In the movie Up in the Air, Ryan Bingham (played by George Clooney) is a corporate downsizer who flies from place to place, helping companies lay off their employees. The recession has been keeping Ryan busy, but somehow in his 'down time' he conducts motivational workshops, urging his listeners to transform their lives. During these thought provoking talks, he holds up a backpack and asks his audience to visualize all the things in life that are weighing them down. Being a frequent flier himself, he has learned over the years that the less you take with you, the less you have to lose. By reducing the baggage we carry, he says, we free ourselves to do whatever we want in life, on our own terms, at our own pace.

Ryan's speech, which he repeats verbatim in every city, is inspired by his experience and his fear of commitment. He is afraid of letting others down and afraid of being let down by others, so much so that he won't let his heart get too attached to anything or anyone. And yet there comes a time when he begins to wonder whether he can continue with his detached way of life. In the middle of one of his scheduled speeches, he falls silent and retreats off the stage to follow-up on a possible relationship.

Our reading from the book of Acts on this Pentecost Sunday is a sort of reversal on this sequence of events. Whereas in the film, Ryan shifts from self-assured speech to sudden silence in pursuit of love, in our scripture reading today, God.s people are pursued by the promise of divine love and moved by the Spirit out of silence into inspired speech.

Here in Acts we get a glimpse of the early disciples on that first Pentecost following Jesus. resurrection. The festival of Pentecost was an annual event for the Jews, a celebration of the first fruits of the harvest occuring 50 days after Passover. People from lands near and far journeyed to the temple in Jerusalem to take part in this festival of praise.

During this time of celebration, one hundred and twenty of Jesus. followers gather together. Having been instructed by Jesus to await the arrival of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, the disciples are hidden away in an upper room. Now we might have expected that Jesus. followers would be taking to the streets by now, if not to spread the word about an empty tomb and a risen Lord, then perhaps to participate in the feast of Pentecost. Instead, they sit huddled together in prayer, keeping quiet about recent revelations.

A sudden rush of sound, like the roar of a freight train speeding past, comes crashing through their time of peaceful prayer. The next thing we know, one hundred and twenty of Jesus followers have begun to praise God in a variety of languages, such that bystanders in the street can hear and understand what is being said. Of the thousands who hear the commotion, some are amazed, some are troubled, and some are filled with doubt. While everyone is seeking a sensible reason for what has taken place, ultimately, a group of them several settle on the old standby. They go with the excuse that gets uttered in this town over and over during the festival of Little 5: "It must have been the wine..."

And at that point in our story we witness yet another transformation, one that is seldom given much attention. Remember Peter? The one who denied Jesus three times in the course of one night alone? Suddenly this one who had done his best to keep quiet about faith stands up before the crowds to raise his voice. Suddenly Peter is inspired to speak, to correct the faulty assumptions of the crowd. Suddenly Peter is compelled to tell the truth. "God did this," he tells them. No longer driven by fear, it seems that Peter has finally succumbed to hope. And from this point forward, as the followers of Jesus begin to form a new community of faith, Peter is not the only one prone such outbursts of inspired speech.

The Holy Spirit moves God.s people from silence to speech. Now, the idea of opening our lips to utter a few words about faith is enough to inspire fear, especially in a culture where religious language is too often used to intimidate, infuriate, belittle and berate. We don't want to hurt others the way we have been hurt by the misguided use of religious speech, and so we just avoid the topic altogether.

But in opening our minds and our mouths to expressions of faith, by allowing the Spirit to work through our words, you and I can also be powerful messengers of grace and hope and peace. It is true that most listeners today are not receptive to the language of faith when it is used to coerce or to judge, but when the language of faith is formed by honest, open hearts, the lives of both speaker and listener can be transformed.

Now you and I may doubt that we have anything noteworthy to share when it comes to the language of faith. We may be convinced that inspired speech is dependent upon our age or level of education or social status, but the words uttered over us in baptism suggest otherwise. "Child of God, you have been filled with the Holy Spirit..." By virtue of our baptism, all of us are inspired, and all of us are called to spread the word. All of us, young and old alike, are called to share with others our experiences along the journey of faith. And we don't have to have everything figured out in order to share those experiences. We simply have to be open to the surprising ways in which the Spirit works.

Inspired speech does not require standing in front of thousands like Peter did. Inspired speech can happen when we're talking one-on-one to a neighbor, a hair dresser, or the person who bags our groceries. Inspired speech happens when we share words of encouragement, when we acknowledging with our language, verbal and non-verbal that they matter to us. Inspired speech happens when we share with just one other person, in words fitting to the context, our own experiences of life and faith.

Inspired speech does not require standing in front of thousands like Peter did. Inspired speech can happen when we're talking one-on-one to a neighbor, a hair dresser, or the person who bags our groceries. Inspired speech happens when we share words of encouragement, when we acknowledging with our language, verbal and non-verbal that they matter to us. Inspired speech happens when we share with just one other person, in words fitting to the context, our own experiences of life and faith.

Many times, inspired speakers are not even aware that they are doing anything noteworthy. They don't even realize they are witnessing to their faith. I think back to one boy who was six years old when I first met him. It was the day that school let out for the summer, and sometime after the school bell rang that afternoon, this little boy's excitement turned to carelessness. While playing with some friends in his neighborhood, he managed to get hit by a delivery truck. He wound up with a body covered with cuts and bruises and a left leg that had to be kept in traction for the entire summer.

As you can imagine, it was not easy for a six year old boy to lie in a hospital bed all summer, especially once he began to feel a better. This boy's mom was a single parent, working two jobs, so she wasn't able to be there at the hospital as she wanted to be. But that summer, a family friend who was a member of their church stopped by the hospital every day during his lunch hour. The routine was that the visitor and the boy would play a game or two. Then they would say a quick prayer, and finally, before the visitor left, he would stick a dollar bill inside the boy's sock. He was also sure to remind the boy that by the time he left the hospital, he would be able to buy himself something nice.

These visits not only gave the boy something to look forward to all summer, they also made such an impression on the little guy that every single time a nurse or physical therapist or social worker came into the room, he would pull out that day's dollar and start talking about this man, and the games they played, and the other people from his church who had come by to visit, and how he couldn't wait to hear the church choir sing his favorite song again.

By the end of the summer, this boy's words had inspired hundreds of smiles. His story of salvation had inspired several members the hospital staff to ask for the name of his church. A couple of them were so moved by the way a series of visits over lunch helped this squirmy six year old survive the summer confined to bed, they went to worship at this church.

Inspired speech can be as simple as reflecting out loud, letting someone else in on our everyday experiences. Too often you and I underestimate the impact of such simple words uttered in the presence of another person. Inspired speech might be sharing with a stranger what it was that got us through a difficult time. It might be asking someone how they are doing and really meaning it. It might be bothering to invite some folks to church, or inviting them to conversation over a cup of coffee.

We don't know how or when any of us will next be inspired to speak about faith, but we do know it will happen, because that's what the Spirit does. The Spirit moves us from silence to speech. The Spirit rushes into our lives when we least expect it. And when that happens, those around us can't help but notice.