Pentecost: The Taming of Diversity

Day of Pentecost C   May 15, 2016

Gen. 11:1-9Ps. 104: 25-32

Acts 2:1-11      John 14:8-17, 25-17 

Lectionary Link

  Today, we celebrate the feast of Pentecost.  It is a day that we celebrate the church's awareness of God's omnipresence known as the  person of the Holy Spirit.
  I would like to pose this question.  Was God the Holy Spirit before the feast of Pentecost?  Did God develop from being first the Father, and then added God the Son and then finally when Jesus was gone, God added the Holy Spirit to the Divine resume?
  Sometimes we are very simplistic in our thinking.  We think in a linear and chronological fashion.  So, because the Church came to experience God as the Holy Spirit, it would seem that it suddenly made God to be the Holy Spirit.
  When an immigrant goes through the process of becoming an American citizen and experiences for the first time the delight of being an American citizen, does that make America suddenly exist?  No, it existed before an immigrant took the oath of allegiance and loyalty, even though for the new citizen, America comes into existence in a personal way at the induction ceremony.
  In our religion we sometimes treat God as a very weak being, so weak that such weakness defies the definition of God.  How do we treat God as a weak being?  We treat the progressive human understanding of God by human beings as being the actual development of God as well.
  God created and gave freedom.  Men and women used freedom to sin.  And God is so weak, God is at divine wit's end to know what to do.  "Oh, as a last ditch effort, I will send my Son Jesus to try to convince these sinful people to learn how to do what is right and respect me.  And then I will let them know that I am a great external wind and an internal breath as the Holy Spirit."
  Do you see how it is very easy to make God to be held captive to human history and limit God to how human being have come to understand God?
  Now if God appears to be weak, it is because God allows the divine self to be understood in human versions of God.  The Bible is written is human language.  So the Bible presents us with human versions of God and the versions of God which are found in the Bible have become for us our traditions about God.
  Are these version true?  Yes, they are in that they are meaningful in helping us deal with the great questions of life.  And on this day, the Day of Pentecost, we deal with one of the greatest questions of life.  How can unity and diversity co-exist?
  How can there be diversity in unity?  How can there be unity in diversity?  The American system of government is based upon the Pentecost dilemma?  E pluribus Unum.  From the many one.  Ab Uno in plures.  From the one many.
  How can we delight in diversity and still live together without destroying each other?  The poetic Psalm for the Day of Pentecost is a praise of delight for all of the beautiful diversity in creation.  "There goes that Leviathan; God made this beast of the sea for the sport of it."  God the creator is presented as thoroughly delighting in the diverse beauty of creation.  We do too; we love nature and we love the manifold diversity of nature.  We love National Geographic's presentations of the diverse beauty of all of the peoples of the earth and all of the oceans, rivers, mountains, plains, forests and animals.  The diversity of the world gives us the experience of ecstasy.  Can we not shout with the same ecstasy of the Psalmist: ""O Lord, how manifold are your works! *  in wisdom you have made them all;  the earth is full of your creatures."  O, God, I can hardly believe the diverse beauty of all I can experience!  But we also know that our National Geographic vision of nature exposes a consequence of the free diversity of nature, namely the competition among the needs of the creatures.  There is conflict between natural happenings and human goals.  National Geographic often depicts the natural cruelties of nature in predator-prey relationships.  Foxes eat chickens; whales consume lots sea creatures, humans eat other animals, humans fight and war with each other, tornadoes demolish houses, earthquakes destroy structures, humanity uses up the resources of the environment and even destroys the environment, lighting strikes people and starts fires.
  On the Day of Pentecost we are invited to ponder the Cosmic Question: how can unity comprehend and coexist with such vast diversity within the entire created order of the universe?
  But also on the Day of Pentecost, the question of cosmic diversity and unity comes indoors to the human communities of family and religious houses of faith.  How can people manifest all of the differences and uniqueness of their personal gifts and live in non-competitive ways for the general good of the community?
  In our diversity each person cries, "I am the unique, individual snowflake, different from anyone else, now hear me roar in my uniqueness."  But what does the community and family say?  "You may be unique but you cannot let your uniqueness harm the uniqueness of the other unique people who share this world and family and community with you."
  Pentecost is the day when the members of the world express a desire for someone who can conduct humanity like a good symphony.  I may be a Tuba player who thinks that tubas are the most important instruments in the orchestra and since my instrument is bigger and louder, I should drown all the other instruments out.   But then I get angry when the cymbal player begins to drown out my tuba.  So what is needed?  The symphony needs a conductor who is respected and who can orchestrate harmonies while giving everyone enough "solo" time to adequately express their individual uniqueness.
  So why is the Day of Pentecost important?  It is important because it invites each of us to come to know God as the Holy Spirit who can whisper, tame and affirm each of our human egos to convince us to be committed musicians in this human symphony of the church so that we can make the good music of the Gospel known to the diverse people of this world.  And in making this good music of the Gospel together, we can know personal elation and fulfillment and we can know that we are actually very useful to each other because we are learning how to let our personal uniqueness serve the common good.
  This is the miracle and the magic of the experience of the Holy Spirit.  We can speak all of the human languages and not compete but cooperate in a unity known as harmony, in a musical score which encourages, applauds and includes enough individual solos to affirm the unique personal gifts of each person.
  We celebrate the Day of Pentecost, not as a one time event; we celebrate it as the reality of existence as long as there has been existence.  Indeed today, we with the Psalmist believe that God delights in diversity.  We share that delight in the truth that we know when we experience beauty.
  We also know that diversity presents the challenges of competitions of the systems of nature which in the human community is known as the conflict of egos.
  In Jesus Christ, we believe that biggest and best ego of all, the divine ego, was incredibly checked at the door.  Jesus dying on the cross, is the ultimate checking the ego at the door.  In the Pauline writing, it is written that Christ emptied himself of the divine, took on humanity and died a death on the cross. This has become for us the model of checking the ego and it has also become for us the power to learn how to check our egos to live as a part of human community.
  Today on the feast of Pentecost, let us show up for the orchestra of Jesus Christ.  God asks us to join the orchestra of Jesus Christ.  Can we follow the musical scores found in the revealed divine wisdom of the ages.  Can we follow the musical direction of our conductor and Maestro, Jesus?    Are we willing to play "solos" when called upon?  Are we willing to practice the Christian Gospel until we become so lyrical that we blend with others and we realize that there is a life and breath playing through us?
  The life and breath of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Sunday School, May 15, 2016 Day of Pentecost C

Sunday School, May 15, 2016   The Day of Pentecost C

Themes

Pentecost is a celebration of the birthday of the church

Song:  Sing Happy Birthday to the Church

You will need about 1983 candles for the number years

What is one of the first signs of life when a baby is born?

A baby begins to breathe.  The baby’s lungs start working and we know that a baby is alive because the baby is breathing.

Breathing is a sign of first life or birth.

Pentecost is a celebration of the birth of the church and this was known because of the signs of its birth.

The sign of the birth of the church was the presence of the Spirit of God.

Spirit means “breath” or “wind.”  You cannot see breath or wind but you know that they are there.  You can see the leaves of the trees move when the wind blows on them.

Unseen “breath” or “Wind” became the name for God who is presence but not seen.  God’s Spirit became known within the community of people who followed Jesus.  Jesus died, he rose and he left this earth but he promised to leave his Spirit with his friends and with anyone who wanted to simply discover God’s presence in their lives.

Pentecost is when a rally happened in Jerusalem and people gathered and realized that even though Jesus was gone, His Spirit was still in them and gave them power and energy to do the same things which Jesus did.  God’s Spirit was discovered within their hearts and they had power to preach good news, to practice healing and good health, to share with one another and to love one another.  They also received the ministry of letting all of the people in the world know about how close that God was too them because of God’s Spirit.

Pentecost is a celebration of the discovery of God’s presence in all people and how we can all be different and yet still live together in love and peace.

We can celebrate Pentecost best by taking time to discover the Spirit of God in our lives and in the lives of other people.  We can honor the Spirit of God through peace, love, caring, forgiveness and sharing the Good News of Jesus.  Jesus came to show us how close God is to us.  The Spirit is proof that God is close to us now and that we can know ourselves to be sons and daughters of God.

Pentecost Sermon (use harmonic or Pan Flute)

Do you know what kind of instrument I have in my hand?    It’s called a harmonica?  And do you know how this instrument is played?    It’s played by putting it up to my mouth and blowing.

  How is this instrument different than a whistle?    A whistle usually makes just one sound, but this harmonica can make many different sounds.

  It is a reed instrument.  If we open up the harmonica, we can find many differ little pieces of thin metal and they are different sizes.  Some are short and some are long.

  When I blow air across the short ones a high sound is made.  When I blow air across the long ones, a lower sound is made.

  So if we blow in the correct way, we can play many different notes and different kinds of music.  A harmonica is not like a whistle because a harmonica can make many different sounds.  And we can play many different songs with the harmonica.  We can even bend the notes and make it cry….or we can make it sound like a train.

  What is it that makes the harmonica play.  It is blown air or wind that comes from the lungs.

  Did you know that one of the ways that we talk about God is to call God, the Holy Spirit.  The Special Spirit.  The Special Wind or Breath.  Can you see Wind or Breath?  Well we can see clouds or we can see our breath when it’s cold.

  But we don’t actually see the Wind or Breath.  We know Wind and Breath are here because we can feel and see the movement that is caused by Wind and Breath.  When you blow on a Wind mill, you can see the wind mill turn.

  So today in when we celebrate the Invisible presence of God who is everywhere, just like wind and breath. 

  And we celebrate the fact that God’s wind or breath is within us blowing us…or playing us, just like I blow air into this harmonica to play the different sounds to make music or noise.

  We cannot see God Spirit…But God’s spirit is blowing through us and playing us as music.

  So we need to see ourselves as God’s musical instruments.  All different sizes and shapes, ages, with different appearances, different abilities and gifts.  God enjoys that we are all so different.  Because we’re different God can play lots of different songs through us.

  And what kind of music does God’s breath or Spirit play through us?  We call that music love, joy, peace, faith, self-control, gentleness, patience and all of the other good things that God wants to do through us.  How many of you want to be God’s instrument today?  Do you want the Wind or Breath of God to be blown through you today?

  Today, we remind ourselves that the Breath or Wind of God, the Holy Spirit is filling us today to help our lives be like a beautiful song for God today.  So today we let God the Spirit play a beautiful song through us.  Amen.

Gospel Puppet Show

Day of Pentecost

Characters:

Dovey the Dove

George

Dovey: (singing) Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday Christian Church.  Happy birthday to you!  And many more!

George: Why did you sing Happy Birthday to the Church Dovey?

Dovey:  Well today is the Day of Pentecost and the Day of Pentecost is the Birthday of the Church.  Let’s see the church is 2016 minus 33 equals 1983.   Happy 1983rd birthday to the church.  But who’s counting?

George: Obviously you are counting.  We are a pretty old group of people.

Dovey:  Yes, you are one of the oldest and long lasting organizations that ever existed.

George: I wonder why the church has lasted so long.  Do you think that the church will still be here after I die?

Dovey:  Well George, you’re not going to die for awhile but yes the church will be here after you die to have more birthdays.

George:  How do you know Dovey?

Dovey:  Well, because even though you are a member of the church, the church is really not about you.

George:  Well, what is the church about?

Dovey:  The church is about Jesus Christ.  His message of love was so wonderful and it created so much excitement in people they called his message Good News or Gospel.  And Jesus said if we just keep sharing this good news to each new group of people who are born then this message will live forever.  This is why the church will continue to have birthdays forever.  Do you know what Pentecost means?

George:  Do I have time to Google it?

Dovey: Goo..goo…goo…Google it?  What’s that?

George:  It’s like a big storage brain outside of me where I store all of the information of the world and maps.  Google maps can even tell me where to go.

Dovey:  Well, I’ve got a built in Google maps and GPS.  Did you know that my family has been making a nest and laying eggs in the same tree for more than a hundred years.  I’ve got GPS in me that automatically tells me where to go.

George:  Wow, where did you get that?  That’s better than Google maps.

Dovey:  God made me this way and God the Holy Spirit is everywhere like a divine GPS system.  But the Holy Spirit became better known to everyone on the Day of Pentecost.

George: So what does Pentecost mean?

Dovey:  It means 50 days after Easter and it is the day when the Holy Spirit became known to the friends of Jesus.

George:  What happened on the Day of Pentecost?

Dovey:  Well, the Holy Spirit was discovered by the friends of Jesus and they were happy and joyful and they found that the Holy Spirit helped them to tell the Good News about Jesus in every language.

George:  So the Holy Spirit is like a great Google translator?

Dovey:  I guess you techies might say it that way.  Yes, the Holy Spirit is the wonderful personal energy of God’s love with us to help us to continue to tell the Good News about Jesus so that the church will continue to have birthdays into the future.

George: Wow!  Pentecost and the Holy Spirit are exciting.  But where are we going to get 1980 candles for the birthday cake?  Oh well, at least we can sing Happy Birthday.  Sandra, can you hit it on the piano and help us sing?

Everyone:  Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you.  Happy birthday Christian Church.  Happy birthday to you!  And many more!

George:  Do you think I can have some chocolate cake for the church’s birthday party?

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

May 15, 2016: The Day of Pentecost

Gathering Songs: Every Time I Feel the Spirit; Butterfly Song; Lord, Be Glorified

Liturgist: Alleluia, Christ is Risen.

People: The Lord is Risen Indeed.  Alleluia.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Every Time I Feel the Spirit, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 48)

Refrain: Every time I feel the spirit moving in my heart, I will pray.  O every time I feel the spirit moving in my heart I will pray.

1-On Pentecost day, the Spirit came.  The people praised with joyous tongues.  The Spirit came to everyone.  Jews and Gentiles, all the same. Refrain

2-God’s Spirit lives within the church.  He gives us gifts to build us up.  God’s Spirit fills us with his love.  O blessed Spirit, heavenly dove.  Refrain

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

First Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A reading from the Letter of Paul to the Romans

All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ-- if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord

People: Thanks be to God

Liturgist: Let us read together from Psalm 104

You send forth your Spirit, and they are created; * and so you renew the face of the earth.

May the glory of the LORD endure forever; * may the LORD rejoice in all his works.

I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; * I will praise my God while I have my being.

May these words of mine please him; * I will rejoice in the LORD. Hallelujah!

Litany Phrase: Thanks be to God! (chanted)

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Philip said to Jesus, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, `Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.  "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you."  "I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Sermon – Father Phil

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany Phrase: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be ill. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be always with you.

People:                        And also with you.

Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Offertory Song: The Butterfly Song, (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 9)

If I were a butterfly, I’d thank you Lord for giving me wings.  If I were a robin in the tree, I’d thank you Lord that I could sing.  And if I were a fish in the sea, I’d wiggle my tail and I’d giggle with glee, but I just thank you Father for making me, me.

 Refrain: For you gave me a heart and you gave me a smile.  You gave me Jesus and you made me your child.  And I just thank you Father for making me, me.

If I were an elephant, I’d thank you Lord by raising my trunk.  If I were a kangaroo, you know I’d hop right up to you.  If I were an octopus, I’d thank you Lord for my fine looks and I just thank you Father for making me, me.  Refrain

If I were a wiggly worm, I’d thank you Lord, that I could squirm.  If I were a billy goat, I’d thank you Lord for my strong throat.  And if I were a fuzzy wuzzy bear, I’d thank you Lord for my fuzzy wuzzy hair and I just thank you Father for making me, me.  Refrain

Children’s Choir Anthem:  Spirit of the Living God

Doxology

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of heaven.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his friends to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give God thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.  Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.

Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 

Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink  that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, "Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me."

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, "Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me."

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ and that his presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing,

 

Our Father: (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed be thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast. 

Words of Administration

Communion Song:        Peace Medley,  arr. Linda Lamb

                              Divine Jubilation Handbell Choir

 Spirit of the Living God, (Renew # 90)

1          Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.  Spirit of the living God fall afresh on me. Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.  Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.

2          Spirit of the living God, move among us all; Spirit of the living God, make us one in love: humble, caring, selfless, sharing— Spirit of the living God, fill our lives with love.    

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: Lord, Be Glorified (Renew!  # 172)

1- In our lives, Lord, be glorified, be glorified, in our lives, Lord, be glorified today.

2- In our homes, Lord, be glorified, be glorified, in our homes, Lord, be glorified today.

3- In our church, Lord, be glorified, be glorified, in our church, Lord, be glorified today.

4- In your world, Lord, be glorified, be glorified, in your world, Lord, be glorified today.

Dismissal:   

Liturgist: Alleluia!  Alleluia!  Let us go forth in the Name of Christ.

People: Thanks be to God!  Alleluia!  Alleluia!

Pentecost: A Day to Confess this Universe as a Friendly Place

Day of Pentecost   May 23, 2010

Gen. 11:1-9Ps. 104: 25-32

Acts 2:1-11      John 14:8-17, 25-17 

 Lectionary Link

  Today is the day of the Holy Spirit.  Long before the church had used Hellenistic philosophy to institutionalize an official doctrine of the personhood the member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, the notion of Spirit was used as the best metaphor for the reality of unseen and mysterious, but very real Life.  How do we know if a person is alive?  They have breath.  If you put your hand under the nose or in front of the mouth you can feel the movement of air.  On a cold day one can see one’s breath because of the water that is present in one’s breath.  Breath is same word for spirit and it is a sign of life.  And how could breath within a person be used in a larger metaphorical sense for life itself?  The entire world is breathing and how do we know?  We have the presence of Wind, an unseen force but a very real force to be reckoned with.  In a storm we see the destructive force of wind; in erosion we see the creative shaping force of wind.  One can easily see how breath and wind became the metaphor for Spirit and sign of invisible but obvious Life.

  In the creation story there is a speaker, a word spoken and an agent of creation.  And that agent of creation is the Spirit.  The Spirit of God, the Wind or Breath of God moved over the face of the Deep, over the Abyss.   I love the appointed Psalm for the feast of Pentecost.  It refers to the creative work of the Spirit in the incredible diversity of Nature.  The Psalmist of the 104^th Psalm was probably one who had some sea experience on the Mediterranean; and don’t you just love the Prayerbook Psalter rendering, “there is that Leviathan, which you have made for the sport of it.”  One has a sense that the creative Spirit is like a dance choreographer who has devised characters, moves and performances for the joy of the performers and for those who watch.  The Spirit is one who creates the sense of play that we feel is present within the world.  The Psalmist invites us to stop and smell the roses, stop and enjoy the entertainment that is present within life as continuous performance of the Spirit creator.

  What is it that makes human beings different at observing life and nature than the other creatures of the world?  Human beings attain their distinction of existence because of another unseen force that epitomizes human existence, namely our language ability.  Remember in the creation event, there is a speaker and a word spoken. Word is how word users have their world created.  Text seems to make language visible but the language or word ability is the invisible ability embedded in human consciousness which gives us our distinction in perceiving and thinking and extending the kind of control that humans have learned to exercise in this world.

  Jesus said that his words were “spirit and they were life.”  His words were words that invite us to a quality of life that the Gospels refer to as abundant life.  Spirit and word are used as ways to speak about creation and the invisible and yet omnipresence of Word in human experience is literally what creates the human experience and makes us observers of the world in ways that no other creatures do.  

  Because we have Word-spirit life, we interpret the world so that we can interact with the world.  This interaction does not take place in a vacuum; mutual experience is conducted through a marvelous connectivity in this world.  This connectivity is mysterious even as it is just assumed as a matter of fact.  I see you, you see me because there is an entire situation of connectivity that allows mutual experience.

  We as human being have developed our language ability to diversify and to project incredible theoretical understanding of our connections within this world.  In theoretical particle physical we think that with Higgs boson we have discovered an elementary particle of life itself.  We think that we can interpret the presence and meaning of sub-atomic particles and attempt to see what religious people have called “spirit.”

  I believe that what we as people of faith have to add to this equation is how we interpret and project the meaning of how we are connected to each other and with this world.  In faith we project that the connectivity of Omnipresent Spirit has personality.  As human beings with personality we believe that we bestow honor upon everything that we interpret and project upon, the honor of having something like personality, because personality involves the force of relationship.

  Scientists in their realm of study and discourse want to project impersonal forces but a scientist as eminent as Einstein once said, The most important question a person can ask is, "Is the Universe a friendly place?”  The friendly place question is the question of religion and faith and it is where we believe that it makes a difference in quality of life if we can project an essential friendliness onto the universe and with an echoing effect believe that what we regard to be the very best about ourselves has come from someone greater than ourselves in every way.  And if personality is part of the greatness of human experience we have derived this personality from the super-Personality of the universe, whom we Christians have come to address as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We do this not to present limiting metaphors for God’s greatness, but at the very least if human personality is a great wonder of humanity then it is not difficult to imagine that we derived human personality from Super-personality. 

  And if what is definitive about humanity is our ability with spirit-word then the entire purpose of spirit-word is to interrelate in very personal ways within an entire community of different beings.  And God is the fullness of community of beings in relationship.

  What is the difference between calling something elementary Higgs boson or the Holy Spirit?  Where is the evidence of a tradition and a community derived from Higgs boson?  Scientists may be able to convince us about this basic elementary particle, but so what?  For two thousand years we have a very personal and friendly force in the world that has been able to replicate and reproduce in successive generation a community of people who have gathered to celebrate the mysteries of the personal but hidden forces of love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, patience and self control.  And we cannot see any of these virtues; they are sub-atomic but yet they are evident within a community of people who find that they partake of a personal force who makes these virtues real in experience. And even though they are very inexact in how each person experiences them, they are common enough for people to nod in recognition and agreement when they have experienced this personal force of virtue.

  Today, on this feast of Pentecost we celebrate our faith in how we answers Einstein’s question:  Is the universe a friendly place?  Yes indeed.  Jesus revealed God with a personality accessible to humanity.  Jesus revealed God as a Fatherly person.  But Jesus also revealed God to be personal without having to be limited to the body of a human person.  The physical body of Jesus left this world but the Friendly and Lively Presence of God is celebrated in the Pentecost event.

  At Pentecost there was painful discovery, painful because of the lateness of discovery: My, my God you have always been personally present as Holy Spirit since creation and we are late to discover this reality.  So Pentecost is the day the party began because of the discovery that indeed the universe has always been and is always a friendly place.  In life or death we are going to find friendliness and friendship because of the Holy Spirit as comforting presence.

  Let us continue this party that began two thousand years ago when a group of people discovered that indeed the universe is a friendly place because of the friendly, Holy Spirit.  Amen.