Date: 5/22/2003
Time: 3:15:31 AM
Many of the places and people mentioned are now gone, relabeled. Languages changed. The work of the Spirit continues. Musing, Nancy-WI
Date: 5/29/2003
Time: 5:29:47 PM
Getting a head start, because we have a guest preacher this Sunday (hallelujah!).
I find that Eric Law's chapter called "A Fresh Look at Pentecost" in his book "The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb" has opened up a whole new understanding of Pentecost for me. He talks about how the Pentecost story was always explained to him as a "miracle of tongues - that is, the Holy Spirit gave the disciples the power to speak in different languages in order to communicate the 'mighty works of God.'" But it was also a miracle of hearing. "The multitude knew that the disciples were (from Galilee, maybe even speaking Galilean?) and yet they could understand them in their own languages. To understand the Pentecost event as exclusively a miracle of tongue is only perceiving half of what was happening."
He goes on to offer a power analysis of Pentecost. The disciples were the powerless ones in this story. They were Galileans, an insignificant Jewish ethnic group. And they were in hiding, fearing further persecution. "...In their seemingly powerless state, they were given the power to speak in tongues and later to preach in authority in public places. The miracle of the tongue was the Holy Spirit's inspiration to the powerless to see that they were blessed in their weakness."
The ones who had power in this story were those devout Jews from every nation who were living in Jerusalem. They were the majority who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah, who may have even called for his crucifixion. "If they wanted, they could have handed the disciples over to the officials to be persecuted. ...Yet they were given the miracle of the ear. They were given the gift of listening and understanding even though what was said by the disciples was in another language...The miracle of the ear for the powerful, working together with the miracle of the tongue for the powerless was essential to make the Pentecost experience complete."
Finally, he applies this to our churches. He writes that "If the church is to move toward Pentecost in the midst of a multicultural society, it must work in cooperation with the Holy Spirit to (allow) the miracle of the tongue and the miracle of the ear to happen according to the perception and reality of the power dynamics among different cultural groups in the community..." The church needs to encourage the powerless to speak up, and the powerful to listen.
Hope this helps us get started. My church is multicultural, and we are working on empowering people to speak.
Tom in TN had a thoughtful post last year about hearing God's word that got me thinking further. Who knows what people hear? Sometimes people will tell me they were deeply moved by something they heard in my sermon that I didn't say. I consider that a miracle of hearing. If you come hoping/expecting to hear the Word of the Lord, by the Spirit you can hear, no matter what is said.
I look forward to all your posts. DGinNYC
Date: 6/1/2003
Time: 7:20:47 PM
DGinNYC Very interesting. I had not thought about the hearing part, but hearing is really comprehending because otherwise hearing is just noise to tune out. Hearing is often filtered by our mind's many voices. There is a little book on Hot buttons that was published a few years ago. The author's main premise is that all of us have in us trigger words, these words as a result of things in our personal histories cause us to respond quickly with out much thought... Sounds like in this passage the shock of hearing caused a break, a pause in the automatic reactions, and then they really heard! meadering here, Nancy-WI
Date: 6/2/2003
Time: 6:36:43 AM
"Pentecost Versus Pentagrams" I cannot tell you where or how I got this sermon title. The idea behind it is the spiritual warfare that is being fought over the souls of humanbeings in our world today. What seems to be innocent dappings in the occult becomes the lure that eventuates in people becoming trapped in cults. Our souls are spiritual vacuums waiting whatever spiritual essence that passes our way. We either get feeled with the Holy Spirit or with evil spirits. TN Mack
Date: 6/2/2003
Time: 7:58:28 AM
The search for a spiritual connection seems to be a strong drive in each of us. (previenent grace?) In this passage is as if all have been waiting. it was not a one on one experience but an experience of each in the context of community. Nancy-Wi.
Date: 6/2/2003
Time: 9:05:10 AM
We call Pentecost "the church's birthday." Yet the scene looks unlike most parties we know. There are no cake candles for the birthday boy, but there are tongues of fire for each guest. And as for the gift, there's only one given: the Holy Spirit, which is for everyone, too. Maybe on Pentecost, we too should ask, "Just whose birthday is this, anyway?
On closer inspection, we must admit that this Pentecost birthday is decidedly Jewish. It is a Jewish holiday, a harvest feast connected to a celebration of the giving of the Torah. The gathered disciples are still all Jews. The international pilgrims who witness the events, ask the questions, and hear the gospel preached in their own tongues are all Jews or Jewish proselytes. We have a birthday party here, all right, but a decidedly Jewish one.
Guess that makes us guests at the Spirit's party. The fact that the party is Jewish does not mean we are utterly left out. This is the first of a two-part Spirit gift (see Acts 10.1-11.18 for part 2). The key for Gentile Christians is not to assume we're in charge or the center of attention. It might be good for us, even this day, to remind ourselves of the grace of God by which we were adopted into this joyful family. Krister Stendahl says we are, at best, honorary Jews. There is a special joy in being graciously seated around a table big enough for everyone.
Such a bizarre party prompts questions: What does this mean? The opposite of the Pentecost scene is the usual way of our lives, a careful cost-benefit analysis, joy that needs to be possessed either as the deserved fruit of our labors or private property with the requisite deeds and titles to show ownership. The gathered crowd had it right on a purely human level. When they saw the Spirit manifested on Pentecost, they thought it could only be an aberration: early morning drunkenness from partygoers who didn't know when to lay off the wine. To pose the question is to be troubled by that which cannot be calculated or managed. Looking at this Pentecost party, it's only natural to wonder, "What does this mean?"
Peter gives the answer: God is creating all things anew. What happened here is no accident, not partying without a license. Indeed, what happens on Pentecost is part of God's plan to remake creation. The heavens are changing. And the earth…well, the earth is next! You see, this odd sharing of the Spirit at a kind of birthday bash is not an end, but a new beginning that can't be controlled by the people who make you punch time clocks or by the bean counters. They're too busy looking backward at who gets what. God's party in the Spirit points ahead to something new: a new order in which there's enough for everybody, a new age in which the party is not the exception, but the rule!
Of course, this means that we have to break with our deadly ways. Peter's sermon is also a call to repentance. To talk about the need for repentance and turning from our deadly ways is just another way of saying that the forces in our world that wish to destroy God's plan are still with us. Repentance is not a prerequisite, but an aftereffect of divine grace. God is in the new creation mode, so why should we persist in propping up the death-dealing ways of the old order?
Imagine that: a birthday party in which you don't have to blow out the candles! The Spirit wants to keep the party going permanently. Sure, it's not easy to think of giving up the perks that come with business as usual: the Israelites called them Egyptian fleshpots, we call them pensions and productivity bonuses. God's party in the Spirit invites us, however, to envision something new: a world in which God's people, the Jews, can live without fear, and a world in which we Gentile Christians don't need to be in control, but can live in the Spirit's joy for one another in the community of our dreams.
Date: 6/3/2003
Time: 6:14:31 AM
An early response to several of you regarding the difference between speaking and hear. It seems inevitable that when I assess my sermons and/or delivery, I am usually off base. Those days when I think I've really "nailed" it, the sermon seems to hit the floor like the proverbial lead balloon. On those days when I wish I had a trap door under the pulpit for a quick escape because I feel the message/sermon was terrible or terribly delivered, I see and hear more people respond to it. It truly is the work of the Holy Spirit that affects lives. I always try to remember that when the human response to a message I've delivered, the response isn't to me, but to God's spirit working in the life of the hearer.
Steve in NC
Date: 6/3/2003
Time: 7:33:27 AM
This weekend the Rev. Zan Holmes (arguably the greatest living UM preacher) preached at a worship service during the uniting of our two annual conferences. (MO East and West.) His sermon was far greater than I will be able to attain this week, but then again, I am the only one preaching at my church this week. Holmes used an illustration of being at an airport waiting to be picked up but not being found because "he didn't look like his picture." He went on to call this passage a "snapshot" of the church we are called to be and asked us if we looked like our picture? What a great question to ask ourselves on this birthday of the church.
RevIsrael
Date: 6/3/2003
Time: 9:10:10 AM
Since, this is Annual Conference in West Ohio...I will be there at Lakeside, OH. So, a Gideon speaker is coming that day. Just reading post and getting personal nurturing here. Enjoying your ideas, the hearing thing yeah I thought about that last year...Going back toBruce Almighty Movie...LOL cause it was funny... The scene on voices of prayers that Bruce has in head...Image God hear our prayers, as many people that are in whole whole, he hears many voices many languages...maybe that image will help your sermons... the tongues descend...flames, words, and ears opening.... Lady Pastor in OHIO
Date: 6/3/2003
Time: 1:06:46 PM
Mack Tn, I am very sorry but I do not understand this title, "Pentecost Versus Pentagrams", at all. I must be a bit on the dense and tired side today. Nancy-Wi
Date: 6/3/2003
Time: 10:12:10 PM
Another "Bruce Almighty" illustration which will "preach" on Pentecost (& many other occasions) is when God confronts Bruce, saying, "You've had my powers for two weeks. . .what have you done with it?" A colleague of mine pointed out the obvious connection to the Church (and Pentecost) - "Church, you've had the power of my Holy Spirit for 2.000 years. . .what have you done with it?" At Pentecost, the Church was not only born, but empowered to be the body of Christ, and empowered to carry on his work (the central theme of Acts). We still have that Power today. What are we doing with it? Ken in WV
Date: 6/4/2003
Time: 6:13:02 AM
This will be my last Sunday to preach here. Moving Day is Tuesday. The ability of the Apostles to communicate universally by accepting te gift of the Holy Spirit = the oneness of God's people = carrying on with their new pastor. musing. Pastor Rick in FL
Date: 6/4/2003
Time: 2:23:10 PM
Pastor Rick, the gospel lesson is a great one for "last sundays". the disciples were dealing with the fact that Jesus was about to leave them. And he told them that it was a good thing that he leave. He needed to leave so that they would realize their own power in the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we just let the pastor do everything. But the Holy Spirit and God's power are for all, not just the pastor.
God be with you in your move. DGinNYC
Date: 6/5/2003
Time: 8:42:16 AM
Thinking of a children's time for this Sunday - don't want to use the usual red balloon. After reading your postings I began to reflect on the birthday of the church and the use of birthday candles on a birthday cake. Anyone know the actual reason why this has become customary - is there a connection between the birthday candles and the tongues of fire? Sounds plausible, but I do not want to miss speak and be miss heard. Thanks for your posts as always. PH in Michigan
Date: 6/5/2003
Time: 8:22:55 PM
Pastor Rick, hope all goes well with your move and your "last Sunday." Pentecost will be my FIRST Sunday preaching in my first post-seminary church, and I see a lot of possibilities for a sermon and also feel pretty daunted by the idea of starting my ministry here. The church is looking to revitalize itself, and the Pentecost story is ripe for that. I am also planning on using a story from an experience I had while I was studying abroad in Russia. I ws taking a Russian literature class, and the class was taught entirely in Russian. I struggled the first few weeks, because I understood very little in the class, and I knew I was lagging behind my classmates. Then one day the door very suddenly opened. Suddenly I was able to understand the professor, I knew what was going on in the class, everything was clear. It wasn't like I slowly learned the language, word by word. It was an epiphany, a sudden shift from empty words to comprehension. I would imagine the scene at Pentecost was something like that. Instantaneously, persons from many different nations and tongues were able to understand each other -- suddenly the cataracts were drawn away, and everything was clear. What a shockingly beautiful thing. (I'm not sure where else I'm going to go in my sermon, but I want to say something about diversity and about reviving the church.) Peace and blessings to you all. Desiree in Sacramento
Date: 6/6/2003
Time: 3:59:04 PM
The King James says when Pentecost had fully come. You have to be a child during advent waiting for Christmas to fully come. Or lived in New Orleans during Mardigras season waiting for the great day to arrive. Immagine the Jews arriving in Jerusalem some days ahead and some on the very day but each day the crowd grows with anticipation.Every year we preach about Pentecost and argue over wether the miracle was one of hearing or speaking. but where is the sense of anticipation that it can happen and should happen every sunday. All week I have had a deep feeling in my bones that something great is going to happen this Sunday and can hardly wait for Sunday to get here. I'm counting the hours in anticipation.
Harold in Alabama
Date: 6/6/2003
Time: 8:17:13 PM
Martin Marty has a wonderful column in the May 17th, 2003 issue of the "Christian Century" magazine, in which he compares liturgical colors to other symbolic colors, such as the new Homeland Security alert system. As he notes, the red of Pentecost denotes "highest danger" in Tom Ridge's color scheme. And perhaps those of us celebrating Pentecost should keep in mind this "state of high alert." While the flame of the Spirit is rejoiced by Christians around the world, it is also a symbol of change. Being inflamed by the Spirit is not always the most comfortable thing, and we truly must "be on highest alert," we must wake up! to the movement of the Spirit in our lives and in our congregations. Blessings to all of you during this exciting and spirit-wrenching season. -Desiree in Sacramento
Date: 6/7/2003
Time: 2:02:48 AM
A few thoughts In preparing for this Sunday, I have been reading Is 44:1-5, and will pair that with the Acts reading to say the following.
1 God wants to bless us personally ... Is 44:5a and in Acts - the tongues of fire.
2 God's blessing is not limited to individuals .. he wants to renew communities. Is 44 - the call is to Israel, the people of God In Acts 2, the believers are gathered together
3 God's blessing is not limited to Israel - see Is 44:5b and in Acts it is not limited to the believers Acts 2:39. God wants to use the renewed community to bless the world.
Three points!
if you like, you could link this with three aspects of our calling as churches ... to individuals ... to focus on the importance of community ... and on outreach.
Grace and Peace
Rev Ev in UK
Date: 6/7/2003
Time: 10:21:35 AM
Nancy Wi, I am sorry for the slow response, but I just read your question on Saturday. You possibly will not even see this response. Pentagrams or pentacles are often used in witchcraft and satanic worship so that one usually associates them with evil spirits. I hope this helps. TN Mack
Date: 6/7/2003
Time: 10:51:46 AM
TN Mack Thanks for the explanation. Another area in which I know little. Nancy-Wi
Date: 6/7/2003
Time: 3:09:36 PM
How cool it is to read your thoughts as I wrestle with my own. The birth of the Church is certainly a day to celebrate. Had I been one who actually prepared sermons before Saturday, I could have had one of the amazing bakers in our church bake a cake for the occation. Bummers. Onto Pentecost. I love the thought of the multi miricle day. Speaking in other languages...AND Hear what needs to be heard. I to have preached my share of sermons I know had no relavance to life, only to realize the Holy Spirit is greater than I and opened ears to hear things I have never said! Do you know how much I appreciate all of you! More later I am sure. Tammy in Texas
Date: 6/7/2003
Time: 3:11:39 PM
Oh one quick note. Bruce Almighty was Great. Minimul rudeness, but there had to be some to show how messed up Bruce was. It isn't until God opens Bruces eyes to how life really is that Bruce learns to love and trust God. It was a hard and painful experience for Bruce. How true it is to real life. I thought it was GREAT!
Tammy in Texas