Do We Really Want to be United in Christ?
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For June 5, 2022:
Do We Really Want to be United in Christ?
by Tom Willadsen
Genesis 11:1-9, Acts 2:1-21
A miracle!
The gift of the Holy Spirit!
The church’s birthday!
Wear red!
We are one in the Spirit!
Do we really want to be united in Christ, by the Spirit, with them?
E pluribus unum?
In the Scriptures
Genesis 11:1-9
It’s a myth
In Myth and Morality in Science, (Mercer University Press, 1970) Langdon Gilkey contended that the modern language of science is, in fact, mythological. If I recall correctly from my seminary days, Gilkey argued that myth is the language that people use to explain the origin of something. In that sense the Big Bang Theory is a myth, even though most of us would put that concept in a different mental compartment. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is a myth in that it explains how humanity — and every other form of life on earth — came to be. In the case of today’s Old Testament reading, the myth of the Tower of Babel explains the origin of humankind speaking multiple languages and inhabiting most of the earth.
Scholars believe that the tower the residents of Babel were constructing was probably a ziggurat, a pyramid with distinct levels, each smaller than the one beneath it. If you must cite “Stairway to Heaven,” (admit it, Boomer, it’s a real temptation) I suggest you challenge your congregation with Mary J. Blige’s version.
It is not clear what the sin of the citizens of Babylon committed that caused the Lord to go down and confuse their language. In fact, no sin is mentioned at all. A close reading seems to indicate that the city they were building as more of a problem than the tower. Perhaps they were being punished for not having “filled the earth” as the Lord had commanded back in Genesis 1:28. The people were concentrated, not dispersed. It’s possible that the Lord was threatened by humankind’s power when united. Perhaps humanity’s hubris offended the Lord.
In this passage the Lord refers to the Lord’s self in the first person plural, as the Lord did in Genesis 1:26. While grammatically the Lord could have been using the royal we, it is more likely this story is from a source that conceived of a kind of divine council ruling from on high.
The common, flat reading of the story conceives of the Lord as a threatened child, smashing the tower another child built of blocks on the carpet at preschool. Perhaps the story of the Tower of Babel presents a Lord who is a little gentler than in Genesis 6 when the whole earth was inundated by a flood. Having one’s city destroyed, but surviving, is a much lighter punishment. All they had to do was spread out and make babies, as God had told them to do ten chapters earlier.
The Lord came down from above and destroyed the city and scattered the people.
Acts 2:1-21
Hard Word Sunday
Make sure your lay reader is from the varsity this Sunday, a lot of readers are intimidated by Phrygia, Pamphylia and Cappadocia. People from many different nations, all gathered in a city — the very thing the Lord destroyed in the Old Testament lesson — hear Galileans speaking in their own languages. It’s likely that the disciples had never even heard the languages they were speaking.
A miracle!
The Gift of the Holy Spirit!
The church’s birthday!
Wear red!
We are One in the Spirit!
Do we really want to be united in Christ, by the Spirit, with them?
E pluribus unum?
God, the Holy Spirit came down from above, in the form of a strong wind that resembled tongues of fire.
In the News
Last week my assignment for The Immediate Word was the secondary article. In a fit of pique I included this paragraph:
Here's some blank space, so you can paste in the details of our nation’s next patriotic demonstration of fealty to the 2nd Amendment.
I had no premonition about the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, May 24. While it is no surprise that the United States endured another mass shooting, this one is unusually tragic, 19 students and two teachers have died so far. The alleged attacker, Salvador Ramos, was killed during the attack. The evening of the attack Joe Garcia, husband of Irma Garcia, a teacher killed in the attack, died of a heart attack. Prior to attacking the school, Ramos shot and killed his grandmother.
As usual, “Our hearts go out to the survivors and the families of the victims. You are in our thoughts and prayers.” There are increasing calls for some kind of regulation on fire arms. The same calls that we heard in 2012 following the Sandy Hook massacre and in 2018 following the Parkland, Florida, massacre.
Parents of Sandy Hook victims have worked for gun regulation for nearly ten years. They are calling on people to channel their hurt and rage and this time, at last, pressure Congress to pass meaningful gun regulation.
“We can’t ignore the fact that we have a gun problem in this country. It’s not about constitutional rights. It’s just about access and the complete lack of regulation in any way, shape or form,” said Nicole Hockley, a co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise.
The Onion, a satirical website that bills itself as America’s Finest News Source, posted about 20 articles, all titled, “‘No Way to Prevent This’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”
The day after the attack in Uvalde was the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin, then a St. Paul, Minnesota, police officer. Following Floyd’s murder there was an increase in Black Lives Matter protests. There were calls for police reform. In the two years since there has been something of a backlash to efforts to reform police departments, expand voting rights, work to dismantle systemic poverty…all these efforts have met increasing coordinated resistance from the majority white population. That is not to say that the majority of white people are part of this resistance, but the white people who are pushing back are doing so with increasing boldness and appeals to white fear, especially the Great Replacement Theory.
A poll by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and the Associated Press found “that one in three American adults now believes ‘that a group of people is trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains.’”
In the Sermon
Dr. Seuss’s “Yertle the Turtle” is a playful retelling of the Tower of Babel. For those unfamiliar with the story, Yertle the Turtle is king of the pond. He imagines that if his throne were higher than the stone he sits on he would be king of a larger territory. King of all he surveys! He commands turtles to stack themselves on top of each other. As the pile of turtles grows and Yertle’s vision expands, a turtle at the bottom of the stack, Mack, protests that his back hurts and the turtles at the bottom can’t eat. Yertle the King ignores their cries and is outraged when he sees the moon rise higher than he is. The pile grows too high; Mack burps; the pile of turtles crashes down and Yertle returns to his spot as King of the Mud. The other turtles swim away, free, "as turtles, and maybe all creatures, should be."
My mother used to give this book to new parents, telling them that Yertle symbolized Hitler.
The great thing about a classic story, or myth, is that it can mean multiple things and take on new meaning in new contexts. Certainly Yertle is not only an analog for Hitler. Many societies have been built on the backs of the poor, whose health and welfare are ignored by those aspiring for higher things and wider vistas. Yertle’s comeuppance is from his own greed and arrogance. Babylon’s is from the hand of God. For those of us who see democracy under attack, it is misinformation, fear of government, and The Other, that is pulling society down.
Two years ago “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” were in the news as communities, businesses and institutions scrambled to create environments where all kinds of people could not only be together, but work and thrive together. In the two years since George Floyd’s murder these words have become a kind of code for what fearful, white people need to oppose.
The term “woke culture” has taken the place of “political correctness” as a means to dismiss considering making efforts to address injustice, not only in the past, but in the very real present.
1 John 4:18 says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” How does that work, exactly? When Fox News, Newsmax, Infowars and other sources promote fear of government and distrust of authority, when they broadcast lies without retraction or embarrassment, how is love going to get enough traction to cast out fear?
When liberals like me call out the heated rhetoric of the right wing without seeing the log in the rhetorical eye of my preferred news sources, how is love going to get enough traction to cast out fear?
Quick answer: I don’t know.
Here’s what I do know: the same Creator who came down and smashed Babylon, scattering the people and crushing their tower and city, is the same Creator who came as wind looking like fire, who gave a small group of men from a tiny province in Palestine the ability to speak one message in multiple languages. That power came down from above and spread far and wide. That united message: grace, peace and forgiveness in Christ broken into humanity. The wide array of languages this one message was communicated in demonstrates the need for diversity in creation. It demonstrates God’s desire for variety and diversity in the one world there is.
SECOND THOUGHTS
The Luxury Of Despair
by Dean Feldmeyer
John 14:8-27
“The whole country is lost,” says Serge Storms, the main character in 26 of Tim Dorsey’s comic crime novels. “And I’m trying to give away free maps but no one wants one.”
Those of us who are called to serve the gospel of Jesus Christ have occasionally known that feeling, haven’t we? The whole world is lost and we have a really good, latest edition, Rand-McNally Road Atlas that we’re giving away for free and no one wants one.
-----------------
Each week, the writers at The Immediate Word (TIW) gather online to talk about ways we can shine the light of the lectionary readings upon the news of that week. How, we ask ourselves and each other, is the scripture speaking to us in our immediate social context?
Sometimes it’s easier than others. This past week it has been nearly impossible.
It’s not that there’s nothing in the news. It’s more that what’s in the news is just a repeat of what’s always in the news in 21st century America. Specifically, mass shootings. This past week, the one in Uvalde, Texas. One of more than 200 so far this year.
What more can we say about this horror that seems to be stalking us? What new lament can be written that does not sound like a cliché? What perspective has not been explored? What grief has not been expressed? What anger has not burned hot only to cool and be forgotten as years of inaction pass by?
And how can we sustain our righteous indignation when, as Michele L. Norris has written in the Washington Post, “The unthinkable is now expected. The unbearable is now routine.”
We turn to those who are sworn to act in our best interest, those in the state capitol and in Washington and we beg, plead with them to use the law to help stop the carnage. Why, we ask, is our country the only one that suffers thus? Their answer is the usual litany of thin, worn out, threadbare arguments in defense of gun ownership. In their hierarchy of values, the right to bear arms ranks higher than the right to live in peace.
It’s been 15 years since the massacre at Virginia Tech, 10 years since the Sandy Hook rampage, four years since the carnage in Parkland, Florida, two weeks since the mass murders in Buffalo, New York, and just days since the horror of Uvalde, Texas. There have been more than 210 mass shootings in America so far this year (as of May 27) and we have yet to see even one serious bipartisan effort at gun reform.
But, then, we don’t really expect to, do we?
Some voice inside of us whispers, “They’re not going to do anything. Nothing is going to change.” And, sadly, we acquiesce to the urgings of that voice to throw in the towel, to give up, go home, hug our children, and try to forget. And just hope that we aren’t next.
But we are people of faith; we cannot afford the luxury of despair.
And it is in the nature of faith, Norris reminds us, to believe in that thing that might seem impossible and act as if, by the combination of prayer and perseverance, we can make a difference — because lives are on the line here, and that’s what we do to “protect the babies who cannot protect themselves against the sad and pathetic men who buy assault rifles when they turn 18.”
We do not push aside or try to ignore the anger we feel after this terrible outrage. We embrace it. Indeed, we cling to it and stoke it and let it burn not for our sake nor for the sake of anger itself, but for the sake of those whose lives have been lost and those living souls that we must yet protect: The children, and the adults, too. Men and women, young adults and senior citizens, the Christians, the Jews, and the Muslims, the brown people, the white people, yellow people, and the black people, all of whom have been slaughtered — sacrificed on the altar of the 2nd Amendment.
We do not give in; we do not surrender to despair.
Jesus has given us a roadmap that leads to life and love and hope. It’s right there in today’s gospel reading from John. “If you love me,” says Jesus, “you will keep my commandments.”
And because we do love him, we will faithfully follow the map he has given to us, even if we are the only ones who do. We will love one another. We will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and the imprisoned. We will slake the thirst of those who are thirsty. We will rise and speak truth to power. We will pound our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks, our pistols into trowels and our rifles into garden spades.
We will be the kind, gentle, unassuming people that he has called us to be and we will lead our country and the world in giving peace a chance.
Amen.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:
Genesis 11:1-9
Language as God’s gift
Scholars point out that a fresh reading of the Tower of Babel narrative reframes the story as more than a tale of sin and punishment. We read of the hubris of God’s people in trying to build a tower soaring into the heavens. In response, God disperses humanity, making it seem as though the ensuing differences are marks of God’s punishment. But the story may offer us opportunities to see the difference between human’s desire for uniformity and God’s blessing of diversity. In this reading, uniformity runs against God’s hopes for humanity (see Chelsea Mak’s insightful article at PoliticalTheology.com.)
We struggle with the multiplicity of languages. In some cases, this is shown in friction and divisions in school districts; in others, it is revealed in the ongoing decline of studying foreign languages in the United States.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Out of the house and into the streets
Pentecost celebrates the swooshing of the Holy Spirit and the accompanying gift of understanding given to the apostles. It was not a matter of speaking other languages, but rather understanding.
Yet it is that gift of understanding and valuing of diversity that seems most elusive in contemporary America. Sister Simone Campbell urges leaders of all faiths to engage in the work of healing America’s religious, geographic, racial, economic, and social/political divisions. “We have an important role to play,” Campbell wrote in February, “as we engage with people from all walks of life. We have the capacity and the call to create community that moves beyond the sins and failings of our nation’s founding.” Campbell is best known as the founder of Nuns on the Bus.
“Our responsibility is not a political ministry, but rather a faith ministry rooted in the reality that we are called to create a community where all can flourish. This kind of faithful leadership gives me hope. It connects us beyond the hyper-partisanship and into a community where this spiritual idea of democracy can find fertile ground.”
* * *
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
Troubled hearts
Jesus’ gift of peace may offer solace to our discouraged and grieving hearts. Like the disciples, we are well-acquainted with the sort of peace the world offers — or at least attempts to offer.
For example, following the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, the manufacturer of one of the guns used by the shooter lowered the flag at its headquarters and then posted a statement on its website sending “thoughts and prayers” to the victims. The offer of peace was quickly replaced with an ad for a sweepstakes giving away $15,000 of guns or ammunition.
Marty Daniel, owner of Georgia-based Daniel Defense, touts that his company was born out of his love for shooting. According to the company’s website, one day Daniel picked up an AR-15 rifle — the style of gun his company now makes — and went to a shooting range instead of a golf course. “Every shot he fired filled him with a satisfaction he’d never before experienced,” notes the company’s website. Daniel was also the manufacturer of guns used in the Las Vegas shooting.
Daniel Defense has been known for its boundary-pushing advertising. For example, the week before the Texas shooting — and on the day of the shooter’s birthday — the company released a post on Twitter featuring a photograph of a little boy cradling a rifle on his lap. The caption quotes Proverbs: “Train up a child in the way he should go, (and) when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
We may be tempted to add, “and Jesus wept.” Or perhaps this week’s lesson from John 14:17 offering the assurance of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus says 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.”
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
The Works that Jesus Does
“Very truly, I tell you,” Jesus says, “the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do.” He calls us to live with love and compassion in the world, seeing people as he sees them. In a new collaboration between the Dalai Lama and Daniel Goleman, they share the scientific evidence that enhances Jesus’ timeless wisdom. Goleman writes about “muscular compassion,” and notes, in words that echo Jesus, “Compassion is not just some Sunday school niceness; it’s important for attacking social issues — things like corruption and collusion in business, government, and throughout the public sphere. It’s important for looking at economics, to see if there is a way to make it more caring and not just about greed, or to create economic policies that decrease the gap between the rich and the poor. These are moral issues that require compassion.”
Goleman adds, “This research is very encouraging, because scientists are not only using brain imagery to identify the specific brain circuitry that controls compassion, but also showing that the circuitry becomes strengthened, and people become more altruistic and willing to help out other people, if they learn to cultivate compassion — for example, by doing traditional meditation practices of loving kindness. This is so encouraging, because it’s a fundamental imperative that we need compassion as our moral rudder.”
The more we follow Jesus, and seek to emulate him, the better we grow at the work of love and compassion, and the more those things bloom in the world.
* * *
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
Nearing the End
Awareness of his coming death fuels the conversation Jesus is having with his disciples in John 14, part of his farewell discourse. He tells his friends, “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.” Author Oliver Burkeman believes that we should all live with this awareness of death, which will make our lives richer.
He advises that we plan ahead at what we will fail at, since we can’t master everything. He calls it “strategic underachievement” — choosing the places that won’t get our full attention, so we can be devoted to something more important. “For example, you might decide in advance that it’s okay to have a cluttered kitchen while you finish your novel, or to do the bare minimum on a particular work project, so you can spend more time with your children.” He also suggests noticing what we have done, instead of what we haven’t done, as “the quest to get everything done is interminable by definition, it’s easy to grow despondent and self-reproachful when you can’t get through your whole to-do list. One counter-strategy is to keep a “done list,” which starts empty first thing in the morning, but which you can gradually fill in throughout the day as you get things done.”
We need more novelty in our everyday lives, he says, and the answer is not trips to Paris or sky diving. “Time seems to speed up as we age, likely because our brains encode the passage of years based on how much information we process in any given interval. While children have many novel experiences and time therefore seems slower to them, the routinization of older people’s lives means that time seems to pass at an ever-increasing rate.” Spending time with a kid or a friend will help us see the world with fresher eyes.
The awareness that life will end sharpens Jesus’ message, and it can also sharpen our ability to live with the Spirit of truth within us.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Disappearing Languages
The Jews in Jerusalem hear the disciples speaking in their own languages, a gift of language that connects them to their homelands. In the US, Native American tribes are working hard to preserve their original languages so future generations can have this gift. “Of the 574 federally recognized Native American tribes, only 139 of them still have speakers of their native language, and more than 90% of those languages are at risk of becoming extinct by 2050. Languages carry tribal knowledge, culture, humor, conversation styles, spirituality, and traditions… In response to the threat of language loss, some indigenous tribes are turning toward accessible technology to save and revitalize their languages.”
Speakers of one language have developed a keyboard for smart phones that allows people to text in the language. They keyboard makes the language an everyday experience, important to retaining the language. For languages where there are no more original speakers, “recording and archiving audio files of elders or fluent speakers is another preservation tool that can provide a foundation to language revitalization.” Language is more than the sound of the words, it carries the weight of history, culture and belonging, which is part of the power of the Pentecost miracle.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21, Genesis 11:1-9
The Language of Nature
Botanist and Native American Robin Wall Kimmerer says that the natural world has its own language, for those who are listening. “My favorite place to read on a summer day is leaning against the bole of a big old white pine. There’s almost always a hollow there, upholstered in a coppery brocade of pine needles with comfy armrests of the buttressed roots which hold up the pillar of pine rising two hundred feet above me…In this woodland library, I have one book on my lap and the other against my back. One written on cellulose, one written in cellulose. When I sit with white pines, I wordlessly come to know things that I didn’t know before… Traditional cultures who sit beneath the white pines recognize that human people are only one manifestation of intelligence in the living world.”
There is a language there in the Native tradition, she says. “The Indigenous story tradition speaks of a past in which all beings spoke the same language and life lessons flowed among species. But we have forgotten — or been made to forget — how to listen.” Now, we have to learn to listen to this different language, also a gift from the Creator of all things. “Plants tell their stories not by what they say but by what they do. They tell their story in their bodies, in an alphabet once as familiar as the song of every bird, which we have also forgotten, as we became afflicted not only with plant blindness but plant deafness as well.”
Much like the tower of Babel, she says, “we think we are alone, perched at the top of the pyramid of life, in charge of it all.” We have grown deaf to all the languages around us.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Communication with All Creatures
The Pentecost gifts of language allow the followers of Jesus to communicate across cultures and places of origin, to everyone in the Jerusalem crowd. Animal communicator Anna Breytenbach has a similar gift for communicating with animals, our neighbors in the natural world. She believes that we all have the ability to communicate with our animal neighbors, just like we communicate with our human neighbors. She says, “It’s a simple matter of quieting the mind and intending to connect. The animals pick that up right away, very easily. Then I send either a mental image, or a thought/sentence (not vocalized), or an emotion… whatever comes naturally. There’s no effort required on the sending side of things.”
Her experience includes being a “cheetah handler, [and she ] served on committees for wolf, snow leopard, cheetah and mountain lion conservation, volunteered at wildlife and horse sanctuaries and participated in wild wolf tracking expeditions in the Rocky Mountains.” Breytenbach spends a lot of time on conservation efforts, and has a particular awareness of wild elephants. She adds, “I have seen elephants nurture each other and often take care of their human keepers as well. I’ve also seen them display immense compassion toward other beings in need. They show immense concern for human individuals especially when an emotional issue needs healing. Elephants also perform sacred rituals… An elephant tracker mentioned that trackers had come across a bush pig that had died and the following day upon returning to the carcass had discovered that it had been buried under a mound of earth. Branches from trees overhead had been pulled over it, creating a grave. The area was covered with elephant footprints lasting several hours and it was concluded that the elephants had gone to the effort of giving the bush pig a proper burial…At the Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa a pregnant female elephant was sighted a few days ago whilst giving birth alone to her calf. As the calf literally dropped out a number of female elephants came rushing over from quite a distance off in a visible display of joy and exuberance. There was much trumpeting and excitement at the occasion.”
Anna Breytenbach opens the door to a Pentecost with the animal world, and announces that our gifts for communication extend beyond what we can imagine.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:
Acts 2:1-21
Love Languages
When we had our first child, I will admit, I sort of thought I had it figured out. But then we went from our eldest who is hyper verbal with ADD to our second who is almost nonverbal with autism. When that happens all of the “talk it out” methods of parenting get turned on their head. They say that going from your second to your third child is easier. I think that’s true, because by then you realize that every child is so unique you need to learn how to parent each child completely differently. So when our third child was born and some trouble reading with dyslexia, we were ready. Do you know that expression “Raising a parent is hard work?” Learning the language of each child, while joyful, can sometimes be a struggle to learn. Then there is God in Acts, showing how much God already knows and loves us. God is ready to speak each of our languages out of love, teaching us and telling us the good news. What a gift!
* * *
Genesis 11:1-9
Patience
I will never forget that my eldest child was once asking me for something high on a self in the hallway, but I was busy getting ready for church. I told him to wait. By the time I got to him — after dressing his brother no less, I caught him pushing a stool precariously over to the item that he wanted because he could not wait for me to come and help him even though I told him I was coming to help. I was preaching the Tower of Babel that day, and I will always tie the two together. We are so anxious to reach God and God’s promises that we will do whatever we can to achieve them, instead of letting God give them to us.
* * *
John 14:8-17
Advocate
In the midst of all of the violence and evil that is here on earth, it is good to remember that the Holy Spirit is here as an advocate. This aspect of the Holy Spirit is not often talked about, yet this is the specific term Jesus Christ uses, because Jesus knows we humans need an advocate — for ourselves, for each other, for peace. We need God whispering in our ears that God wants us to treat human beings as humans, and that we are to love and serve one another and love our neighbor as ourselves. I find the image of the Holy Spirit as an advocate one of the most active and hopeful thoughts and I hang onto it tight.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by Katy Stenta
Call to Worship
One: God calls us together
All: Though we feel scattered by violence and hopelessness, the Prince of Peace calls us together today
One: Come, the Holy Spirit will advocate for us
All: Let us vision and dream dreams of a world God wants for us today!
OR
One: God, the world is full of your works
All: We are one of your manifold
One: You make all living things both small and great
All: You make the earth and the sea and all that is in it
One: Send us your Spirit that we might be filled with good things
All: I will sing to the Lord as long I live, and I will sing praise to my God as long as I have being.
Hymns
Spirit of God, Unleashed on Earth
H82: 299
PH: 122
Come, Holy Spirit, Our Souls Inspire
H82: 503,504
UMH: 651
PH: 123
Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove
AMEC: 191
CH: 248
H82: 510
PH: 124
Be Thou My Vision
AMEC: 281
NCH: 451
C: 595
Renew: 151
STLT: 20
PH: 339
Spirit
PH: 319
CH: 249
ELW: 396
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAH: H African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer of the Day
God you draw us together in your peace, do that today and every day, we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
God we confess that we do not always feel like a Pentecostal people, full of the Holy Spirit. We do not always feel like we are joyful or peaceful. We forget that we have you to advocate for us and that we are doing it all alone, and we feel scattered. Too often we feel like we are anxious and babbling. Many times we are aware that we do not speak the language of those around us, and this causes problems. Forgive us. Help us to translate your love well, teach us the ways of peace. Advocate for us in all the ways we need help. We pray. Amen.
Prayers of the People
Loving God, we give you thanks and praise that you love and care for us, as a parent and advocate even when we are misled or squabble and that you always guide us toward love. We give thanks for the spring, good food, and abundant life that you give to us as gifts to point us toward your advocacy on earth. Lord we are giving you thanks and praise….
(more thanksgiving or silence here.. )
God we pray for all the ways we are still the Tower of Babble people for all those who we do not understand, those who are separated from us by war or violence….
(more intercessions or silence….)
We pray for all those who we love and care for but need more advocacy, those who are sick or have disabilities or addictions…
(more intercessions or silence….)
We pray for all of those who are socio-economically disadvantaged, those who are without jobs, those who can’t make ends meet…
(more intercessions or silence….)
We pray for those who just have too much on their plate and are overwhelmed….
(more intercessions or silence….)
Lord we pray all these things to you in the name of your son Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray saying
Our Father…(The Lord’s Prayer)
(The color orange for Gun Violence Protection and red for Pentecost and both are on the same day? I think this calls for a prayer!)
Prayer for Pentecost and Gun Violence Prevention
Holy Spirit, bring all your power of advocacy to those who make policy, so that the babble of politics and money may cease. We are starved for peace! Bring forth policies of protection and safety. Clothe us in orange and red, walk with us so that we feel empowered to pursue peace. Teach us the words to say, melt the hearts of those in power, we pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose power is beyond all human understanding, it is in his name we pray! Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
Becoming Children of God
by Quantisha Mason-Doll
Romans 8:14-17
Props and suggestions:
Those are amazing points I have a few more:
As Romans has told us the Spirit of God is this wonderful force that helps connect us to the Almighty. The Spirit of God is also the quiet voice that whispers leading us in the right direction, guiding us back toward God and toward justice. Connecting with God is not the only thing the spirit does, the spirit provides us with the ability to empathize with others. It allows us to see the stranger we cross paths with in the street as our brother or sister, as someone we should care for and love. The Spirit serves as a bridge between us here in the earthly realm and God in heaven.
The Spirit also gives us the gift of creation which allows us to make beautiful things. I’d like to think of the Spirit as the creative force of God that longs to be in beauty and kindness to the world. How do you think the spirit is made known in the world today? (Give the children time to respond anyway they see fit and then move into the prayer and off to a space where they can create works of art if applicable.)
Prayer:
Spirit of God we give thanks to you on this day. We thank you for the ability to see the beauty in this world. We thank you for building a bridge between us and the strangers among us so that we may see them as our brothers and sisters. May you guide us and be with us as we seek to glorify the Almighty. Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, June 5, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
- Do We Really Want to be United in Christ? by Tom Willadsen.
- Second Thoughts: The Luxury Of Despair by Dean Feldmeyer.
- Sermon illustrations by Chris Keating, Mary Austin, Katy Stenta.
- Worship resources by Katy Stenta.
- Children’s Sermon: Becoming Children of God by Quantisha Mason-Doll.
Do We Really Want to be United in Christ?by Tom Willadsen
Genesis 11:1-9, Acts 2:1-21
A miracle!
The gift of the Holy Spirit!
The church’s birthday!
Wear red!
We are one in the Spirit!
Do we really want to be united in Christ, by the Spirit, with them?
E pluribus unum?
In the Scriptures
Genesis 11:1-9
It’s a myth
In Myth and Morality in Science, (Mercer University Press, 1970) Langdon Gilkey contended that the modern language of science is, in fact, mythological. If I recall correctly from my seminary days, Gilkey argued that myth is the language that people use to explain the origin of something. In that sense the Big Bang Theory is a myth, even though most of us would put that concept in a different mental compartment. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution is a myth in that it explains how humanity — and every other form of life on earth — came to be. In the case of today’s Old Testament reading, the myth of the Tower of Babel explains the origin of humankind speaking multiple languages and inhabiting most of the earth.
Scholars believe that the tower the residents of Babel were constructing was probably a ziggurat, a pyramid with distinct levels, each smaller than the one beneath it. If you must cite “Stairway to Heaven,” (admit it, Boomer, it’s a real temptation) I suggest you challenge your congregation with Mary J. Blige’s version.
It is not clear what the sin of the citizens of Babylon committed that caused the Lord to go down and confuse their language. In fact, no sin is mentioned at all. A close reading seems to indicate that the city they were building as more of a problem than the tower. Perhaps they were being punished for not having “filled the earth” as the Lord had commanded back in Genesis 1:28. The people were concentrated, not dispersed. It’s possible that the Lord was threatened by humankind’s power when united. Perhaps humanity’s hubris offended the Lord.
In this passage the Lord refers to the Lord’s self in the first person plural, as the Lord did in Genesis 1:26. While grammatically the Lord could have been using the royal we, it is more likely this story is from a source that conceived of a kind of divine council ruling from on high.
The common, flat reading of the story conceives of the Lord as a threatened child, smashing the tower another child built of blocks on the carpet at preschool. Perhaps the story of the Tower of Babel presents a Lord who is a little gentler than in Genesis 6 when the whole earth was inundated by a flood. Having one’s city destroyed, but surviving, is a much lighter punishment. All they had to do was spread out and make babies, as God had told them to do ten chapters earlier.
The Lord came down from above and destroyed the city and scattered the people.
Acts 2:1-21
Hard Word Sunday
Make sure your lay reader is from the varsity this Sunday, a lot of readers are intimidated by Phrygia, Pamphylia and Cappadocia. People from many different nations, all gathered in a city — the very thing the Lord destroyed in the Old Testament lesson — hear Galileans speaking in their own languages. It’s likely that the disciples had never even heard the languages they were speaking.
A miracle!
The Gift of the Holy Spirit!
The church’s birthday!
Wear red!
We are One in the Spirit!
Do we really want to be united in Christ, by the Spirit, with them?
E pluribus unum?
God, the Holy Spirit came down from above, in the form of a strong wind that resembled tongues of fire.
In the News
Last week my assignment for The Immediate Word was the secondary article. In a fit of pique I included this paragraph:
Here's some blank space, so you can paste in the details of our nation’s next patriotic demonstration of fealty to the 2nd Amendment.
I had no premonition about the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, May 24. While it is no surprise that the United States endured another mass shooting, this one is unusually tragic, 19 students and two teachers have died so far. The alleged attacker, Salvador Ramos, was killed during the attack. The evening of the attack Joe Garcia, husband of Irma Garcia, a teacher killed in the attack, died of a heart attack. Prior to attacking the school, Ramos shot and killed his grandmother.
As usual, “Our hearts go out to the survivors and the families of the victims. You are in our thoughts and prayers.” There are increasing calls for some kind of regulation on fire arms. The same calls that we heard in 2012 following the Sandy Hook massacre and in 2018 following the Parkland, Florida, massacre.
Parents of Sandy Hook victims have worked for gun regulation for nearly ten years. They are calling on people to channel their hurt and rage and this time, at last, pressure Congress to pass meaningful gun regulation.
“We can’t ignore the fact that we have a gun problem in this country. It’s not about constitutional rights. It’s just about access and the complete lack of regulation in any way, shape or form,” said Nicole Hockley, a co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise.
The Onion, a satirical website that bills itself as America’s Finest News Source, posted about 20 articles, all titled, “‘No Way to Prevent This’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens.”
The day after the attack in Uvalde was the second anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin, then a St. Paul, Minnesota, police officer. Following Floyd’s murder there was an increase in Black Lives Matter protests. There were calls for police reform. In the two years since there has been something of a backlash to efforts to reform police departments, expand voting rights, work to dismantle systemic poverty…all these efforts have met increasing coordinated resistance from the majority white population. That is not to say that the majority of white people are part of this resistance, but the white people who are pushing back are doing so with increasing boldness and appeals to white fear, especially the Great Replacement Theory.
A poll by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago and the Associated Press found “that one in three American adults now believes ‘that a group of people is trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains.’”
In the Sermon
Dr. Seuss’s “Yertle the Turtle” is a playful retelling of the Tower of Babel. For those unfamiliar with the story, Yertle the Turtle is king of the pond. He imagines that if his throne were higher than the stone he sits on he would be king of a larger territory. King of all he surveys! He commands turtles to stack themselves on top of each other. As the pile of turtles grows and Yertle’s vision expands, a turtle at the bottom of the stack, Mack, protests that his back hurts and the turtles at the bottom can’t eat. Yertle the King ignores their cries and is outraged when he sees the moon rise higher than he is. The pile grows too high; Mack burps; the pile of turtles crashes down and Yertle returns to his spot as King of the Mud. The other turtles swim away, free, "as turtles, and maybe all creatures, should be."
My mother used to give this book to new parents, telling them that Yertle symbolized Hitler.
The great thing about a classic story, or myth, is that it can mean multiple things and take on new meaning in new contexts. Certainly Yertle is not only an analog for Hitler. Many societies have been built on the backs of the poor, whose health and welfare are ignored by those aspiring for higher things and wider vistas. Yertle’s comeuppance is from his own greed and arrogance. Babylon’s is from the hand of God. For those of us who see democracy under attack, it is misinformation, fear of government, and The Other, that is pulling society down.
Two years ago “diversity,” “equity,” and “inclusion” were in the news as communities, businesses and institutions scrambled to create environments where all kinds of people could not only be together, but work and thrive together. In the two years since George Floyd’s murder these words have become a kind of code for what fearful, white people need to oppose.
The term “woke culture” has taken the place of “political correctness” as a means to dismiss considering making efforts to address injustice, not only in the past, but in the very real present.
1 John 4:18 says, “Perfect love casts out fear.” How does that work, exactly? When Fox News, Newsmax, Infowars and other sources promote fear of government and distrust of authority, when they broadcast lies without retraction or embarrassment, how is love going to get enough traction to cast out fear?
When liberals like me call out the heated rhetoric of the right wing without seeing the log in the rhetorical eye of my preferred news sources, how is love going to get enough traction to cast out fear?
Quick answer: I don’t know.
Here’s what I do know: the same Creator who came down and smashed Babylon, scattering the people and crushing their tower and city, is the same Creator who came as wind looking like fire, who gave a small group of men from a tiny province in Palestine the ability to speak one message in multiple languages. That power came down from above and spread far and wide. That united message: grace, peace and forgiveness in Christ broken into humanity. The wide array of languages this one message was communicated in demonstrates the need for diversity in creation. It demonstrates God’s desire for variety and diversity in the one world there is.
SECOND THOUGHTSThe Luxury Of Despair
by Dean Feldmeyer
John 14:8-27
“The whole country is lost,” says Serge Storms, the main character in 26 of Tim Dorsey’s comic crime novels. “And I’m trying to give away free maps but no one wants one.”
Those of us who are called to serve the gospel of Jesus Christ have occasionally known that feeling, haven’t we? The whole world is lost and we have a really good, latest edition, Rand-McNally Road Atlas that we’re giving away for free and no one wants one.
-----------------
Each week, the writers at The Immediate Word (TIW) gather online to talk about ways we can shine the light of the lectionary readings upon the news of that week. How, we ask ourselves and each other, is the scripture speaking to us in our immediate social context?
Sometimes it’s easier than others. This past week it has been nearly impossible.
It’s not that there’s nothing in the news. It’s more that what’s in the news is just a repeat of what’s always in the news in 21st century America. Specifically, mass shootings. This past week, the one in Uvalde, Texas. One of more than 200 so far this year.
What more can we say about this horror that seems to be stalking us? What new lament can be written that does not sound like a cliché? What perspective has not been explored? What grief has not been expressed? What anger has not burned hot only to cool and be forgotten as years of inaction pass by?
And how can we sustain our righteous indignation when, as Michele L. Norris has written in the Washington Post, “The unthinkable is now expected. The unbearable is now routine.”
We turn to those who are sworn to act in our best interest, those in the state capitol and in Washington and we beg, plead with them to use the law to help stop the carnage. Why, we ask, is our country the only one that suffers thus? Their answer is the usual litany of thin, worn out, threadbare arguments in defense of gun ownership. In their hierarchy of values, the right to bear arms ranks higher than the right to live in peace.
It’s been 15 years since the massacre at Virginia Tech, 10 years since the Sandy Hook rampage, four years since the carnage in Parkland, Florida, two weeks since the mass murders in Buffalo, New York, and just days since the horror of Uvalde, Texas. There have been more than 210 mass shootings in America so far this year (as of May 27) and we have yet to see even one serious bipartisan effort at gun reform.
But, then, we don’t really expect to, do we?
Some voice inside of us whispers, “They’re not going to do anything. Nothing is going to change.” And, sadly, we acquiesce to the urgings of that voice to throw in the towel, to give up, go home, hug our children, and try to forget. And just hope that we aren’t next.
But we are people of faith; we cannot afford the luxury of despair.
And it is in the nature of faith, Norris reminds us, to believe in that thing that might seem impossible and act as if, by the combination of prayer and perseverance, we can make a difference — because lives are on the line here, and that’s what we do to “protect the babies who cannot protect themselves against the sad and pathetic men who buy assault rifles when they turn 18.”
We do not push aside or try to ignore the anger we feel after this terrible outrage. We embrace it. Indeed, we cling to it and stoke it and let it burn not for our sake nor for the sake of anger itself, but for the sake of those whose lives have been lost and those living souls that we must yet protect: The children, and the adults, too. Men and women, young adults and senior citizens, the Christians, the Jews, and the Muslims, the brown people, the white people, yellow people, and the black people, all of whom have been slaughtered — sacrificed on the altar of the 2nd Amendment.
We do not give in; we do not surrender to despair.
Jesus has given us a roadmap that leads to life and love and hope. It’s right there in today’s gospel reading from John. “If you love me,” says Jesus, “you will keep my commandments.”
And because we do love him, we will faithfully follow the map he has given to us, even if we are the only ones who do. We will love one another. We will feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the sick and the imprisoned. We will slake the thirst of those who are thirsty. We will rise and speak truth to power. We will pound our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks, our pistols into trowels and our rifles into garden spades.
We will be the kind, gentle, unassuming people that he has called us to be and we will lead our country and the world in giving peace a chance.
Amen.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Chris Keating:Genesis 11:1-9
Language as God’s gift
Scholars point out that a fresh reading of the Tower of Babel narrative reframes the story as more than a tale of sin and punishment. We read of the hubris of God’s people in trying to build a tower soaring into the heavens. In response, God disperses humanity, making it seem as though the ensuing differences are marks of God’s punishment. But the story may offer us opportunities to see the difference between human’s desire for uniformity and God’s blessing of diversity. In this reading, uniformity runs against God’s hopes for humanity (see Chelsea Mak’s insightful article at PoliticalTheology.com.)
We struggle with the multiplicity of languages. In some cases, this is shown in friction and divisions in school districts; in others, it is revealed in the ongoing decline of studying foreign languages in the United States.
- Earlier this year, a school board member in Virginia Beach, Virginia, stirred controversy when she remarked that educating English language learners “may not be sustainable.” Virginia Beach school board member Victoria Manning had previously commented that “VB schools has 300 additional ESL students in the past year. Most are from South America. Our ESL budget has increased over $1 million in 2 years. Continuing to educate South Americans is not sustainable.”
- In Boston, an administrator in charge of ESL resigned recently when she faced being fired over her complaints about the way the district was funneling English language learners into regular classrooms and not into smaller settings designed to meet their needs.
- Two years ago, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences reviewed the ongoing decline in foreign language instruction in colleges and universities. Following 2008, many colleges began dropping foreign language requirements for graduation. From 2013-2016, the decline accelerated, with more 650 language programs dropped from American colleges. Just twenty percent of students in grades K-12 study a foreign language.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Out of the house and into the streets
Pentecost celebrates the swooshing of the Holy Spirit and the accompanying gift of understanding given to the apostles. It was not a matter of speaking other languages, but rather understanding.
Yet it is that gift of understanding and valuing of diversity that seems most elusive in contemporary America. Sister Simone Campbell urges leaders of all faiths to engage in the work of healing America’s religious, geographic, racial, economic, and social/political divisions. “We have an important role to play,” Campbell wrote in February, “as we engage with people from all walks of life. We have the capacity and the call to create community that moves beyond the sins and failings of our nation’s founding.” Campbell is best known as the founder of Nuns on the Bus.
“Our responsibility is not a political ministry, but rather a faith ministry rooted in the reality that we are called to create a community where all can flourish. This kind of faithful leadership gives me hope. It connects us beyond the hyper-partisanship and into a community where this spiritual idea of democracy can find fertile ground.”
* * *
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
Troubled hearts
Jesus’ gift of peace may offer solace to our discouraged and grieving hearts. Like the disciples, we are well-acquainted with the sort of peace the world offers — or at least attempts to offer.
For example, following the shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, the manufacturer of one of the guns used by the shooter lowered the flag at its headquarters and then posted a statement on its website sending “thoughts and prayers” to the victims. The offer of peace was quickly replaced with an ad for a sweepstakes giving away $15,000 of guns or ammunition.
Marty Daniel, owner of Georgia-based Daniel Defense, touts that his company was born out of his love for shooting. According to the company’s website, one day Daniel picked up an AR-15 rifle — the style of gun his company now makes — and went to a shooting range instead of a golf course. “Every shot he fired filled him with a satisfaction he’d never before experienced,” notes the company’s website. Daniel was also the manufacturer of guns used in the Las Vegas shooting.
Daniel Defense has been known for its boundary-pushing advertising. For example, the week before the Texas shooting — and on the day of the shooter’s birthday — the company released a post on Twitter featuring a photograph of a little boy cradling a rifle on his lap. The caption quotes Proverbs: “Train up a child in the way he should go, (and) when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
We may be tempted to add, “and Jesus wept.” Or perhaps this week’s lesson from John 14:17 offering the assurance of the Holy Spirit, which Jesus says 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.”
* * * * * *
From team member Mary Austin:John 14:8-17 (25-27)
The Works that Jesus Does
“Very truly, I tell you,” Jesus says, “the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do.” He calls us to live with love and compassion in the world, seeing people as he sees them. In a new collaboration between the Dalai Lama and Daniel Goleman, they share the scientific evidence that enhances Jesus’ timeless wisdom. Goleman writes about “muscular compassion,” and notes, in words that echo Jesus, “Compassion is not just some Sunday school niceness; it’s important for attacking social issues — things like corruption and collusion in business, government, and throughout the public sphere. It’s important for looking at economics, to see if there is a way to make it more caring and not just about greed, or to create economic policies that decrease the gap between the rich and the poor. These are moral issues that require compassion.”
Goleman adds, “This research is very encouraging, because scientists are not only using brain imagery to identify the specific brain circuitry that controls compassion, but also showing that the circuitry becomes strengthened, and people become more altruistic and willing to help out other people, if they learn to cultivate compassion — for example, by doing traditional meditation practices of loving kindness. This is so encouraging, because it’s a fundamental imperative that we need compassion as our moral rudder.”
The more we follow Jesus, and seek to emulate him, the better we grow at the work of love and compassion, and the more those things bloom in the world.
* * *
John 14:8-17 (25-27)
Nearing the End
Awareness of his coming death fuels the conversation Jesus is having with his disciples in John 14, part of his farewell discourse. He tells his friends, “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.” Author Oliver Burkeman believes that we should all live with this awareness of death, which will make our lives richer.
He advises that we plan ahead at what we will fail at, since we can’t master everything. He calls it “strategic underachievement” — choosing the places that won’t get our full attention, so we can be devoted to something more important. “For example, you might decide in advance that it’s okay to have a cluttered kitchen while you finish your novel, or to do the bare minimum on a particular work project, so you can spend more time with your children.” He also suggests noticing what we have done, instead of what we haven’t done, as “the quest to get everything done is interminable by definition, it’s easy to grow despondent and self-reproachful when you can’t get through your whole to-do list. One counter-strategy is to keep a “done list,” which starts empty first thing in the morning, but which you can gradually fill in throughout the day as you get things done.”
We need more novelty in our everyday lives, he says, and the answer is not trips to Paris or sky diving. “Time seems to speed up as we age, likely because our brains encode the passage of years based on how much information we process in any given interval. While children have many novel experiences and time therefore seems slower to them, the routinization of older people’s lives means that time seems to pass at an ever-increasing rate.” Spending time with a kid or a friend will help us see the world with fresher eyes.
The awareness that life will end sharpens Jesus’ message, and it can also sharpen our ability to live with the Spirit of truth within us.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Disappearing Languages
The Jews in Jerusalem hear the disciples speaking in their own languages, a gift of language that connects them to their homelands. In the US, Native American tribes are working hard to preserve their original languages so future generations can have this gift. “Of the 574 federally recognized Native American tribes, only 139 of them still have speakers of their native language, and more than 90% of those languages are at risk of becoming extinct by 2050. Languages carry tribal knowledge, culture, humor, conversation styles, spirituality, and traditions… In response to the threat of language loss, some indigenous tribes are turning toward accessible technology to save and revitalize their languages.”
Speakers of one language have developed a keyboard for smart phones that allows people to text in the language. They keyboard makes the language an everyday experience, important to retaining the language. For languages where there are no more original speakers, “recording and archiving audio files of elders or fluent speakers is another preservation tool that can provide a foundation to language revitalization.” Language is more than the sound of the words, it carries the weight of history, culture and belonging, which is part of the power of the Pentecost miracle.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21, Genesis 11:1-9
The Language of Nature
Botanist and Native American Robin Wall Kimmerer says that the natural world has its own language, for those who are listening. “My favorite place to read on a summer day is leaning against the bole of a big old white pine. There’s almost always a hollow there, upholstered in a coppery brocade of pine needles with comfy armrests of the buttressed roots which hold up the pillar of pine rising two hundred feet above me…In this woodland library, I have one book on my lap and the other against my back. One written on cellulose, one written in cellulose. When I sit with white pines, I wordlessly come to know things that I didn’t know before… Traditional cultures who sit beneath the white pines recognize that human people are only one manifestation of intelligence in the living world.”
There is a language there in the Native tradition, she says. “The Indigenous story tradition speaks of a past in which all beings spoke the same language and life lessons flowed among species. But we have forgotten — or been made to forget — how to listen.” Now, we have to learn to listen to this different language, also a gift from the Creator of all things. “Plants tell their stories not by what they say but by what they do. They tell their story in their bodies, in an alphabet once as familiar as the song of every bird, which we have also forgotten, as we became afflicted not only with plant blindness but plant deafness as well.”
Much like the tower of Babel, she says, “we think we are alone, perched at the top of the pyramid of life, in charge of it all.” We have grown deaf to all the languages around us.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Communication with All Creatures
The Pentecost gifts of language allow the followers of Jesus to communicate across cultures and places of origin, to everyone in the Jerusalem crowd. Animal communicator Anna Breytenbach has a similar gift for communicating with animals, our neighbors in the natural world. She believes that we all have the ability to communicate with our animal neighbors, just like we communicate with our human neighbors. She says, “It’s a simple matter of quieting the mind and intending to connect. The animals pick that up right away, very easily. Then I send either a mental image, or a thought/sentence (not vocalized), or an emotion… whatever comes naturally. There’s no effort required on the sending side of things.”
Her experience includes being a “cheetah handler, [and she ] served on committees for wolf, snow leopard, cheetah and mountain lion conservation, volunteered at wildlife and horse sanctuaries and participated in wild wolf tracking expeditions in the Rocky Mountains.” Breytenbach spends a lot of time on conservation efforts, and has a particular awareness of wild elephants. She adds, “I have seen elephants nurture each other and often take care of their human keepers as well. I’ve also seen them display immense compassion toward other beings in need. They show immense concern for human individuals especially when an emotional issue needs healing. Elephants also perform sacred rituals… An elephant tracker mentioned that trackers had come across a bush pig that had died and the following day upon returning to the carcass had discovered that it had been buried under a mound of earth. Branches from trees overhead had been pulled over it, creating a grave. The area was covered with elephant footprints lasting several hours and it was concluded that the elephants had gone to the effort of giving the bush pig a proper burial…At the Londolozi Game Reserve in South Africa a pregnant female elephant was sighted a few days ago whilst giving birth alone to her calf. As the calf literally dropped out a number of female elephants came rushing over from quite a distance off in a visible display of joy and exuberance. There was much trumpeting and excitement at the occasion.”
Anna Breytenbach opens the door to a Pentecost with the animal world, and announces that our gifts for communication extend beyond what we can imagine.
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:Acts 2:1-21
Love Languages
When we had our first child, I will admit, I sort of thought I had it figured out. But then we went from our eldest who is hyper verbal with ADD to our second who is almost nonverbal with autism. When that happens all of the “talk it out” methods of parenting get turned on their head. They say that going from your second to your third child is easier. I think that’s true, because by then you realize that every child is so unique you need to learn how to parent each child completely differently. So when our third child was born and some trouble reading with dyslexia, we were ready. Do you know that expression “Raising a parent is hard work?” Learning the language of each child, while joyful, can sometimes be a struggle to learn. Then there is God in Acts, showing how much God already knows and loves us. God is ready to speak each of our languages out of love, teaching us and telling us the good news. What a gift!
* * *
Genesis 11:1-9
Patience
I will never forget that my eldest child was once asking me for something high on a self in the hallway, but I was busy getting ready for church. I told him to wait. By the time I got to him — after dressing his brother no less, I caught him pushing a stool precariously over to the item that he wanted because he could not wait for me to come and help him even though I told him I was coming to help. I was preaching the Tower of Babel that day, and I will always tie the two together. We are so anxious to reach God and God’s promises that we will do whatever we can to achieve them, instead of letting God give them to us.
* * *
John 14:8-17
Advocate
In the midst of all of the violence and evil that is here on earth, it is good to remember that the Holy Spirit is here as an advocate. This aspect of the Holy Spirit is not often talked about, yet this is the specific term Jesus Christ uses, because Jesus knows we humans need an advocate — for ourselves, for each other, for peace. We need God whispering in our ears that God wants us to treat human beings as humans, and that we are to love and serve one another and love our neighbor as ourselves. I find the image of the Holy Spirit as an advocate one of the most active and hopeful thoughts and I hang onto it tight.
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby Katy Stenta
Call to Worship
One: God calls us together
All: Though we feel scattered by violence and hopelessness, the Prince of Peace calls us together today
One: Come, the Holy Spirit will advocate for us
All: Let us vision and dream dreams of a world God wants for us today!
OR
One: God, the world is full of your works
All: We are one of your manifold
One: You make all living things both small and great
All: You make the earth and the sea and all that is in it
One: Send us your Spirit that we might be filled with good things
All: I will sing to the Lord as long I live, and I will sing praise to my God as long as I have being.
Hymns
Spirit of God, Unleashed on Earth
H82: 299
PH: 122
Come, Holy Spirit, Our Souls Inspire
H82: 503,504
UMH: 651
PH: 123
Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove
AMEC: 191
CH: 248
H82: 510
PH: 124
Be Thou My Vision
AMEC: 281
NCH: 451
C: 595
Renew: 151
STLT: 20
PH: 339
Spirit
PH: 319
CH: 249
ELW: 396
Music Resources Key
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
AAH: H African American Heritage Hymnal
NNBH: The New National Baptist Hymnal
NCH: The New Century Hymnal
CH: Chalice Hymnal
LBW: Lutheran Book of Worship
ELW: Evangelical Lutheran Worship
W&P: Worship & Praise
AMEC: African Methodist Episcopal Church Hymnal
STLT: Singing the Living Tradition
CCB: Cokesbury Chorus Book
Renew: Renew! Songs & Hymns for Blended Worship
Prayer of the Day
God you draw us together in your peace, do that today and every day, we pray. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
God we confess that we do not always feel like a Pentecostal people, full of the Holy Spirit. We do not always feel like we are joyful or peaceful. We forget that we have you to advocate for us and that we are doing it all alone, and we feel scattered. Too often we feel like we are anxious and babbling. Many times we are aware that we do not speak the language of those around us, and this causes problems. Forgive us. Help us to translate your love well, teach us the ways of peace. Advocate for us in all the ways we need help. We pray. Amen.
Prayers of the People
Loving God, we give you thanks and praise that you love and care for us, as a parent and advocate even when we are misled or squabble and that you always guide us toward love. We give thanks for the spring, good food, and abundant life that you give to us as gifts to point us toward your advocacy on earth. Lord we are giving you thanks and praise….
(more thanksgiving or silence here.. )
God we pray for all the ways we are still the Tower of Babble people for all those who we do not understand, those who are separated from us by war or violence….
(more intercessions or silence….)
We pray for all those who we love and care for but need more advocacy, those who are sick or have disabilities or addictions…
(more intercessions or silence….)
We pray for all of those who are socio-economically disadvantaged, those who are without jobs, those who can’t make ends meet…
(more intercessions or silence….)
We pray for those who just have too much on their plate and are overwhelmed….
(more intercessions or silence….)
Lord we pray all these things to you in the name of your son Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray saying
Our Father…(The Lord’s Prayer)
(The color orange for Gun Violence Protection and red for Pentecost and both are on the same day? I think this calls for a prayer!)
Prayer for Pentecost and Gun Violence Prevention
Holy Spirit, bring all your power of advocacy to those who make policy, so that the babble of politics and money may cease. We are starved for peace! Bring forth policies of protection and safety. Clothe us in orange and red, walk with us so that we feel empowered to pursue peace. Teach us the words to say, melt the hearts of those in power, we pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, whose power is beyond all human understanding, it is in his name we pray! Amen.
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CHILDREN'S SERMONBecoming Children of God
by Quantisha Mason-Doll
Romans 8:14-17
Props and suggestions:
- Pentecost is a time to rejoice in the gifts of the Spirit. This would be an amazing time to try our hands at expressive art.
- Personally I am a huge fan of collage making. This could be done using old magazines, painting, or photos
- Collage themes can be about chosen family, the Spirit made manifest, grace
Those are amazing points I have a few more:
As Romans has told us the Spirit of God is this wonderful force that helps connect us to the Almighty. The Spirit of God is also the quiet voice that whispers leading us in the right direction, guiding us back toward God and toward justice. Connecting with God is not the only thing the spirit does, the spirit provides us with the ability to empathize with others. It allows us to see the stranger we cross paths with in the street as our brother or sister, as someone we should care for and love. The Spirit serves as a bridge between us here in the earthly realm and God in heaven.
The Spirit also gives us the gift of creation which allows us to make beautiful things. I’d like to think of the Spirit as the creative force of God that longs to be in beauty and kindness to the world. How do you think the spirit is made known in the world today? (Give the children time to respond anyway they see fit and then move into the prayer and off to a space where they can create works of art if applicable.)
Prayer:
Spirit of God we give thanks to you on this day. We thank you for the ability to see the beauty in this world. We thank you for building a bridge between us and the strangers among us so that we may see them as our brothers and sisters. May you guide us and be with us as we seek to glorify the Almighty. Amen.
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The Immediate Word, June 5, 2022 issue.
Copyright 2022 by CSS Publishing Company, Inc., Lima, Ohio.
All rights reserved. Subscribers to The Immediate Word service may print and use this material as it was intended in sermons and in worship and classroom settings only. No additional permission is required from the publisher for such use by subscribers only. Inquiries should be addressed to or to Permissions, CSS Publishing Company, Inc., 5450 N. Dixie Highway, Lima, Ohio 45807.
