Scripture Readings for Pentecost Sunday
Acts 2:1-21, Psalm 104:24-34, 35b, I Corinthians 12:3b-13, John 20:19-23
Acts 2:1-21, Psalm 104:24-34, 35b, I Corinthians 12:3b-13, John 20:19-23
The ongoing presidential race has been a historic and interesting one. One thing that is clear to me from this race is the natural tendency for people to polarize. Of course a lot of this polarization is fed by the media. But the media also reflects the basic tendency for people to divide. If you listen to what the cable news channels are talking about you will see that it has little to do with issues. Instead the pundits spend countless hours talking about divisions that exist in our country. This presidential race is interesting because no matter who wins, it will be a first. If Obama wins, he will be the first African American president. If Hillary wins, she will be the first woman. If McCain wins, he will be the oldest ever to take the oath of office. It is no wonder so much of the talk is about who is the most electable. All of this electability talk revolves around issues of race, gender, and age. We hear endless analysis of poles which group voters into categories that not only reflect race, gender, and age, but also education levels, income levels, and blue collar vs. white collar workers. Division just seems to be a natural human competency. We tend to divide and then unite with people whom we most identify.
There is a story found in Genesis 11:1-9. It is the story of the Tower of Babel and it is sort of the counter story to the Pentecost event in Acts 2. According to the story of Genesis 11, the people who were scattered came together for one purpose. "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." Division starts with pride. Our divisions happen when we get together with other like minded people so that we "can make a name for ourselves."
The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them...."
There is strength in numbers so we tend to group with those like ourselves. The problem comes with the superiority that often comes with group identification. For instance, how has and how does America display this type of superiority in the world? Within our own country, which groups have been the "winners" and which have been the "losers?" Winning and losing breeds deep resentments and divides. In fact, it seems as though groups that gain more and more power tend to always do so at the expense of other groups. Great injustices such as African slavery and genocide of Indigenous populations were used to the benefit of some in our own country, the scars of which still run deep and divide us.
That is why God opposes such "unity." It almost always blatantly raises itself up against God's justice. So what happens in the Genesis story?
Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel--because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
God frustrates their efforts to unify. He divides the people by giving them diverse languages. However, we know that this did not really solve the problem. Now people just had another reason to unify and divide.
God's vision for unity is much different. It is radical and is not something that comes naturally to people. It is a vision of unity and diversity. We see God's plan unfold in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. In an upper room in Jerusalem there was gathered a small group of people who were alike. They were all from Galilee. As in Genesis God "came down," this time in the form of His Spirit. There was a rushing wind and tongues of fire and all of the Galileans began to speak in other languages that they did not know. As we see in Acts, "...there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language."
This time God took a group of people from one culture who spoke one language and gave them different languages, not do divide but to unite. The day that the Church was born it went from being a small group of people who were all the same to a much expanded group of diverse people who were from all over the world. "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
God's vision is for unity in diversity. The power behind this unity is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings us into fellowship with God and each other. It is a fellowship of love that unites and does not divide. God does not strip us of our unique identities. But those things become secondary to the fellowship of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the mind of Christ. It is only by having the mind of Christ that we can be unified in our differences. If we want to know the mind of Christ, we only have to look at the cross of Christ. The mind of Christ is one of total humility.
"...then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:2-8)
And by His Spirit, as we love and serve each other, God uses our diversity to bring about unity. He gives us His grace to pass on in the form of diverse spiritual gifts.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.... 12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (I Corinthians 12:2-7; 12-13)
In the Body of Christ it does not matter if we are Jews or Greeks, Black, White, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, young, old, or in between. God does not erase who we are. In fact He ministers His grace within the context of who we are in the form of spiritual gifts. Like the song says, "How beautiful is the Body of Christ!"
When we see division within the Body of Christ, we have to ask if the Spirit of Lord is being allowed to work among us? Things like language, culture, and location may always make it difficult for us to worship together on earth. But do we continue to define ourselves by our divisions? Do we seek the good only for our own (fill in the blank)? The unity in our diversity is a direct measurement of how much we have the mind of Christ. And it is a direct measurement of how open we are to the Spirit's work.
I think that humility is at the center of worship. Humility cannot be faked through postures of worship. Humility is lived. Humility is the natural outcome of the work of the Holy Spirit. Pride brings division. Humility brings unity. The love and unity among God's people is the best form of worship!
I don't "imagine" that someday I will join John and Yoko Lennon so that "the world will be one." It sounds like a beautiful vision. But when I think about it, it feels more like it could turn out to be a terrifying nightmare. There is no stopping humans when they come together. And there is no end to the atrocities that we are capable of committing when we think "our group" is right and justified. Even if we don't have "heaven and hell to live and die for" we will find something else. Even those who value tolerance can become very intolerant of those labled, "intolerant." If we aren't fighting for God or country, we will find something else to war over. Instead, I pray that God will help me by His Spirit to lay down my life for others. I pray that God will unify His Church under the mind of Christ. There is nothing scary about a unified group of diverse Spirit filled people willing to give up their own rights simply to love and serve this world. That is the only hope for true unity!
There is a story found in Genesis 11:1-9. It is the story of the Tower of Babel and it is sort of the counter story to the Pentecost event in Acts 2. According to the story of Genesis 11, the people who were scattered came together for one purpose. "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth." Division starts with pride. Our divisions happen when we get together with other like minded people so that we "can make a name for ourselves."
The Lord said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them...."
There is strength in numbers so we tend to group with those like ourselves. The problem comes with the superiority that often comes with group identification. For instance, how has and how does America display this type of superiority in the world? Within our own country, which groups have been the "winners" and which have been the "losers?" Winning and losing breeds deep resentments and divides. In fact, it seems as though groups that gain more and more power tend to always do so at the expense of other groups. Great injustices such as African slavery and genocide of Indigenous populations were used to the benefit of some in our own country, the scars of which still run deep and divide us.
That is why God opposes such "unity." It almost always blatantly raises itself up against God's justice. So what happens in the Genesis story?
Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other." So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel--because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.
God frustrates their efforts to unify. He divides the people by giving them diverse languages. However, we know that this did not really solve the problem. Now people just had another reason to unify and divide.
God's vision for unity is much different. It is radical and is not something that comes naturally to people. It is a vision of unity and diversity. We see God's plan unfold in Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost. In an upper room in Jerusalem there was gathered a small group of people who were alike. They were all from Galilee. As in Genesis God "came down," this time in the form of His Spirit. There was a rushing wind and tongues of fire and all of the Galileans began to speak in other languages that they did not know. As we see in Acts, "...there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language."
This time God took a group of people from one culture who spoke one language and gave them different languages, not do divide but to unite. The day that the Church was born it went from being a small group of people who were all the same to a much expanded group of diverse people who were from all over the world. "Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day."
God's vision is for unity in diversity. The power behind this unity is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings us into fellowship with God and each other. It is a fellowship of love that unites and does not divide. God does not strip us of our unique identities. But those things become secondary to the fellowship of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the mind of Christ. It is only by having the mind of Christ that we can be unified in our differences. If we want to know the mind of Christ, we only have to look at the cross of Christ. The mind of Christ is one of total humility.
"...then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:2-8)
And by His Spirit, as we love and serve each other, God uses our diversity to bring about unity. He gives us His grace to pass on in the form of diverse spiritual gifts.
4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. 7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.... 12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. (I Corinthians 12:2-7; 12-13)
In the Body of Christ it does not matter if we are Jews or Greeks, Black, White, rich, poor, educated, uneducated, young, old, or in between. God does not erase who we are. In fact He ministers His grace within the context of who we are in the form of spiritual gifts. Like the song says, "How beautiful is the Body of Christ!"
When we see division within the Body of Christ, we have to ask if the Spirit of Lord is being allowed to work among us? Things like language, culture, and location may always make it difficult for us to worship together on earth. But do we continue to define ourselves by our divisions? Do we seek the good only for our own (fill in the blank)? The unity in our diversity is a direct measurement of how much we have the mind of Christ. And it is a direct measurement of how open we are to the Spirit's work.
I think that humility is at the center of worship. Humility cannot be faked through postures of worship. Humility is lived. Humility is the natural outcome of the work of the Holy Spirit. Pride brings division. Humility brings unity. The love and unity among God's people is the best form of worship!
I don't "imagine" that someday I will join John and Yoko Lennon so that "the world will be one." It sounds like a beautiful vision. But when I think about it, it feels more like it could turn out to be a terrifying nightmare. There is no stopping humans when they come together. And there is no end to the atrocities that we are capable of committing when we think "our group" is right and justified. Even if we don't have "heaven and hell to live and die for" we will find something else. Even those who value tolerance can become very intolerant of those labled, "intolerant." If we aren't fighting for God or country, we will find something else to war over. Instead, I pray that God will help me by His Spirit to lay down my life for others. I pray that God will unify His Church under the mind of Christ. There is nothing scary about a unified group of diverse Spirit filled people willing to give up their own rights simply to love and serve this world. That is the only hope for true unity!
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