Fire of Mystery – 4 June 2017 – Pentecost

Pentecost, the consummation of Eastertide, has come. The birth of the church, the explosion of tongues, the Spirit poured out: our joy and gratitude are due to all of these.

. . . The miracle of tongues is a mystery of unity in diversity of which we can barely glimpse the meaning. And the Holy Spirit poured out on all flesh—what on earth does that mean? We understand the relationship. . . between the First and Second Person of the Holy Trinity parallels the relatedness of human families. But how can we know this Spirit that proceeds from the Father and the Son? – Paul G. Bieber

John 20:19-23

Pentecost happens every time when people gather and experience God. Every time. . . people are filled with the Holy Spirit. . . things happen that cannot be explained. . . people experience the power of prayer. . . people read Scripture together. . . people gather for worship. . . your faith tells you to act. Every time you experience you are not alone, but you are connected to a family to whom you are not related by earthly blood.

. . . But from time to time, especially when we feel empty inside, we can ask it for to happen again. We can sing together: “Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. . .” And wait for the unexpected to happen—now and to you. – Sigrid Rother

Acts 2:1-21

The lessons for Pentecost vividly describe how the faithful are empowered with the Spirit for the building-up and care of the creation. . .  It is best to read the story in Acts 2 as high drama, motivated by Luke's theological vision. – Jeffery Galbraith

Understanding the Trinity is tricky. It is also necessary in order that no one “person” of the Trinity be give more weight than the others. In some circles, it is easiest to imagine the Creator because how else do we think we came into being. The Spirit may also seem safe because many traditions and “non-religious” people find comfort in “spiritual” experiences. Jesus, of course, is the stumbling block, but it is the Spirit who empowers us to life in the body of Christ.

We continue to ponder the identity of the Holy Spirit.

When we pray that this Spirit be sent upon bread and wine laid upon the table of the Lord, we pray that the one loaf and the cup of blessing be empowered by that same Spirit to be the body and blood of Christ, so that we may ourselves prove to be the body of Christ, blessing the cup in which our forgiveness is covenanted. And then going forth to be a blessing, sharing all our varieties of gifts in the same Spirit for the common good, forgiving others as we have been forgiven.

. . . This creator Spirit breathes life into the husks of our lives. And as suddenly as on that first Christian Pentecost, what had seemed burned out glows again with new ardor.

. . . The Holy Spirit is the way to a personal relationship with the Persons of the Triune God. . . characterized by forgiveness, by understanding, by unity that does not quench diversity. – Paul G. Bieber

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

In verses 4–6 Paul uses a series of parallels to heighten his key theme: whether spiritual gifts, service, or activities, all of these are from God. Not one of these gifts is to be set above the other in importance; service and activities are placed on a par with the traditional gifts of the Spirit. . . [Finally,] Paul introduces a new image of the body, to suggest that in the community differences disappear. – Jeffery Galbraith

Paul Bieber is pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church, San Diego, California.  

Jeffrey Galbraith is pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Greenfield, Massachusetts, and a professor of business administration at Greenfield Community College.

Sigrid Rother is the associate pastor of Westerville Community Church, United Church of Christ, Westerville, Ohio.

Homily Service 41, no. 3 (2008): 4-14.

The Spirit Rocks – 15 May 2016 – Pentecost

We live and move and have our being in the power of the Spirit given to us by God. What is that power? Where is it manifest in our lives as individuals and as a community of the faithful? How do we welcome or obstruct its influence?

It's hard for many mainline Protestants to get really excited about Pentecost. After all, if you get too into it, there is the danger that someone might do something embarrassing like speaking in tongues. What would you do? What would you say to the person at coffee hour after the service?

During my clinical pastoral education the supervisor was supposed to visit the group, but because we were off-site, she came only on the day of the final evaluation. Perhaps because of guilt she ravaged us individually and together….

[N]o one was in the mood for a closing worship. I suggested that we simply gather in the chapel and pray together. We stood in a circle, holding hands.

[A] student from the Episcopal seminary who had been involved with the charismatic movement… spoke saying, “I can't believe I'm going to do this.” He proceeded to speak in tongues for a minute or so. St. Paul would not have approved since there was no one present to interpret. But in that act of vulnerability, the student redeemed the whole experience….

Perhaps that is the meaning of speaking in tongues for our present day. It is an act of unguarded expression which requires trust in God and the assembled community. And, perhaps, that is why most of us are so wary of it. We spend our lives trying to keep up appearances, most of all in the church. So on Pentecost we read the lessons in various languages. This satisfies the requirements of the day. – Judith E. Simonson

John 14:8-27

John... speaks of the Spirit as another Advocate (Helper) who will be God's presence in the community after Jesus is taken up in a cloud. This Advocate/Spirit was given as an Easter gift, connected to the forgiveness of sin. Sin/flesh are synonymous; new life/Spirit are resurrection gifts.

Truth (alétheia) doesn't mean the opposite of falsehood. It means the opposite of léthé, oblivion. Truth is what is remembered. (Marilyn French, The Women's Room). – S. Marian Bohen

Acts 2:1-21

It is interesting to note the different reactions of people to the spirited disciples. Some were “[a]mazed and astonished”… “But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’” This is one more example of the way God deals with humans, without compulsion, awaiting a free response. – S. Marian Bohen

Romans 8:14-17

[Here] we encounter an extraordinary exposition of what it means to have been gifted with the Spirit of Christ: “—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may be glorified with him.”

“The first question the Levite asked was, ‘If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?’ But the Good Samaritan came by. And he reversed the question. . . ‘If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?’” (Martin Luther King, Jr., speech, Memphis, 3 April 1968) – S. Marian Bohen

On this birthday of the church, perhaps our prayer should simply be that the Holy Spirit helps the church “grow up” into a place that tells of the love of Jesus in any language people can understand. – Judith E. Simonson

Judith E. Simonson is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

S. Marian Bohen, a writer and editor, was engaged in formal education for twenty-four years in Indonesia, has taught at Marist College, the Maryknoll School of Theology, in Sing Sing Prison in New York, and in Stateville Prison, Chicago.

Homily Service 40, no. 6 (2007): 37-44.

Keep My Word – 1 May 2016 – Sixth Sunday of Easter

Written history reveals that war and the suffering that goes with it have always been part of the human experience. . . .  In the midst of this, God's people have been the bearers of the words of justice, compassion, and abundant life. The work has never been finished and it continues into today and beyond. The work is ours to do, and those who come after us can be trusted to carry it on, just as we carry on the work of those before us.

The Gospel has God's word as a foundation, the same word that created the world in the first place. We can trust it. – Judith E. Simonson

John 14:23-29

In Jesus’ farewell address to the disciples, he exemplifies pastoral care.

First, Jesus does not shy away from the subject: he tells his disciples he will be leaving them. Second, he leaves behind a blessing. Third, he promises the presence of God with his followers—the assurance that they will not be alone.

But most astonishingly, he challenges them to be happy for him! He is going home! To the Father! Here is a thirty-three-year-old man who is going to die, saying to his friends, “You should be happy for me!” How can he ask it? Because, as he points out, if they really love him, they will put his well-being above their own sense of loss. Real love wants good for the other even at great cost to self.

. . . The idea that someone could consider his life complete at such a young age is foreign to us. Yet, with his death and resurrection, God's plan for his life was finished. He said as much on the cross.

So let us hear Jesus' words to his disciples who, just as we are, were living and dying at the same time. First, he tells us the truth of our situation and does not mince words. Second, he gives us his peace, a peace that exists even when the world is not at peace, because it consists of knowing whose we are and to whom we are going—the Father. Third, he promises us that we are not alone in our work because his Spirit has come to us and will stay until the end. And, finally, we can rejoice because Jesus has gone before us and waits to welcome us home.  – Judith E. Simonson

Acts 16:9-15

Living in the power of the Holy Spirit’s presence and guidance is, however, not always an obvious path. Taylor Burton-Edwards leaves us preachers with questions that mean to get at the ways in which each of us and the congregations we serve are being called to live in honesty, peace, and joy.

Though Paul and his companions responded immediately to his dream/vision to go to Macedonia, he seems to have spent several days getting acclimated to life in Philippi before beginning his “real” work there. To whom is God calling you to come over and help at this time? What will you do to become acclimated to the culture of those you are called to reach? – Taylor Burton-Edwards

Revelation 21:10, 22 – 22:5

“Life in the Spirit” has often been associated with fanaticism and division among Christians. How does life in the Spirit in your congregation work for truth and peace? –

Taylor Burton-Edwards

Keeping the Word of God at the center might be a theme for this Sunday, particularly as it is borne out locally.

Taylor Burton-Edwards is the Director of Worship resources for the United Methodist Church.

Judith E. Simonson is an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Homily Service 40, no. 6 (2007): 11-19.