Pentecost Sunday 2020-- Same Spirit

I had hoped we would be regathered by Pentecost Sunday.  I like to hand out tiny bubbles in orange, red, yellow, and white on Pentecost Sunday.  Why these colors?  The first three represent the fire of the Holy Spirit and the last one represents the dove of the Holy Spirit.  It's just something fun for the birthday celebration of the church.

However, it was just me by myself in the sanctuary, physically.  Though I wasn't alone. I had my worship technology folks with me via the computer.  Preaching in the empty sanctuary has been so very different.  Going back to March 15th, there was the extreme nervous energy of doing something totally different.  Now, there is more of a routine, yet, there are still differences each week.  I have had to learn, adapt, be flexible, as have many others along this journey. 

I really miss the faces, the energy, the laughter, the tears, the singing, the praying, etc.  I recognize that when we do gather again, things will still be different.  I am okay with that.  I only thought I was "open hands" and "go with the flow" before this pandemic.  I think I am much more so now. 

The message for Pentecost Sunday was "Same Spirit" from 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-13.  Below you will find the sermon message in written form, the Soundcloud recording, and the YouTube link to the video of the entire service.  I'll include the "bulletin" or "Order of Worship".  It's a simple guide to go by.  We post the lyrics to the songs in the comments of the Order of Worship for those who want to sing along.

Even though I didn't get to give out the bubbles this year (I guess I could have if I had driven all over Hamilton, Walker, and Catoosa counties), I still wore red for Pentecost.  I wore my new Pentecost flame tie-dye shirt, my flame earrings, and my red sandals (that no one got to see).  My Jesus doll was with me in the service, in his tie-dye, to remind us all of his presence and that he was ready to celebrate the what the church was called to be and do too.  Though he wasn't wearing a flame shirt, he did have a red spot on his.

For Pentecost, I changed my profile picture and found a frame that contains this portion of the prayer we use in the Emmaus community: "Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth."  I find myself saying, "Come, Holy Spirit, come" often these days.

Maybe there is something in the songs, in the Scripture, in the sermon, in the prayer that speaks to you.

We added a prelude back into this week due to an announcement that need to be shown on the slides about an upcoming survey.  Shane McElveen, our music director sings "Draw the Circle Wide".  We have used this song in a service prior.  I find it extremely appropriate for us as an inclusive congregation.  I also find it appropriate in this day and age in which we have the opportunity to draw the circle wide.  You can hear it in the YouTube service.

Thanks for joining me on this adventurous journey,

Rev. Deb

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“Same Spirit” 

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 (CEB)

May 31, 2020 (Pentecost Sunday)

St. Elmo UMC (FB Live)

1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 (CEB)

 [N]o one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴ There are different spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are different ministries and the same Lord; ⁶ and there are different activities but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. ⁷ A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good. ⁸ A word of wisdom is given by the Spirit to one person, a word of knowledge to another according to the same Spirit, ⁹ faith to still another by the same Spirit, gifts of healing to another in the one Spirit, ¹⁰ performance of miracles to another, prophecy to another, the ability to tell spirits apart to another, different kinds of tongues to another, and the interpretation of the tongues to another. ¹¹ All these things are produced by the one and same Spirit who gives what he wants to each person.

¹² Christ is just like the human body—a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many. ¹³ We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink.

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THIS IS THE WORD OF GOD FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD.

THANKS BE TO GOD.

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Today is Pentecost Sunday, a day in which we celebrate the birth of the church and celebrate the many gifts bestowed upon all for the health and growth of the kingdom.

What happened on Pentecost?  The Acts 2:1-21 reading from the lectionary gives an in-depth look at that, so check that out sometime.

Here’s a synopsis from Rueben Job in A Guide to Prayer for All Who Seek God: “Without Pentecost, the incarnation of God in Christ would just be a story told through the centuries. At Pentecost, that story was internalized and became personal; God in Christ became incarnate in ordinary disciples.  Wind and fire shook, transformed, and filled those very human and ordinary believers with the divine Spirit of God, thus giving birth to the church.” (217)

Did you catch that?  God in Christ became incarnate in ordinary disciples.  Ordinary believers, like you, like me, were filled with the divine Spirit of God.

What a “WOW” moment that must have been. 

Rueben Job continues, “The faithful continue to receive this gift of God-dwelling-within to provide direction, courage, comfort, hope, companionship, and peace.” (217)

The indwelling Spirit of God wasn’t solely for those present then.  It is for us now, today.  We are to use this gift to ‘provide direction, courage, comfort, hope, companionship, and peace.’

Today’s passage goes into detail on what the different gifts of the Spirit are.  Have you thought about your giftedness?

If you are in the class “A Disciples’ Path” or you are on Council, I know you have because we have done spiritual gifts inventory in both those settings.  It is helpful to think about what our giftedness is.  Sometimes we might not see it for ourselves.  We can ask those around us what they see in us as we seek to discern our giftedness.

Once we determine our giftedness, we are to live into it, to use it for the good of the kingdom and the glory of God.  As Rueben Job said, ‘to provide direction, courage, comfort, companionship, and peace.’

What we know is that we are all gifted differently and uniquely, yet it is the same Spirit that gifts us all for the common good.  With those different gifts, we will have different ministries and different activities.  Yet the Spirit, the Lord, and God are the same. 

This is how we accomplish kingdom work, by living into our different gifts.

What are the gifts we find in this passage? 

Verse 8—word of wisdom and word of knowledge

Verse 9—faith and gifts of healing

Verse 10—performance of miracles, prophecy, ability to tell spirits apart, different kinds of tongues, interpretations of tongues

There are other Scripture passages that list other gifts, but the intention today is not an in-depth study.  If you are interested in diving deeper, look up the spiritual gifts passages.  You might also want to do a spiritual gifts inventory to determine what your gifts are.  There is a short inventory on umcdiscipleship.orgà https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/spiritual-gifts-inventory.  I will post it later in online.

A reminder from verse 11: “All these things are produced by the one and same Spirit”.

Verses 12-13—“Christ is just like the human body--a body is a unit and has many parts; and all the parts of the body are one body, even though there are many.  We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body, whether Jew or Greek, or slave or free, and we all were given one Spirit to drink.”

Note:  We are ONE body.  We have many parts, but we are ONE body.  Whatever we do to any of the parts, we are doing to ourselves.  Therefore, might we be more cautious in how we treat the body?  Might we take more time to get to know the other parts of the body and how they function before we treat them poorly or with disdain or with fear?

Have you ever watched a stroke patient or someone with a TBI or even someone recovering from any type of surgery have to deal with body parts that just wouldn’t function like the person wanted to, needed to, desired them to?!?!  I have.  And, I’ve been there personally.  After my hip surgery two years ago, my body wouldn’t respond like I wanted it to for quite a while.  It took quite a bit of time to relearn, to train the muscles, to live into how my body was going to be going forward. 

There was fear of falling, fear of popping out the new joint.  It took effort to get beyond the fear and to literally walk by faith. 

If that is the physical body, what about the spiritual body, the emotional body, our body in Christ?  We have many things that keep us from moving forward still, don’t we?!?!

We have fear and ignorance still today in our society.  Fear of the unknown.  Fear of the other.  We allow fear to grow and create chasms between the body. 

We, who are of the same Spirit, must start listening to the One Spirit.  We must take action that brings healing and wholeness to this one body that is made up of many parts.

Mandisa, a contemporary singer, has a song: “Bleed the Same”.

Hear these lyrics:

Woke up today
Another headline
Another innocent life is taken
In the name of hatred
So hard to take (hey!)
And if we think that it's all good
Then we're mistaken
'Cause my heart is breaking (tell it, 'Dis)

Are you left?
Are you right?
Pointing fingers, taking sides
When are we gonna realize?

We all bleed the same
We're more beautiful when we come together
We all bleed the same
So tell me why, tell me why
We're divided
If we're gonna fight
Let's fight for each other
If we're gonna shout
Let love be the cry
We all bleed the same
So tell me why, tell me why
We're divided

Tell me, who are we
To judge someone
By the kind of clothes they're wearing
Or the color of their skin?

Are you black? (black)
Are you white? (white)
Aren't we all the same inside? (the same inside)
Father, open our eyes to see!

We all bleed the same (we all bleed the same)
We're more beautiful when we come together
We all bleed the same (we all bleed the same)
So tell me why, tell me why
We're divided
If we're gonna fight
Let's fight for each other (fight for each other!)
If we're gonna shout
Let love be the cry (be the cry!)
We all bleed the same (we all bleed the same)
So tell me why, tell me why
We're divided

Only love can drive out all the darkness
What are we fighting for?
We were made to carry one another
We were made for more, said
Only love can drive out all the darkness
What are we fighting for? yeah
We were made to carry one another
We were made for more!

We all bleed the same (we all bleed the same)
We're more beautiful when we come together (let's stand united!)
We all bleed the same (we all bleed the same)
So tell me why, tell me why
We're divided
If we're gonna fight
Let's fight for each other (fight for each other!)
If we're gonna shout
Let love be the cry (be the cry!)
We all bleed the same(we all bleed the same) (bleed the same)
Let's stand united (let's stand united)
Let's stand united!

So Father God, I pray
That our families will come together right now
And seek Your face
You will forgive our sins
And You will heal our incredible land
In the name of the only Savior, Jesus Christ
Amen

St. Elmo UMC—we are an inclusive congregation.  We ALL bleed the same. 

How can we apply this passage today as we celebrate the birth of the church on this Pentecost Sunday? 

Here are a few ways…. You might add more.

*We can remember that each part is needed and necessary.

*We can figure out what our part is in the body.

*We can take action to live into it.

*We can work to eradicate fear in our own lives and seek to educate ourselves and others on topics of inclusiveness, love, and working to overcome racism.  Check out our FB page for an upcoming book study.

*We can truly celebrate our giftedness and the giftedness of each other.  We can give thanks to the one Spirit who has gifted each of us.

As we celebrate this day when the Holy Spirit came upon all, may we respond as did those back then, noted by Rueben Job: “Ordinary men and women became full of faith and fearless. Fearful men and women became courageous witnesses to God’s mighty and saving acts.  Weak and timid disciples became strong and powerful witnesses to the Good News of God’s saving acts in the world.”  (217)

May we celebrate Pentecost by living into who and whose we are created to be.  Amen!  (Will you pray with me?)  [SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD]

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LINKS:

Audio for sermon on SoundCloud

Entire service on YouTube

Mandisa's "Bleed the Same"

Draw the Circle Wide-- another version