getting into trouble for the sake of the gospel! If you are offended by a joke that makes fun of blacks or Hispanics, don’t laugh. Say that you don’t like it; and say why you don’t like it. You might be opening someone else’s eyes to the fact that God loves other people who aren’t just like we are. If you see that other people are being mistreated because of their economic status or their ethnic heritage, speak up! Remind other people that God is on the side of those who are the most vulnerable. And if you are concerned about hungry children or homeless families, get involved with something that can help them! There are all kinds of ways to do that.
When was the last time that you were drunk with the Holy Spirit? Was it last week? Last month? Last year? When did you last do what you had to do and say what you had to say without worrying where the chips would fall after you did? This week, I invite you to have a Happy Hour with the Spirit. It may be one of the best things that you ever do!
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