An Alternative Language
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
For May 28, 2023:
An Alternative Language
by Dean Feldmeyer
Acts 2:1-21
When our kids were little, Jean and I had a private, secret language that we spoke to each other when we didn’t want them to know what we were talking about. It involved spelling secret words aloud.
One day, Benny, our oldest, a generally happy child, was crying and whining about everything, it seemed. He wanted a piece of the candy. We had some Hershey Kisses secreted away on top of the refrigerator but, conscientious parents that we were, we allowed that he’d had enough sweets that day so we said, no.
And he cried. Terrible, wailing, sobs of grief and despair.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked Jean. “Why is he crying like that?”
She answered, “He’s tired. He wants c-a-n-d-y but he needs n-a-p.”
Before I could respond, Benny wailed, “Nooooo! Don’t want n-a-p.” He pointed to the refrigerator. “Want c-d-y!”
So much for our secret language.
As we celebrate Pentecost, we return to the book of Acts. In today’s reading, the blessing of the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus' followers and allows them to speak the languages of all those in attendance. And, just as important, it allows them to be understood.
In the News/Culture
Whoever controls the language, controls the narrative.
And whoever controls the narrative controls the nation.
Vladimir Putin refuses to allow anyone in Russia refer to what he is doing in Ukraine as a “war.” It is, he insists, a “military action.” Refer to it otherwise and you risk going to jail.
Here in the USA, we are not so circumspect about using the word “war.” It is among our most commonly used metaphors and just about everywhere we look.
War on Poverty. War on Crime. War on Drugs. War on Terror.
It probably started with President Lyndon B. Johnson who, in his 1964 State of the Union address, called for an “unconditional war on poverty” that would make the United States a more equitable and just country. At that time, nearly 20% of Americans were poor and poverty was seen by many as a personal, moral failure.
Johnson saw it as a social failure of the country, caused by “our failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop their own capacities, in a lack of education and training, in a lack of medical care and housing, in a lack of decent communities in which to live and bring up children.” He considered the depth and extent of poverty to be a national disgrace that merited a national response.
Rhetoric soon became law with the creation of new programs and agencies — The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), the Job Corps and VISTA, a domestic counterpart to the Peace Corps.
A year later, in 1965, he declared “War on Crime,” which would eventually change the face of law enforcement in this country. According to Radley Balko’s exhaustive history of law enforcement in America, Rise of the Warrior Cop, (Public Affairs, 2014) that phrase lit the fuse that would lead to the militarization of America’s police forces, the birth of SWAT, and the transformation of police officers from protectors and servants of the citizenry into soldiers conditioned to see the citizens they serve as the enemy.
In 1971, president Richard M. Nixon followed Johnson’s lead and sent the war on crime spinning into overdrive by declaring his “War on Drugs,” stating that drug abuse was “public enemy number one.”
Nixon increased federal funding for drug-control agencies and proposed strict measures, such as mandatory prison sentencing for drug crimes. He also announced the creation of the Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention (SAODAP), which became the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1973, a special police force committed to targeting illegal drug use and smuggling in the United States.
At its inception, the DEA was given 1,470 special agents and a budget of less than $75 million. Today, the agency has nearly 5,000 agents and a budget of $2.03 billion.
On September 11, 2001 terrorists attacked New York and Washington, DC, which killed 2,977 people, making it the deadliest attack in history on US soil. President George W. Bush followed the precedent set down by his predecessors and declared a global “War on Terror.” By using the word, “global” he called on world leaders to join the US in its response. “Every nation in every region now has a decision to make,” he said in a national address. “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.”
Not all uses of the words “war on” are as nobly intended as these four examples, however. Politicians love to trot it out to describe any program or other politician with which they disagree.
The coal industry and its supporters in and out of congress criticized the Obama administration for its alleged “war on coal,” an effort to impose stringent regulations on coal power in the United States in order to make such power uneconomical. Air pollution, sludge pits, and black lung disease never or rarely figured into their rhetoric.
Pro-choice Americans have been heard declaring anti-abortion legislation as a “war on women’s health.” Efforts to ban books from school and community libraries have been branded a “war on the first amendment” just as efforts to create even the most modest reforms in gun legislation have been called a “war on the second amendment” and even a “war on the constitution,” and a “war on freedom.”
What all of these uses of the word “war” seem to have forgotten is the reality of war.
War is extreme violence conducted on a massive scale. War is destruction and death undertaken on a colossal scale for political ends. War is our most vivid example of the failure of human beings to live according to the dictates of human decency.
If we are to advance as a species, we must surely be done with this use of war as a metaphor for disagreement and common conflict.
In the Scripture
The traditional Pentecost lesson from the book of Acts tells the story of how the Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon the earliest Jesus followers and gave them the gift of verbal communication. That is, they were able to speak and be understood in the languages of those who had gathered around them.
The response of the audience is almost comical. Most people are awed and perplexed. Their response is understandable and reasonable. They ask a question. “Whoa! What’s going on, here? What does this mean?” Those who ask questions are often teachable, so this is a good sign.
But, of course, there is a minority who refuse to see that anything significant is happening. “They’re drunk on cheap wine.” A totally unreasonable response. How does being drunk make one able to communicate clearly. Experience alone tells us that the opposite is usually the case. These are probably unteachable.
Peter, unable to let a teaching moment go by, raises his voice to speak to his mostly Jewish audience. First, he dismisses the “drunk” argument by pointing out that it’s only 9:00 AM, an argument that, again, experience teaches us may or may not carry some weight, depending on who you’re talking about.
But then he launches into a spontaneous homily, starting with a long quote from the prophet Joel that, he says, predicted this kind of thing when God’s Spirit is poured out on God’s people. Young people prophesy and see visions, old people dream dreams, and this gift is universal. It will not be withheld even from slaves, male and female.
In other words, when the Spirit of the Lord is upon us, we find new, more effective, more impactful ways of communicating with each other. Gone are the old clichés, the tired and worn-out axioms, the exclusivist jargon, the vague and pointless metaphors. Now we are able to speak to each other in ways that can be heard and understood. And, we can hear and understand our brothers and sisters when they speak to us.
In the Sermon
I spent the first 15 years of my career doing youth ministry and I loved every minute of it. Weekly meetings and Bible studies, silly games, mission trips, youth choir, and campfires all filled my soul. There was just one problem, however — communication.
It seemed that every year or two the language of teenagers changed. Different words and phrases became popular and olds ones were discarded as hopelessly meaningless or at least un-hip.
Attempts by me to speak their language were usually met with giggles and laughter. It just didn’t sound right, they said, coming out of my mouth. And they were right. It didn’t feel right either. So, I stopped trying. That is, I stopped trying to speak as they spoke. But I redoubled my efforts to understand what they were saying when they spoke to each other or to me. Bad meant good. Bodacious meant excellent. Gnarley meant bad, frightening, or dangerous or it meant admirable or awesome depending on the context. Awesome meant awesome. Later: Phat meant attractive. Dope meant good. Harsh was verb as in, “Don’t harsh my mellow.”
It wasn’t necessary that I spoke their language as much as it was that I understood their language. I could understand theirs and they could understand mine. Bada-bing, communication.
When the Holy Spirit descends upon us, we are given the gift of communication, not just common communication, the language of small talk and chitchat. This is the language of the Gospel, the language of God’s good news.
It is easy to be seduced by the language of politics and popular culture. The words seem powerful and impactful. They give us a sense of clarity and purpose. They are simple and easy.
But God’s Holy Spirit gifts us with a more powerful and purposeful kind of communication, one that speaks of love and forgiveness, grace and acceptance.
It is an alternative language that calls us not to wage war on those who disagree with us but to love our enemies and pray for those who abuse us. It is a gentle, kind, generous, and soothing language that heals wounds and bridges estrangement.
It is the alternative language of the Holy Spirit.
Now… Amen.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Compensating
by Elena Delhagen
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
I have always loved the body metaphor Paul uses in the 1 Corinthians text to illustrate the interconnectedness of the Christian church. A human body is, simply put, extraordinary. A living miracle. It’s one of the most complex compositions to ever have existed, creating 25 million — yes, million! — new cells every minute from the template of our DNA. Bodies literally contain trillions of living bacteria that help us regulate inflammation and disease. The body’s structure is advanced and held together by interconnected systems, and yet most of us tend to take our bodies for granted! We rarely stop to think of what a marvel it is take a breath, or jump, or see something in color.
It was in the early 1600s that French philosopher René Decartes first began floating the idea of the body as a machine — matter born from technology, essentially. This gave way to a tradition of philosophers and scientists using mechanical models to explain organisms. Instead of miracles, bodies became machines. Instead of marvels, they were case studies. Humanity’s collective understanding of the body became rote, technical, methodological.
During the time of the Industrial Revolution, bodies started being mediated to become more efficient in the labor process. People came to be viewed as means to production and little more. Most people were expected to work 12-16 hours per day, six days a week — so weak, tired, or ill, bodies were clearly of no use. “Workers were then trained in how to be more like a machine and although the body did not cease to exist, the language of labor and industry changed the way the body was conceived, treated, and represented. Bodies were referenced in terms of how they might make industrial productions more efficient, and the machine was often created in the image of the human body.”*
But scripture tells us a different story, doesn’t it? We — the collective we — are not machines. We are not cogs and gears and wheels and wires. Paul tells us in this reading we are a body, interdependent and mutual. We give to, and we take from, one another. We need and rely on one another because, in the end, we belong to each other. We all have our own part to play, and our parts are not meant to mimic anyone else’s. They are unique and distinctive — but not meant to stand alone. Not either/or. Both/and.
CNBC recently reported that burnout — chronic, unmitigated stress — is at an all-time high since the spring of 2021, with women and workers under the age of 30 reporting the most effects. Among rising inflation, recession fears and intense geopolitical conflict, workers are worried about elevated cost of living, stagnant wages, and the looming threat of layoffs, so they often work longer hours and multiple jobs.
We as a society are working ourselves to death. Perhaps our problem is that we started looking at ourselves (and each other) as machines instead of a body. See, when a machine breaks, we throw out whatever part stopped working. We find a replacement. These parts are expendable, then. But what if the parts are people?
On the other hand, if part of the body is hurt, the rest of the body compensates for it until it heals. Extra white blood cells are released to fight infection. Pain signals are used to alert the brain to move slowly, gently. Monocytes activate to control inflammation. Every part of the body knows its dependency on the others, so when one is struggling, the others work harder to take care of what is weak.
Paul tells us we are all members of one body, the body of our Lord. This body is not just made up of the people who sit next to you in the pews on Sunday morning. What part in the body does a mother in Sudan have? What about the young high school dropout working at McDonalds? The brother or sister halfway around the world who prays to God in another tongue? Migrant families who show up at our country’s borders?
If we are truly going to be the body, we will recognize that these people, too, are necessary for the body to work as God intended it to. They may need us, but we need them, too. Their voices, perspectives, and experiences have something to teach us and show us. And if we ever see them in need, it is our duty as members of the same, miraculous organism, to compensate until healing can take place.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit is tongues of fire. Sometimes she’s a white blood cell.
* Vigo, Julian. "Machine, Body And Culture." Forbes, (2018).
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:
Acts 2:1-21
Will Chat GPT replace the Holy Spirit?
Chat GPT isn’t just for harried students anymore. CNN reports that “Pastors and rabbis have recently discovered that ChatGPT, an AI language learning model can spit out passable prose with just a few prompts, [and] is not that bad at creating sermons – a cornerstone of worship services across many religions. Historically, these orations are based on generations of knowledge, keen textual analysis and scholarship, combined with the unique charisma and experiences of each worship leader. Sermon writing is considered an art. A divine calling, even.”
One rabbi tried it out. “In December 2022, Rabbi Joshua Franklin gave an unusual message during a service at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in East Hampton, New York. “I’m going to plagiarize a sermon,” he told his congregation. “And you have to guess who wrote it.”…At the end of the roughly two minute sermon, Franklin revealed the real author to murmurs and scattered applause: ChatGPT. “You’re clapping,” he said. “But I’m terrified!” While Franklin added that he gave the language learning model a very specific prompt, and could see details in the work that wouldn’t pass muster with a seasoned scholar, the experiment was received with equal parts awe and trepidation. Could the work of a faith leader – so intimately tied to the human experience – eventually be eclipsed by a computer?”
Pentecost reminds us of the power of the Holy Spirit, and the beauty of community, two things that can never be duplicated by AI.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Language as Connection
The Pentecost story reveals how language connects people. Each person in the Jerusalem street hears the good news in their own language. Language is particular to each person, and a shared story creates connection. In a similar way, Jane Jackson re-leaned language after she had a stroke.
Writing poetry with her son was a way back into her language ability, and a connection with her son. She recalls that after her stroke, “Our son, Aaron, a poet, lived 3,000 miles away in Los Angeles. When he was a child he and I would get together with a friend and her young child who was Aaron’s age and write “poetry”, each of us taking a turn writing a line, then passing it on. To help me gain confidence in writing again, and to help bridge the geographical distance, Aaron began writing interactive “poems” with me through e-mail, with each of us taking turns beginning a poem and alternating lines.
We sent daily e-mails to each other which included our blossoming collaborative poems. Whenever one of us felt a poem was finished (usually Aaron), we would tell the other, and then a new poem would begin. This book is a compilation of those poems and the experiences we had while creating them. My hope is that it will help others who have suffered strokes or other life changing events to know that old practices can bring new joy and hope and help us to connect and reconnect with those we love. It is meant as a testament to the power of words and language in healing, not only physical healing, but emotional, psychological and spiritual healing as well.”
Language connects as much as it creates, as we see in Acts.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Hearing in Your Own Language
Imagine the surprise of hearing the language of home on the Jerusalem streets, as the crowd does on Pentecost. The same power of recognition came for the people of Hawaii, as their language was recognized by the US Census Bureau. In 2016, the Census Bureau “included “Hawaiian Pidgin Creole,” which some linguists cite as a prime example of the brain’s innate capacity for language creation, as one of the 350 languages spoken in U.S. homes. This simple act gave the Creole, which researchers say emerged with remarkable speed and uniformity from the polyglot multiethnic sugar plantations of the early 1900s, the imprimatur of federal recognition.” It also made people like Sheldon Ito officially bi-lingual, acknowledging the language they had already been speaking.
When he goes home, he says, he starts “automatically code-switching to my native tongue. Partly because it’s a marker—one could argue the marker—of being local. And in this prideful, injured place, often wary of outsiders after so many decades of land grabs, militarization, and accommodating millions of tourists each year, I want to put people at ease. But partly, when I think about it, to align myself with all the nameless immigrants—the Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, Puerto Rican, Filipino, and my own Japan-born fieldworker great-grandparents—whose children, along with those of Native Hawaiians, invented Hawaiian Creole.”
Language is a powerful recognition of who we are.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Saving Language
On the day of Pentecost, everyone gets the powerful experience of hearing in their own language, no matter how far from home they are. In the United States and Canada, as Indigenous people work to hold onto their languages, technology is a saving grace.
“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 towards accessible technology to save and revitalize their languages.”
“Some tribes, such as the Cherokee Nation and Navajo Nation, have held language courses for several years, but many tribes face barriers to developing language programs of their own. There may not be any remaining elders who speak the language well enough to teach it—the Cherokee and Navajo Nations are the two largest Native American tribes who have retained the most speakers of their languages.” Other tribes have fewer resources.
“When Keegan Livermore, a member of the Yakama Nation, learned that there were only a couple dozen fluent speakers of Ichishkíin—a language in the Sahaptin family spoken by the Yakama, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation—he felt a responsibility to learn the language himself.” He also developed a keyboard for the language and its 39 unique letters.
For other tribes, language is retained through old documents and recordings, and people learn from those. “FirstVoices is a suite of web-based tools designed to help Indigenous people archive language information for teaching and preservation. The service, launched in 2003, provides tribes with a page where audio clips of words, phrases, stories, songs, and more can be uploaded and organized.”
Language recalls us to who we are, and where we belong, just as it did on the day of Pentecost.
* * * * * *
From team member Tom Willadsen:
Numbers 11:24-30
A little context, please
The portion of Numbers that appears in today’s lectionary passage is about the Holy Spirit being transmitted to 70 elders of the Wanderers. Moses has carried too heavy a burden, so the Lord, in good Presbyterian fashion, has distributed the authority to others. The reason that Moses sought some kind of relief, however, does not appear in the reading. It sounds like a simple non-emergency restructuring, the Lord improving the corporate flow chart for better health and efficiency. Nuh-uh.
Earlier in the chapter the people were whining to Moses because they were tired of manna. They weren’t dying of thirst, nor were they in fear of Pharaoh’s cavalry. They were not even hungry, just bored with a constant diet of life-sustaining manna from heaven.
Prior to lightening Moses’ leadership burden, the Lord promised to provide quail. Lots of quail. Lots and lots and lots of quail. You people want something other than manna, be careful what you wish for, suckers! This is what the Lord instructed Moses to say to the Hebrews:
‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wailed in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “If only we had meat to eat! Surely it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat not only one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you — because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” ’ (Numbers 11:18-20, NRSV, Updated Edition)
If you subscribe to Horizons, the Presbyterian Women’s Magazine, you can get beyond the pay wall and access the January/February 2022 issue and find the article “God the Parent…Who Has Just About Had It Up to Here!”
* * *
John 7:37-39
A little context, please
As with the lesson from Numbers, these verses from John 7 are shorn from their larger context. Jesus promises believers Living Water, which is an analog for the Holy Spirit and since today is Pentecost we’re all in on the Holy Spirit.
This is an occasion when Jesus has confronted and provoked the religious leaders. There are people whom Jesus has spoken to who identify him as “the prophet” and “the Messiah” as he sneaked back into Judea for the Succoth, the seven-day autumn harvest festival. Some question whether the Messiah can come from Galilee. Everyone knows he’s expected from Bethlehem, the City of David. The Pharisees and the chief priests sent the temple police to arrest Jesus. Nicodemus, a Pharisee who had gone to Jesus in private in John 3, said that the law allowed someone accused to be heard before being judged.
Yes, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, and yes, today is Pentecost. But the gift of the Holy Spirit came in a moment of confusion for the Jews in Judea and the Jewish leaders there. It was/is a living gift in turbulent times.
* * *
John 20:19-23
A little context, please
The disciples, all of whom were Jewish, were hiding in a locked room on the day of the resurrection for fear of the Jews. As always, be careful with this wording, they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, the powerful leaders of the Jews; they were not afraid of themselves or each other. Thomas was not present in today’s passage.
The lesson a few weeks ago had Thomas the second episode of this scene, where Jesus appeared to Thomas, who stopped doubting that Jesus had appeared to the other disciples and believed his own eyes when he saw for himself. Remember, the second time Jesus appeared to the disciples they were exactly as they had been before — even though Jesus had appeared to them. It was Thomas’s presence and testimony that got them unstuck. Even though they may have been in exactly the same place when the Holy Spirit came into them on Pentecost.
Today you have a chance to set the record straight and stop throwing shade on Thomas.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
The miracle of communication
Readers of a certain age may remember the New Wave duo Ebn Ozn, whose lone appearance on MTV and progressive radio was a ditty called “AEIOU and Sometimes Y” which included this verse:
There are 178 parent languages on our planet with over 1,000 dialects
It's amazing we communicate at all
Languages and dialects, with this one thing in common:
A-E-I-O-U
Sometimes Y
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
The miracle of communication, Part II
I showed a picture of my sons eating dim sum to a friend.
“Where were you?” he asked.
“The Jade Dragon,” I replied.
“Where were you?” he asked again.
“Canal Street,” I replied.
“Where. Were. You?” he asked with fierce emphasis.
“Chine. A. Town,” I replied in kind.
“Where were you?!!!” he shouted.
“Manhattan.”
“At last!”
He asked the same question four times. I answered him accurately four times. It took us, both native English speakers, four attempts for him to get the information he wanted from me. It’s hard to communicate. Never forget; it’s hard to communicate. The Holy Spirit is always doing amazing work communicating God to us.
* * *
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
How big are sea monsters? How much bigger is the Creator?
There’s a subtle, surprising bit in today’s psalm.
There go the ships and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
Psalm 104 is a work of praise to the Creator. The psalmist marvels at all the wonderful things God has made. Verse 26, above, is part of the description of how amazing the ocean is.
Leviathan as fearsome sea monsters, but the psalmist treats them as God’s tub toys, play things to sport with!
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:
Acts 2:1-21
Understanding
The fact that the disciples were understood puts me in mind of Madeline L’engle’s concept of kything — where spirits are able to directly communicate with one another. I had a professor in seminary who said that whenever human beings communicate clearly with one another it is through the direct and miraculous intervention of the Holy Spirit, because it is that hard to make each other understood. Fantasy writer Sean Stewart talks about the concept of two friends knowing each other well enough that they can communicate without words. He calls it two souls shaking hands. I find all of these concepts of humans deeply understanding one another beautiful. Is this not what we are striving for? Is this not the call for why we church? Here it is being born, the wish for deep understanding.
* * *
John 20:19-23
One of the kinder and gentler PCA scholars, Tim Keller, has passed away. In a denomination that is not one of the most inclusive in Christianity, Keller was one of those types who stood tall in his treatment of immigrants and the poor. He also preached with compassion and hope. And yet, his stance on the LGBTQIA community and women remained lacking. It makes one think about how hungry we are for peace and crumbs of the good news. For many searching for good news and peace in an angry world, Tim Keller’s message is given gently and feeds some of that hunger. However, the question is, is grace for some enough? And to be honest, no one is Jesus. When Jesus gives us peace, it is enough, no human can fill that hole. But it does not mean that you have to stay where the only good news you get are crumbs, or where you are coaxed to keep the peace against the fullness of your human being either. Jesus breathed on the disciples. Like Adam and Eve, we are breathed on, full beings. Let us go in peace, knowing that we are fully made in the image of God.
* * *
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
Women are often told that they can do everything. My mother was once sat down by her parents and told to slow down. She argued with them and said, “But you taught me that I could do this, you taught me I could be anything I want.” “Yes, but not all at once,” they replied. When I was in college I minored in history and the area I ended up concentrating on was Japan, because that professor told the best stories. He talked about how the women in Japan, when they saw how the feminist movement was turning, they stopped. They said “never mind,” and went back to being housewives. At the time, I could not understand it. Give up careers and freedom? But they understood that they were going to be asked to do it all, all at once, careers and home, and they said never mind.
Just this week I saw a twitter post about how much of the economy and academy assumes that there is a stay at home person — to cook, clean, answer the phone, raise the children, stay home for long drop of appliance and service windows. Even doctors offices, pharmacies, government offices, etc. are all only open during working hours, assuming someone is available to go in during that time. Everyone is burned out, but especially women. The person elected to do that in the household is usually a woman. And yet, here we are early in scripture with Paul saying that is not how things are supposed to be organized. No one person is supposed to do everything. In fact, no one person should be typecast for any type of gift. Paul is for a diverse and open church, and wants the church to be as varied as possible because that is how the world is designed. If the church does not reflect the world, it is not doing a good job. If your church is burned out, it’s probably time to look at who is involved and why. Have we celebrated our diversity of gifts? Have we gone out and done church in a diversity of ways? Have we embraced what church could be? There is a lot of opportunity in Pentecost to think about how glorious and open the church can really be.
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship
One: O God, how manifold are your works!
All: In wisdom you have made them all.
One: When you hide your face, your creatures are dismayed.
All: When you send forth your spirit, they are created.
One: May the glory of our God endure forever.
All: May my meditation be pleasing to God in whom I rejoice.
OR
One: God speaks in many ways to be revealed to all creation.
All: We thank God for coming among us in grace.
One: In nature, in words, in deeds God desires to be made known.
All: We will attend to God’s revelation and know God better.
One: God desires to be reflected in us and through us.
All: We will be open to God’s Spirit so that God is revealed in us.
Hymns and Songs
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
UMH: 57/58/59
H82: 493
PH: 466
GTG: 610
AAHH: 184
NNBH: 23
NCH: 42
CH: 5
LBW: 559
ELW: 886
W&P: 96
AMEC: 1/2
Renew: 12
How Great Thou Art
UMH: 77
PH: 467
GTG: 625
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
NCH: 35
CH: 33
LBW: 532
ELW: 856
W&P: 51
AMEC: 68
Renew: 250
God of Many Names
UMH: 105
CH: 13
W&P: 58
STLT: 198
Many Gifts, One Spirit
UMH: 114
NCH: 177
Surely the Presence of the Lord
UMH: 328
NNBH: 129
CH: 263
W&P: 131
CCB: 1
Renew: 167
Holy Spirit, Truth Divine
UMH: 465
PH: 321
NCH: 63
CH: 241
LBW: 257
ELW: 398
Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song
UMH: 544
H82: 513
PH: 314
GTG: 285
NCH: 270
CH: 245
ELW: 403
W&P: 327
Filled with the Spirit’s Power
UMH: 537
NCH: 266
LBW: 160
W&P: 331
Wind Who Makes All Winds That Blow
UMH: 538
PH: 131
NCH: 271
CH: 236
W&P: 333
Spirit of the Living God
UMH: 393
PH: 322
GTG: 288
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 133
NCH: 283
CH: 259
W&P: 492
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
Kum Ba Yah
CCB: 69
Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: 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 for the Day/Collect
O God who speaks that all may know you:
Grant us the grace to share the good news of Jesus
so that others can know of your grace;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you come and speak to us so that we can know you. You are gracious and loving as you reach out in love to your creation. Help us to speak and act in gracious ways so that others may know you better. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we use harsh and hateful words in the name of God.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You are love and you sent Jesus to show us that you are a God who forgives and loves all creation. Yet we use you to spread words of hate and exclusion. We use our religion to lift ourselves up over others and to push others away. We have failed to be faithful disciples of Jesus and we have misrepresented you. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we may proclaim in words and deeds your gracious love for all your children. Amen.
One: God is gracious and forgiving. Receive God’s grace and share it with others so that they, too, may know God’s redeeming presence.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God who burns in a bush that isn’t consumed and who glows within the hearts of your children.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You are love and you sent Jesus to show us that you are a God who forgives and loves all creation. Yet we use you to spread words of hate and exclusion. We use our religion to lift ourselves up over others and to push others away. We have failed to be faithful disciples of Jesus and we have misrepresented you. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we may proclaim in words and deeds your gracious love for all your children.
We give you thanks for revealing yourself to us through nature, scripture, your Spirit, and your Son. We thank you that you desire to be with and within your creation. We thank you for the opportunity to know you and to share your presence with others.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for the redemption of your creation and all your children. We pray for those who have found the harsh words of those who say they are speaking in your name to be a barrier to knowing you. We pray for those who have been deprived on the good things of creation and find it difficult to see your revealed in all you created. We pray for your Church that it might be true to your revelation in Jesus the Christ and to proclaim your redeeming love for all the world.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
First Fruits Basket Upset
by Chris Keating
Acts 2:1-21
We come to Pentecost Sunday facing a couple of challenges. One challenge is the arrival of summer and the Memorial Day weekend, while another is simply the consequences of the pandemic on church attendance. We are unlikely, except in certain circumstances, to experience the sort of unifying “all together in one place” experience of the Apostles. That may make this already wild and confusing story even more difficult to explain.
Acts 2 offers an important connection to Judaism. Given the dramatic rise in antisemitism, Pentecost offers a chance to talk about the way Christians adopted Jewish traditions. Shavuot, also known as the Festival of Weeks, occurs 50 days after Passover (hence the Greek term, “Pentecost.”). It is a celebration of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and also the offering of the first fruits of the harvest. In ancient times, Jewish people would offer their first fruits at the Temple as a gesture of gratitude to God. Today, one source says that Shavuot is often celebrated by eating dairy products like cheesecakes and blintzes, which certainly sounds more exotic than Presbyterian donuts!
My first thought for this children’s sermon was to play a round or two of the old game “Fruit Basket Upset.” (In this case first fruits basket). That is a game where the leader assigns each child to be one of three different fruits (e.g., apple, pear, cherries, etc.). When everyone sits down the leader calls “cherries” and then all the cherries and the leader need to find a place to sit down. Obviously, whoever does not land a seat gets to call the next round. That’s a pretty active game that might not be best suited for worship. However, it does offer one way of introducing the theme of a diversity of fruit (gifts) that God gives us and for which we are thankful on Pentecost.
Another option would be to woo them with food! Consider sharing some cheese sticks and fruit with the children, leading them in a prayer of thanks for all God has given to us. As you share, talk about how the Apostles were together in one room or house. Ask them to help you make up a new language. What imaginary word could you come up with for cheese or apples? Imagine several silly sentences and practice them together. Make these silly (though appropriate).
Now, ask the children to imagine what might happen if there were guests in worship who did not speak English or our imaginary language. How would we welcome them? How could we help them feel part of the church? (If you have older children, you might ask them if their parents understand all the Generation Z slang!) What happens if everyone is speaking in different languages at the same time?
Outside in Jerusalem, Luke tells us that the streets were crowded with all sorts of people visiting for the holidays. There were people from all over the world, and many of them could not speak to each other. But God sent the Spirit to the church so that the church could share the story of Jesus with different people — even those who speak slang we don’t understand, or imaginary words we just made up. The Spirit gave the church power to do something incredible — to make sure even in a divided city, with people from all sorts of places, everyone could hear the good news. (And maybe enjoy some cheese, too!)
Close with this prayer: “Dear Lord, we thank you that on Pentecost you gave us the Holy Spirit. Help us to know that you give us gifts of love and encourage us to use these gifts to bring you glory.” Amen.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 28, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 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.
- An Alternative Language by Dean Feldmeyer — Those who follow the Prince of Peace must find an alternative to the language of war.
- Second Thoughts: Compensating by Elena Delhagen based on 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13.
- Sermon illustrations by Tom Willadsen, Mary Austin, and Katy Stenta.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: First Fruits Basket Upset by Chris Keating based on Acts 2:1-21.
An Alternative Languageby Dean Feldmeyer
Acts 2:1-21
When our kids were little, Jean and I had a private, secret language that we spoke to each other when we didn’t want them to know what we were talking about. It involved spelling secret words aloud.
One day, Benny, our oldest, a generally happy child, was crying and whining about everything, it seemed. He wanted a piece of the candy. We had some Hershey Kisses secreted away on top of the refrigerator but, conscientious parents that we were, we allowed that he’d had enough sweets that day so we said, no.
And he cried. Terrible, wailing, sobs of grief and despair.
“What’s wrong with him?” I asked Jean. “Why is he crying like that?”
She answered, “He’s tired. He wants c-a-n-d-y but he needs n-a-p.”
Before I could respond, Benny wailed, “Nooooo! Don’t want n-a-p.” He pointed to the refrigerator. “Want c-d-y!”
So much for our secret language.
As we celebrate Pentecost, we return to the book of Acts. In today’s reading, the blessing of the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus' followers and allows them to speak the languages of all those in attendance. And, just as important, it allows them to be understood.
In the News/Culture
Whoever controls the language, controls the narrative.
And whoever controls the narrative controls the nation.
Vladimir Putin refuses to allow anyone in Russia refer to what he is doing in Ukraine as a “war.” It is, he insists, a “military action.” Refer to it otherwise and you risk going to jail.
Here in the USA, we are not so circumspect about using the word “war.” It is among our most commonly used metaphors and just about everywhere we look.
War on Poverty. War on Crime. War on Drugs. War on Terror.
It probably started with President Lyndon B. Johnson who, in his 1964 State of the Union address, called for an “unconditional war on poverty” that would make the United States a more equitable and just country. At that time, nearly 20% of Americans were poor and poverty was seen by many as a personal, moral failure.
Johnson saw it as a social failure of the country, caused by “our failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop their own capacities, in a lack of education and training, in a lack of medical care and housing, in a lack of decent communities in which to live and bring up children.” He considered the depth and extent of poverty to be a national disgrace that merited a national response.
Rhetoric soon became law with the creation of new programs and agencies — The Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO), the Job Corps and VISTA, a domestic counterpart to the Peace Corps.
A year later, in 1965, he declared “War on Crime,” which would eventually change the face of law enforcement in this country. According to Radley Balko’s exhaustive history of law enforcement in America, Rise of the Warrior Cop, (Public Affairs, 2014) that phrase lit the fuse that would lead to the militarization of America’s police forces, the birth of SWAT, and the transformation of police officers from protectors and servants of the citizenry into soldiers conditioned to see the citizens they serve as the enemy.
In 1971, president Richard M. Nixon followed Johnson’s lead and sent the war on crime spinning into overdrive by declaring his “War on Drugs,” stating that drug abuse was “public enemy number one.”
Nixon increased federal funding for drug-control agencies and proposed strict measures, such as mandatory prison sentencing for drug crimes. He also announced the creation of the Special Action Office for Drug Abuse Prevention (SAODAP), which became the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 1973, a special police force committed to targeting illegal drug use and smuggling in the United States.
At its inception, the DEA was given 1,470 special agents and a budget of less than $75 million. Today, the agency has nearly 5,000 agents and a budget of $2.03 billion.
On September 11, 2001 terrorists attacked New York and Washington, DC, which killed 2,977 people, making it the deadliest attack in history on US soil. President George W. Bush followed the precedent set down by his predecessors and declared a global “War on Terror.” By using the word, “global” he called on world leaders to join the US in its response. “Every nation in every region now has a decision to make,” he said in a national address. “Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.”
Not all uses of the words “war on” are as nobly intended as these four examples, however. Politicians love to trot it out to describe any program or other politician with which they disagree.
The coal industry and its supporters in and out of congress criticized the Obama administration for its alleged “war on coal,” an effort to impose stringent regulations on coal power in the United States in order to make such power uneconomical. Air pollution, sludge pits, and black lung disease never or rarely figured into their rhetoric.
Pro-choice Americans have been heard declaring anti-abortion legislation as a “war on women’s health.” Efforts to ban books from school and community libraries have been branded a “war on the first amendment” just as efforts to create even the most modest reforms in gun legislation have been called a “war on the second amendment” and even a “war on the constitution,” and a “war on freedom.”
What all of these uses of the word “war” seem to have forgotten is the reality of war.
War is extreme violence conducted on a massive scale. War is destruction and death undertaken on a colossal scale for political ends. War is our most vivid example of the failure of human beings to live according to the dictates of human decency.
If we are to advance as a species, we must surely be done with this use of war as a metaphor for disagreement and common conflict.
In the Scripture
The traditional Pentecost lesson from the book of Acts tells the story of how the Holy Spirit descended like a dove upon the earliest Jesus followers and gave them the gift of verbal communication. That is, they were able to speak and be understood in the languages of those who had gathered around them.
The response of the audience is almost comical. Most people are awed and perplexed. Their response is understandable and reasonable. They ask a question. “Whoa! What’s going on, here? What does this mean?” Those who ask questions are often teachable, so this is a good sign.
But, of course, there is a minority who refuse to see that anything significant is happening. “They’re drunk on cheap wine.” A totally unreasonable response. How does being drunk make one able to communicate clearly. Experience alone tells us that the opposite is usually the case. These are probably unteachable.
Peter, unable to let a teaching moment go by, raises his voice to speak to his mostly Jewish audience. First, he dismisses the “drunk” argument by pointing out that it’s only 9:00 AM, an argument that, again, experience teaches us may or may not carry some weight, depending on who you’re talking about.
But then he launches into a spontaneous homily, starting with a long quote from the prophet Joel that, he says, predicted this kind of thing when God’s Spirit is poured out on God’s people. Young people prophesy and see visions, old people dream dreams, and this gift is universal. It will not be withheld even from slaves, male and female.
In other words, when the Spirit of the Lord is upon us, we find new, more effective, more impactful ways of communicating with each other. Gone are the old clichés, the tired and worn-out axioms, the exclusivist jargon, the vague and pointless metaphors. Now we are able to speak to each other in ways that can be heard and understood. And, we can hear and understand our brothers and sisters when they speak to us.
In the Sermon
I spent the first 15 years of my career doing youth ministry and I loved every minute of it. Weekly meetings and Bible studies, silly games, mission trips, youth choir, and campfires all filled my soul. There was just one problem, however — communication.
It seemed that every year or two the language of teenagers changed. Different words and phrases became popular and olds ones were discarded as hopelessly meaningless or at least un-hip.
Attempts by me to speak their language were usually met with giggles and laughter. It just didn’t sound right, they said, coming out of my mouth. And they were right. It didn’t feel right either. So, I stopped trying. That is, I stopped trying to speak as they spoke. But I redoubled my efforts to understand what they were saying when they spoke to each other or to me. Bad meant good. Bodacious meant excellent. Gnarley meant bad, frightening, or dangerous or it meant admirable or awesome depending on the context. Awesome meant awesome. Later: Phat meant attractive. Dope meant good. Harsh was verb as in, “Don’t harsh my mellow.”
It wasn’t necessary that I spoke their language as much as it was that I understood their language. I could understand theirs and they could understand mine. Bada-bing, communication.
When the Holy Spirit descends upon us, we are given the gift of communication, not just common communication, the language of small talk and chitchat. This is the language of the Gospel, the language of God’s good news.
It is easy to be seduced by the language of politics and popular culture. The words seem powerful and impactful. They give us a sense of clarity and purpose. They are simple and easy.
But God’s Holy Spirit gifts us with a more powerful and purposeful kind of communication, one that speaks of love and forgiveness, grace and acceptance.
It is an alternative language that calls us not to wage war on those who disagree with us but to love our enemies and pray for those who abuse us. It is a gentle, kind, generous, and soothing language that heals wounds and bridges estrangement.
It is the alternative language of the Holy Spirit.
Now… Amen.
SECOND THOUGHTSCompensating
by Elena Delhagen
1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
I have always loved the body metaphor Paul uses in the 1 Corinthians text to illustrate the interconnectedness of the Christian church. A human body is, simply put, extraordinary. A living miracle. It’s one of the most complex compositions to ever have existed, creating 25 million — yes, million! — new cells every minute from the template of our DNA. Bodies literally contain trillions of living bacteria that help us regulate inflammation and disease. The body’s structure is advanced and held together by interconnected systems, and yet most of us tend to take our bodies for granted! We rarely stop to think of what a marvel it is take a breath, or jump, or see something in color.
It was in the early 1600s that French philosopher René Decartes first began floating the idea of the body as a machine — matter born from technology, essentially. This gave way to a tradition of philosophers and scientists using mechanical models to explain organisms. Instead of miracles, bodies became machines. Instead of marvels, they were case studies. Humanity’s collective understanding of the body became rote, technical, methodological.
During the time of the Industrial Revolution, bodies started being mediated to become more efficient in the labor process. People came to be viewed as means to production and little more. Most people were expected to work 12-16 hours per day, six days a week — so weak, tired, or ill, bodies were clearly of no use. “Workers were then trained in how to be more like a machine and although the body did not cease to exist, the language of labor and industry changed the way the body was conceived, treated, and represented. Bodies were referenced in terms of how they might make industrial productions more efficient, and the machine was often created in the image of the human body.”*
But scripture tells us a different story, doesn’t it? We — the collective we — are not machines. We are not cogs and gears and wheels and wires. Paul tells us in this reading we are a body, interdependent and mutual. We give to, and we take from, one another. We need and rely on one another because, in the end, we belong to each other. We all have our own part to play, and our parts are not meant to mimic anyone else’s. They are unique and distinctive — but not meant to stand alone. Not either/or. Both/and.
CNBC recently reported that burnout — chronic, unmitigated stress — is at an all-time high since the spring of 2021, with women and workers under the age of 30 reporting the most effects. Among rising inflation, recession fears and intense geopolitical conflict, workers are worried about elevated cost of living, stagnant wages, and the looming threat of layoffs, so they often work longer hours and multiple jobs.
We as a society are working ourselves to death. Perhaps our problem is that we started looking at ourselves (and each other) as machines instead of a body. See, when a machine breaks, we throw out whatever part stopped working. We find a replacement. These parts are expendable, then. But what if the parts are people?
On the other hand, if part of the body is hurt, the rest of the body compensates for it until it heals. Extra white blood cells are released to fight infection. Pain signals are used to alert the brain to move slowly, gently. Monocytes activate to control inflammation. Every part of the body knows its dependency on the others, so when one is struggling, the others work harder to take care of what is weak.
Paul tells us we are all members of one body, the body of our Lord. This body is not just made up of the people who sit next to you in the pews on Sunday morning. What part in the body does a mother in Sudan have? What about the young high school dropout working at McDonalds? The brother or sister halfway around the world who prays to God in another tongue? Migrant families who show up at our country’s borders?
If we are truly going to be the body, we will recognize that these people, too, are necessary for the body to work as God intended it to. They may need us, but we need them, too. Their voices, perspectives, and experiences have something to teach us and show us. And if we ever see them in need, it is our duty as members of the same, miraculous organism, to compensate until healing can take place.
Sometimes the Holy Spirit is tongues of fire. Sometimes she’s a white blood cell.
* Vigo, Julian. "Machine, Body And Culture." Forbes, (2018).
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Mary Austin:Acts 2:1-21
Will Chat GPT replace the Holy Spirit?
Chat GPT isn’t just for harried students anymore. CNN reports that “Pastors and rabbis have recently discovered that ChatGPT, an AI language learning model can spit out passable prose with just a few prompts, [and] is not that bad at creating sermons – a cornerstone of worship services across many religions. Historically, these orations are based on generations of knowledge, keen textual analysis and scholarship, combined with the unique charisma and experiences of each worship leader. Sermon writing is considered an art. A divine calling, even.”
One rabbi tried it out. “In December 2022, Rabbi Joshua Franklin gave an unusual message during a service at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in East Hampton, New York. “I’m going to plagiarize a sermon,” he told his congregation. “And you have to guess who wrote it.”…At the end of the roughly two minute sermon, Franklin revealed the real author to murmurs and scattered applause: ChatGPT. “You’re clapping,” he said. “But I’m terrified!” While Franklin added that he gave the language learning model a very specific prompt, and could see details in the work that wouldn’t pass muster with a seasoned scholar, the experiment was received with equal parts awe and trepidation. Could the work of a faith leader – so intimately tied to the human experience – eventually be eclipsed by a computer?”
Pentecost reminds us of the power of the Holy Spirit, and the beauty of community, two things that can never be duplicated by AI.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Language as Connection
The Pentecost story reveals how language connects people. Each person in the Jerusalem street hears the good news in their own language. Language is particular to each person, and a shared story creates connection. In a similar way, Jane Jackson re-leaned language after she had a stroke.
Writing poetry with her son was a way back into her language ability, and a connection with her son. She recalls that after her stroke, “Our son, Aaron, a poet, lived 3,000 miles away in Los Angeles. When he was a child he and I would get together with a friend and her young child who was Aaron’s age and write “poetry”, each of us taking a turn writing a line, then passing it on. To help me gain confidence in writing again, and to help bridge the geographical distance, Aaron began writing interactive “poems” with me through e-mail, with each of us taking turns beginning a poem and alternating lines.
We sent daily e-mails to each other which included our blossoming collaborative poems. Whenever one of us felt a poem was finished (usually Aaron), we would tell the other, and then a new poem would begin. This book is a compilation of those poems and the experiences we had while creating them. My hope is that it will help others who have suffered strokes or other life changing events to know that old practices can bring new joy and hope and help us to connect and reconnect with those we love. It is meant as a testament to the power of words and language in healing, not only physical healing, but emotional, psychological and spiritual healing as well.”
Language connects as much as it creates, as we see in Acts.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Hearing in Your Own Language
Imagine the surprise of hearing the language of home on the Jerusalem streets, as the crowd does on Pentecost. The same power of recognition came for the people of Hawaii, as their language was recognized by the US Census Bureau. In 2016, the Census Bureau “included “Hawaiian Pidgin Creole,” which some linguists cite as a prime example of the brain’s innate capacity for language creation, as one of the 350 languages spoken in U.S. homes. This simple act gave the Creole, which researchers say emerged with remarkable speed and uniformity from the polyglot multiethnic sugar plantations of the early 1900s, the imprimatur of federal recognition.” It also made people like Sheldon Ito officially bi-lingual, acknowledging the language they had already been speaking.
When he goes home, he says, he starts “automatically code-switching to my native tongue. Partly because it’s a marker—one could argue the marker—of being local. And in this prideful, injured place, often wary of outsiders after so many decades of land grabs, militarization, and accommodating millions of tourists each year, I want to put people at ease. But partly, when I think about it, to align myself with all the nameless immigrants—the Chinese, Portuguese, Korean, Puerto Rican, Filipino, and my own Japan-born fieldworker great-grandparents—whose children, along with those of Native Hawaiians, invented Hawaiian Creole.”
Language is a powerful recognition of who we are.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Saving Language
On the day of Pentecost, everyone gets the powerful experience of hearing in their own language, no matter how far from home they are. In the United States and Canada, as Indigenous people work to hold onto their languages, technology is a saving grace.
“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 towards accessible technology to save and revitalize their languages.”
“Some tribes, such as the Cherokee Nation and Navajo Nation, have held language courses for several years, but many tribes face barriers to developing language programs of their own. There may not be any remaining elders who speak the language well enough to teach it—the Cherokee and Navajo Nations are the two largest Native American tribes who have retained the most speakers of their languages.” Other tribes have fewer resources.
“When Keegan Livermore, a member of the Yakama Nation, learned that there were only a couple dozen fluent speakers of Ichishkíin—a language in the Sahaptin family spoken by the Yakama, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation, and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation—he felt a responsibility to learn the language himself.” He also developed a keyboard for the language and its 39 unique letters.
For other tribes, language is retained through old documents and recordings, and people learn from those. “FirstVoices is a suite of web-based tools designed to help Indigenous people archive language information for teaching and preservation. The service, launched in 2003, provides tribes with a page where audio clips of words, phrases, stories, songs, and more can be uploaded and organized.”
Language recalls us to who we are, and where we belong, just as it did on the day of Pentecost.
* * * * * *
From team member Tom Willadsen:Numbers 11:24-30
A little context, please
The portion of Numbers that appears in today’s lectionary passage is about the Holy Spirit being transmitted to 70 elders of the Wanderers. Moses has carried too heavy a burden, so the Lord, in good Presbyterian fashion, has distributed the authority to others. The reason that Moses sought some kind of relief, however, does not appear in the reading. It sounds like a simple non-emergency restructuring, the Lord improving the corporate flow chart for better health and efficiency. Nuh-uh.
Earlier in the chapter the people were whining to Moses because they were tired of manna. They weren’t dying of thirst, nor were they in fear of Pharaoh’s cavalry. They were not even hungry, just bored with a constant diet of life-sustaining manna from heaven.
Prior to lightening Moses’ leadership burden, the Lord promised to provide quail. Lots of quail. Lots and lots and lots of quail. You people want something other than manna, be careful what you wish for, suckers! This is what the Lord instructed Moses to say to the Hebrews:
‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wailed in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “If only we had meat to eat! Surely it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. You shall eat not only one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you — because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wailed before him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?” ’ (Numbers 11:18-20, NRSV, Updated Edition)
If you subscribe to Horizons, the Presbyterian Women’s Magazine, you can get beyond the pay wall and access the January/February 2022 issue and find the article “God the Parent…Who Has Just About Had It Up to Here!”
* * *
John 7:37-39
A little context, please
As with the lesson from Numbers, these verses from John 7 are shorn from their larger context. Jesus promises believers Living Water, which is an analog for the Holy Spirit and since today is Pentecost we’re all in on the Holy Spirit.
This is an occasion when Jesus has confronted and provoked the religious leaders. There are people whom Jesus has spoken to who identify him as “the prophet” and “the Messiah” as he sneaked back into Judea for the Succoth, the seven-day autumn harvest festival. Some question whether the Messiah can come from Galilee. Everyone knows he’s expected from Bethlehem, the City of David. The Pharisees and the chief priests sent the temple police to arrest Jesus. Nicodemus, a Pharisee who had gone to Jesus in private in John 3, said that the law allowed someone accused to be heard before being judged.
Yes, Jesus promised the Holy Spirit, and yes, today is Pentecost. But the gift of the Holy Spirit came in a moment of confusion for the Jews in Judea and the Jewish leaders there. It was/is a living gift in turbulent times.
* * *
John 20:19-23
A little context, please
The disciples, all of whom were Jewish, were hiding in a locked room on the day of the resurrection for fear of the Jews. As always, be careful with this wording, they were afraid of the Jewish authorities, the powerful leaders of the Jews; they were not afraid of themselves or each other. Thomas was not present in today’s passage.
The lesson a few weeks ago had Thomas the second episode of this scene, where Jesus appeared to Thomas, who stopped doubting that Jesus had appeared to the other disciples and believed his own eyes when he saw for himself. Remember, the second time Jesus appeared to the disciples they were exactly as they had been before — even though Jesus had appeared to them. It was Thomas’s presence and testimony that got them unstuck. Even though they may have been in exactly the same place when the Holy Spirit came into them on Pentecost.
Today you have a chance to set the record straight and stop throwing shade on Thomas.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
The miracle of communication
Readers of a certain age may remember the New Wave duo Ebn Ozn, whose lone appearance on MTV and progressive radio was a ditty called “AEIOU and Sometimes Y” which included this verse:
There are 178 parent languages on our planet with over 1,000 dialects
It's amazing we communicate at all
Languages and dialects, with this one thing in common:
A-E-I-O-U
Sometimes Y
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
The miracle of communication, Part II
I showed a picture of my sons eating dim sum to a friend.
“Where were you?” he asked.
“The Jade Dragon,” I replied.
“Where were you?” he asked again.
“Canal Street,” I replied.
“Where. Were. You?” he asked with fierce emphasis.
“Chine. A. Town,” I replied in kind.
“Where were you?!!!” he shouted.
“Manhattan.”
“At last!”
He asked the same question four times. I answered him accurately four times. It took us, both native English speakers, four attempts for him to get the information he wanted from me. It’s hard to communicate. Never forget; it’s hard to communicate. The Holy Spirit is always doing amazing work communicating God to us.
* * *
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
How big are sea monsters? How much bigger is the Creator?
There’s a subtle, surprising bit in today’s psalm.
There go the ships and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
Psalm 104 is a work of praise to the Creator. The psalmist marvels at all the wonderful things God has made. Verse 26, above, is part of the description of how amazing the ocean is.
Leviathan as fearsome sea monsters, but the psalmist treats them as God’s tub toys, play things to sport with!
* * * * * *
From team member Katy Stenta:Acts 2:1-21
Understanding
The fact that the disciples were understood puts me in mind of Madeline L’engle’s concept of kything — where spirits are able to directly communicate with one another. I had a professor in seminary who said that whenever human beings communicate clearly with one another it is through the direct and miraculous intervention of the Holy Spirit, because it is that hard to make each other understood. Fantasy writer Sean Stewart talks about the concept of two friends knowing each other well enough that they can communicate without words. He calls it two souls shaking hands. I find all of these concepts of humans deeply understanding one another beautiful. Is this not what we are striving for? Is this not the call for why we church? Here it is being born, the wish for deep understanding.
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John 20:19-23
One of the kinder and gentler PCA scholars, Tim Keller, has passed away. In a denomination that is not one of the most inclusive in Christianity, Keller was one of those types who stood tall in his treatment of immigrants and the poor. He also preached with compassion and hope. And yet, his stance on the LGBTQIA community and women remained lacking. It makes one think about how hungry we are for peace and crumbs of the good news. For many searching for good news and peace in an angry world, Tim Keller’s message is given gently and feeds some of that hunger. However, the question is, is grace for some enough? And to be honest, no one is Jesus. When Jesus gives us peace, it is enough, no human can fill that hole. But it does not mean that you have to stay where the only good news you get are crumbs, or where you are coaxed to keep the peace against the fullness of your human being either. Jesus breathed on the disciples. Like Adam and Eve, we are breathed on, full beings. Let us go in peace, knowing that we are fully made in the image of God.
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1 Corinthians 12:3b-13
Women are often told that they can do everything. My mother was once sat down by her parents and told to slow down. She argued with them and said, “But you taught me that I could do this, you taught me I could be anything I want.” “Yes, but not all at once,” they replied. When I was in college I minored in history and the area I ended up concentrating on was Japan, because that professor told the best stories. He talked about how the women in Japan, when they saw how the feminist movement was turning, they stopped. They said “never mind,” and went back to being housewives. At the time, I could not understand it. Give up careers and freedom? But they understood that they were going to be asked to do it all, all at once, careers and home, and they said never mind.
Just this week I saw a twitter post about how much of the economy and academy assumes that there is a stay at home person — to cook, clean, answer the phone, raise the children, stay home for long drop of appliance and service windows. Even doctors offices, pharmacies, government offices, etc. are all only open during working hours, assuming someone is available to go in during that time. Everyone is burned out, but especially women. The person elected to do that in the household is usually a woman. And yet, here we are early in scripture with Paul saying that is not how things are supposed to be organized. No one person is supposed to do everything. In fact, no one person should be typecast for any type of gift. Paul is for a diverse and open church, and wants the church to be as varied as possible because that is how the world is designed. If the church does not reflect the world, it is not doing a good job. If your church is burned out, it’s probably time to look at who is involved and why. Have we celebrated our diversity of gifts? Have we gone out and done church in a diversity of ways? Have we embraced what church could be? There is a lot of opportunity in Pentecost to think about how glorious and open the church can really be.
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WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship
One: O God, how manifold are your works!
All: In wisdom you have made them all.
One: When you hide your face, your creatures are dismayed.
All: When you send forth your spirit, they are created.
One: May the glory of our God endure forever.
All: May my meditation be pleasing to God in whom I rejoice.
OR
One: God speaks in many ways to be revealed to all creation.
All: We thank God for coming among us in grace.
One: In nature, in words, in deeds God desires to be made known.
All: We will attend to God’s revelation and know God better.
One: God desires to be reflected in us and through us.
All: We will be open to God’s Spirit so that God is revealed in us.
Hymns and Songs
O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing
UMH: 57/58/59
H82: 493
PH: 466
GTG: 610
AAHH: 184
NNBH: 23
NCH: 42
CH: 5
LBW: 559
ELW: 886
W&P: 96
AMEC: 1/2
Renew: 12
How Great Thou Art
UMH: 77
PH: 467
GTG: 625
AAHH: 148
NNBH: 43
NCH: 35
CH: 33
LBW: 532
ELW: 856
W&P: 51
AMEC: 68
Renew: 250
God of Many Names
UMH: 105
CH: 13
W&P: 58
STLT: 198
Many Gifts, One Spirit
UMH: 114
NCH: 177
Surely the Presence of the Lord
UMH: 328
NNBH: 129
CH: 263
W&P: 131
CCB: 1
Renew: 167
Holy Spirit, Truth Divine
UMH: 465
PH: 321
NCH: 63
CH: 241
LBW: 257
ELW: 398
Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song
UMH: 544
H82: 513
PH: 314
GTG: 285
NCH: 270
CH: 245
ELW: 403
W&P: 327
Filled with the Spirit’s Power
UMH: 537
NCH: 266
LBW: 160
W&P: 331
Wind Who Makes All Winds That Blow
UMH: 538
PH: 131
NCH: 271
CH: 236
W&P: 333
Spirit of the Living God
UMH: 393
PH: 322
GTG: 288
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 133
NCH: 283
CH: 259
W&P: 492
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
Kum Ba Yah
CCB: 69
Humble Yourself in the Sight of the Lord
CCB: 72
Renew: 188
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: Presbyterian Hymnal
GTG: Glory to God, The Presbyterian Hymnal
AAHH: 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 for the Day/Collect
O God who speaks that all may know you:
Grant us the grace to share the good news of Jesus
so that others can know of your grace;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you come and speak to us so that we can know you. You are gracious and loving as you reach out in love to your creation. Help us to speak and act in gracious ways so that others may know you better. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially when we use harsh and hateful words in the name of God.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You are love and you sent Jesus to show us that you are a God who forgives and loves all creation. Yet we use you to spread words of hate and exclusion. We use our religion to lift ourselves up over others and to push others away. We have failed to be faithful disciples of Jesus and we have misrepresented you. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we may proclaim in words and deeds your gracious love for all your children. Amen.
One: God is gracious and forgiving. Receive God’s grace and share it with others so that they, too, may know God’s redeeming presence.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God who burns in a bush that isn’t consumed and who glows within the hearts of your children.
(The following paragraph may be used if a separate prayer of confession has not been used.)
We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. You are love and you sent Jesus to show us that you are a God who forgives and loves all creation. Yet we use you to spread words of hate and exclusion. We use our religion to lift ourselves up over others and to push others away. We have failed to be faithful disciples of Jesus and we have misrepresented you. Forgive us and renew your Spirit within us that we may proclaim in words and deeds your gracious love for all your children.
We give you thanks for revealing yourself to us through nature, scripture, your Spirit, and your Son. We thank you that you desire to be with and within your creation. We thank you for the opportunity to know you and to share your presence with others.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for the redemption of your creation and all your children. We pray for those who have found the harsh words of those who say they are speaking in your name to be a barrier to knowing you. We pray for those who have been deprived on the good things of creation and find it difficult to see your revealed in all you created. We pray for your Church that it might be true to your revelation in Jesus the Christ and to proclaim your redeeming love for all the world.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray saying:
Our Father....Amen.
(Or if the Our Father is not used at this point in the service.)
All this we ask in the name of the Blessed and Holy Trinity. Amen.
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CHILDREN'S SERMONFirst Fruits Basket Upset
by Chris Keating
Acts 2:1-21
We come to Pentecost Sunday facing a couple of challenges. One challenge is the arrival of summer and the Memorial Day weekend, while another is simply the consequences of the pandemic on church attendance. We are unlikely, except in certain circumstances, to experience the sort of unifying “all together in one place” experience of the Apostles. That may make this already wild and confusing story even more difficult to explain.
Acts 2 offers an important connection to Judaism. Given the dramatic rise in antisemitism, Pentecost offers a chance to talk about the way Christians adopted Jewish traditions. Shavuot, also known as the Festival of Weeks, occurs 50 days after Passover (hence the Greek term, “Pentecost.”). It is a celebration of the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and also the offering of the first fruits of the harvest. In ancient times, Jewish people would offer their first fruits at the Temple as a gesture of gratitude to God. Today, one source says that Shavuot is often celebrated by eating dairy products like cheesecakes and blintzes, which certainly sounds more exotic than Presbyterian donuts!
My first thought for this children’s sermon was to play a round or two of the old game “Fruit Basket Upset.” (In this case first fruits basket). That is a game where the leader assigns each child to be one of three different fruits (e.g., apple, pear, cherries, etc.). When everyone sits down the leader calls “cherries” and then all the cherries and the leader need to find a place to sit down. Obviously, whoever does not land a seat gets to call the next round. That’s a pretty active game that might not be best suited for worship. However, it does offer one way of introducing the theme of a diversity of fruit (gifts) that God gives us and for which we are thankful on Pentecost.
Another option would be to woo them with food! Consider sharing some cheese sticks and fruit with the children, leading them in a prayer of thanks for all God has given to us. As you share, talk about how the Apostles were together in one room or house. Ask them to help you make up a new language. What imaginary word could you come up with for cheese or apples? Imagine several silly sentences and practice them together. Make these silly (though appropriate).
Now, ask the children to imagine what might happen if there were guests in worship who did not speak English or our imaginary language. How would we welcome them? How could we help them feel part of the church? (If you have older children, you might ask them if their parents understand all the Generation Z slang!) What happens if everyone is speaking in different languages at the same time?
Outside in Jerusalem, Luke tells us that the streets were crowded with all sorts of people visiting for the holidays. There were people from all over the world, and many of them could not speak to each other. But God sent the Spirit to the church so that the church could share the story of Jesus with different people — even those who speak slang we don’t understand, or imaginary words we just made up. The Spirit gave the church power to do something incredible — to make sure even in a divided city, with people from all sorts of places, everyone could hear the good news. (And maybe enjoy some cheese, too!)
Close with this prayer: “Dear Lord, we thank you that on Pentecost you gave us the Holy Spirit. Help us to know that you give us gifts of love and encourage us to use these gifts to bring you glory.” Amen.
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The Immediate Word, May 28, 2023 issue.
Copyright 2023 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.
