Are We There Yet?
Children's sermon
Illustration
Preaching
Sermon
Worship
For May 23, 2021:
Are We There Yet?
by Mary Austin
Acts 2:1-21, John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15, Romans 8:22-27
God’s people never get good at waiting.
Our Christian calendar has two whole seasons dedicated to preparation, aka waiting, and we never quite mange to do it gracefully. Apparently, our ancestors in faith had the same problem. “Are we there yet?” the early disciples keep asking Jesus, when he promises them the gift of the Holy Spirit. We don’t typically think of the Easter season as a period of waiting, and yet the early disciples spend fifty days waiting for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Nothing can happen until it arrives.
After Jesus is raised from the dead, he tells his followers “not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father.” A baptism with the Holy Spirit is coming. Jesus answers that they can’t know the time, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
In a similar way, the end (we hope…) of Covid has moved us into a different season of waiting. Post-vaccine for many, we are wondering what life will be like now. Much like the early disciples, we are looking around for a version of “normal” that is never coming back. As Pentecost comes, we are waiting for the future to make itself known.
In the News
We have waited a long time for the hopeful news we’re getting these days, as more people are vaccinated, and public spaces open up again. Some people are thoroughly done with waiting, and are flinging off their masks and embracing their former activities. We have been waiting for over a year to see each other’s faces, and the CDC's new guidance about mask wearing prompted some states and businesses to immediately lift their mask requirements. "If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said at a White House briefing about masks. Other places are still insisting on masks, leaving us in a limbo of conflicting rules.
Night owls and people with third shift jobs are rejoicing that, after a long hiatus, the New York City subway has returned to 24-hour service. For the city, “the restoration of full subway service represents a major milestone on the city’s long road back from a public health crisis that made New York a global epicenter of the outbreak. It is one of the few cities in the world that usually never closes its subway, long a source of pride for New Yorkers.” Said Sarah Feinberg, interim subway director, “We’re thrilled to have people come back 24-7. We’re a 24-7 city, we want to be a 24-7 system. We always have been except for the last year, so it’s wonderful to be able to bring back ridership to 24 hours a day.”
But what about families with unvaccinated children, or people with medical reasons for not getting vaccinated? Not everyone is so jubilant. Vaccinated parents hesitate to get the vaccine for their teenagers. Even after their own shots, they are “hesitant about getting their children the shot. They were not skeptical about all vaccines; their children tended to be up to date with recommended well-child vaccines. Their overall fear was related to the newness of the vaccine and unknown future outcomes.” They’re willing to keep waiting.
Schools are open, and yet people are hesitant about returning. Schools will have to wait for students like Pauline Rojas, “who has not returned, and has little interest in doing so. During the coronavirus pandemic, she started working 20 to 40 hours per week at Raising Cane’s, a fast-food restaurant, and has used the money to help pay her family’s internet bill, buy clothes and save for a car. Ms. Rojas, 18, has no doubt that a year of online school, squeezed between work shifts that end at midnight, has affected her learning. Still, she has embraced her new role as a breadwinner, sharing responsibilities with her mother who works at a hardware store.” Ms. Rojas is not alone, as “the percentage of students learning fully remotely is much greater: more than a third of fourth and eighth graders, and an even larger group of high school students. A majority of Black, Hispanic and Asian-American students remain out of school.” Families have come to rely on students for child care, and students have found work to support their families. Students have new rhythms to life, and are not racing to get back to school.
Other people are waiting for more reassuring news about Covid before they return to their former habits. And some plan to make mask wearing a permanent way of life. Like a man named Joe Glickman, who plans to keep masking, they’re not waiting for anything. “For people like Mr. Glickman, a combination of anxiety, murky information about new virus variants and the emergence of an obdurate and sizable faction of vaccine holdouts means mask-free life is on hold — possibly forever. “I have no problem being one of the only people,” said Mr. Glickman, a professional photographer and musician from Albany, NY.” Mr. Glickman thinks other people will join him, whether out of uncertainty, or to ward off other disease like the flu or colds. There are other reasons for continuing to wear masks, too. “For a number of so-called perma-maskers, the decision is informed by trauma: They endured the coronavirus or witnessed loved ones die, and they say taking off their mask makes them feel terrifyingly vulnerable.”
Our waiting for the end of Covid isn’t over yet.
In the Scriptures
The sound of the Holy Spirit must be more like a tornado than a spring wind. It’s enough to attract the attention of the people in Jerusalem, who come rushing to see what’s going on. The disciples rush out of the room where they’re gathered, and somehow find themselves outside, in the street, talking away so that everyone can hear. The listeners are “bewildered” at first. None of this makes any sense.
Amusingly, the scoffers suggest that the disciples are drunk — filled with spirits, when it’s really the Spirit.
Dr. Willie James Jennings, in his commentary on Acts, traces a connection between Pentecost and the days of creation. Both the Pentecost miracle and the creation of the world happen through the creative energy of God. Jennings says, “This is the beginning of a community broken open by the sheer act of God, and we are yet to comprehend the extent to which God acts and is acting to break us open. Indeed it will be a community created by the Spirit precisely in the breaking open. Now Israel, the new Israel, is turned out by the Spirit. Only the gracious work of God in creation matches this moment of prevenient grace. This is God’s doing: no one helped, no one assisted, and everyone only tarried. The waiting in prayer has not come to an end. It has only moved forward into an action fully of God.”
The followers of Jesus, broken apart by his death, and blown into confusion by his resurrection, are now broken open to God’s power in the world. Peter, just fifty days past denying Jesus, is transformed into an orator who defends the disciples and shares the legacy of Jesus. He gives this first version of the stump speech he will give over and over as the community of faith forms itself. Transformation is in the air.
In the Sermon
We know that Pentecost comes fifty days after Easter — or, really, after Passover. The ancient Jewish festivals give us the calendar for Jesus’ death, resurrection and the arrival of the Holy Spirit for the disciples. Still, we don’t observe the Easter season as a time of waiting in the way that we could. Our joyful celebration obscures the fact that this is also a season of preparation for the early disciples. They are in a curious limbo between the promise of the Holy Spirit (John 17) and her arrival.
Perhaps we’re picturing the disciples wrong, in this time. What if they’re spending this time waiting faithfully? The sermon might look at how we prepare for something as unruly as the Holy Spirit. How do we wait attentively for a gift that comes and goes as it pleases? Could this be a third season of preparation in our faith calendars?
Or, the sermon might look at how we take in something as world changing as Pentecost. The end of Covid and the return to church in person give us a similar opportunity. The world of church in the pews has been shaken open, and we have a chance to speak to people so they hear in their own languages — in our case, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more. “The ancient challenge,” says Dr. Willie James Jennings, “is a God who is way ahead of us and is calling us to catch up.” Where should we be catching up with God and thinking about church in new ways?
Or, the sermon might look at the gift of speaking and hearing in other languages. This isn’t a party trick — the Spirit makes language accessible for a reason. This is the way the followers of Jesus will translate their experience for people who weren’t there for the original Jesus story. The Spirit is acting with purpose, giving them a way to move across cultures and languages to reach people of all kinds. This gift has a challenge embedded in it. The sermon might look at where God is challenging us to reach across a divide, especially after the divisions of Covid.
The wild, uncontainable Holy Spirit came to the early believers after a time of preparation and we can trust that the same Spirit is still coming, after our own seasons of waiting.
SECOND THOUGHTS
Can These Bones Live? Should These Bones Live?
by Pastor Katy Stenta
Ezekiel 37:1-14
God asks “Mortal, can these bones live?” This is the question that we are asking in the middle of a pandemic that has reached the entirety of the earth. What can be revived? And when it is revived will it be the same? The emphasis on the finitude of Ezekiel in this passage strikes hard this year — mortal, finite being, withering one, person who will die — tell me can these bones live? Ezekiel is sharp enough not to say “I don’t know” but instead to proclaim the truth of the situation “O Lord God, you know.” God knows what will be brought back to life.
God also knows that things will not be restored without being changed. Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy to the bones, and through that God will “put breath in you." Ruah is the Hebrew word for breath, which is also the word for spirit. It is the word for the breath and spirit that God breathed into Adam and Eve in Genesis 6:17. God will give us God’s own breath and spirit and through that power we will be rebuilt sinew by sinew, flesh by flesh. Things shall be changed. We will come back as ourselves, but different. In India, where the pandemic rages, Arundhati Roy unfolds how this pandemic is a portal a gateway between the old world and the new.
“Mortal, can these bones live?” Should these bones live? Do we want to flesh out the world the way it was before? Can the stunning gaps between rich and poor continue? Do we really want to go back to where the racial wealth gap is even more pronounced? In the United States the crisis in all kinds of childcare is acute — especially for women.
In a time that could be a portal, we could enflesh the new world with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Tackling wealth inequities, rethinking school and childcare, and even deciding to do something as simple and basic as provide free school meals not just next year, but always. Feed my sheep, as Jesus is known to say. There is also a whole new generation of entrepreneurs starting new businesses and reimagining old ones. There is also the possibility of a new labor movement, as many are unable or unwilling to return to high risk, low paying jobs in the midst of a pandemic. This is especially hitting the restaurant and fast food sector hard.
Can these bones live? Only God knows — because some things should be brought back and some should be allowed to decompose into dust. We do not want zombies where there are sinews and flesh “but no breath in them.” Those things that can live, those things that God knows should live, God will bring back, and they will be brought back not as creaky shadows of what they used to be, but renewed and invigorated pieces of God’s creation.
Because God promises that when Ezekiel prophesies over the bones, they will become “God-breathed.” Another meaning of ruah is inspiration. These creatures will not only be recreated, but also re-inspired. This is because God is at the heart of this renewal. It will be a renewal that is started, fleshed out and maintained by God. It will be transformative, so much so that “we shall know that God is the Lord.” We will not be able to help but know, for our very essence will become imbued with the breath and life of God.
And even when “our hope is cut off completely” God promises that they will “put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil.” We are withering, but God can replant us. What should survive and thrive in this new era we are entering? Where do you see God’s Holy Spirit moving and breathing life today?
Rest assured, we are called to prophesy over those places today and every day. Let us find those bones and work on them together.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:
Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 104:24-34, 35b, Acts 2:1-21
The Ezekiel lesson is dramatic and even ghastly. It is the basis for “Dem Dry Bones,” by James Weldon Johnson, who also wrote “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.”
Ezekiel’s word is that there will not just be renewal, but resurrection, even though the valley the prophet sees is filled with bones. The Lord commands the prophet to prophesy to the bones. Then, with the breath of the Holy Spirit, the bones are reassembled, rattling together and joined with sinews and flesh. They are not alive until Ezekiel prophesies to the breath and it comes into the bones; they stand on their feet — a vast multitude.
In the next paragraph, starting at verse 11, the Lord promises the now standing, living bones, that the graves where their ancestors’ bones lie will be opened and the dead will come back to life and they will live in peace after being returned to the land of Israel.
This scene is eerily parallel to at least two others, moments when societies were threatened with extinction, who sought deliverance, and hope in the belief that their dead ancestors would come back to life.
At Masada, the mesa top fortress where Jews fled during the First Jewish-Roman War, a total of more than 900 believers committed suicide rather than be subjected to Roman rule. Archaeologists found scroll fragments of Deuteronomy 33-34, Moses’ blessing to the tribes of Israel and the account of his death — and Ezekiel 35-38, promises of cleansing, unity and deliverance to the people. The scrolls were hidden in a pit dug into the floor of a small room in the synagogue. Certainly they drew hope from these texts as they realized their situation was hopeless.
An eerily similar event happened in 1890 among Lakota tribe members near Wounded Knee, South Dakota. The tribes were facing starvation after a poor harvest due to drought and a 50% reduction of their rations by the Federal government. Wovoka, an influential member of the Paiute tribe, based in what is the State of Nevada today, began a renewal movement among Native Americans of all tribes, centered on what became known as The Ghost Dance.
Part of his prophecy, as recorded in Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, reads:
All Indians must dance, everywhere, keep on dancing. Pretty soon in next spring Great Spirit come. He bring back all game of every kind. The game be thick everywhere. All dead Indians come back and live again. (Underline mine.)
Both societies were facing extermination and found hope in the prophecy that their dead will return to life.
Alas, the renewal movement in South Dakota in 1890 caused fear and anxiety among the Federal troops stationed there. This fear, along with many long-standing conflicts and miscommunication led to the massacre 150 Lakota, and 51 more wounded.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
They can’t be drunk; it’s too early!
“Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.” Acts 2:15. Does alcohol only become intoxicating at noon? The notion that it’s too early for anyone to be drunk is laughable, especially to anyone who attended college in the United States in the last 50 years! Still, do not leave this image too quickly, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, which isn’t all that far from being filled with spirits.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Amazed and perplexed
More than any of the other gospel writers, Luke describes crowds as being confused, perplexed, puzzled and frightened.
When the angels appeared to the shepherds, the shepherds were terrified. After the shepherds left the manger-side, Luke reports that everyone who heard what the shepherds had said about what the angels had said was amazed. In Luke 4 when Jesus read from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, it says everyone who heard was astonished at Jesus’ gracious words. After Jesus healed a paralyzed man “amazement seized everyone who saw this…and they were filled with awe.” When Jesus calmed the sea his disciples were afraid and amazed. Peter was amazed at what he saw when he looked into the tomb. In Luke’s gospel Jesus does amazing, awe-inspiring things from the moment he is born until after his death. In Acts it’s the Holy Spirit that does the amazing. Do not forget that wonder is the beginning of faith.
* * *
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
The Lord made a terrifying…bathtub toy!
Probably the term we find in Psalm 104:26 as Leviathan is based on a Ugaritic name Lôtān, a sea monster servant of the sea god Yammu. Yammu was defeated by Hadad in Ugaritic mythology. This coiled, fearsome monster in the sea was formed by God the Creator, “to sport” in the sea. This was probably a huge insult to Ugaritics who heard Psalm 104. Among the “innumerable” creatures in the sea, only the Leviathan is named, and it was created specifically to be played with by the awesome Creator of Heaven and Earth. Preacher, if there might be Ugaritics in your congregation this morning, tread carefully.
* * * * * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:
Acts 2:1-21
Speaking in real estate tongues (Speaking and Being Understood)
For more than 40 years, my family and I lived in church owned parsonages, which was fine with us. But, when we retired a few years ago my wife and I found ourselves suddenly homeless. So, we bought a house.
First house. First Mortgage.
When it came time for the closing on the sale of the house, I explained to all those present — realtor, lender, seller, buyer, etc. — that, even though our hair was gray, we were novices in the practice of buying and selling houses and didn’t understand much of the jargon that was involved, so they were going to have to go slowly and be patient at explaining things to us.
They agreed to do so.
And then, of course, off they went talking, rapid fire, about things like price points and escrows, and insurance deck pages, and all kinds of things. At one point the bank loan officer looked at me and said, “Are you with me so far?”
I said, “Well, no. I’m not. I didn’t understand most of what you just said.”
He smiled, indulgently, and in his best effort to help me understand, said exactly the same things he had said the first time only slower and louder. Fortunately, another bank officer was present who volunteered to serve as interpreter and, within a few minutes, we were back on track and had the keys to our new house.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Together in one place (Being Together)
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus.
"These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold."
"Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?"
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Together (Being Together)
In 2012 Google ran a project known as Project Aristotle. It took several years and included interviews with hundreds of employees. They analyzed data about the people on more than 100 active teams at the company.
They looked at 180 teams from all over the company. Going into the study, they believed that the most important part of a team’s success was picking the very best people they could find to serve on the team. When they compiled the data, however, there was nothing showing that a mix of specific personality types or skills or backgrounds made any difference. The ‘who’ part of the equation didn’t seem to matter.
After all their work, they discovered what good managers have always known: In the best teams, members show sensitivity, and most importantly, listen to one another.
Matt Sakaguchi, a midlevel manager at Google, was keen to put Project Aristotle’s findings into practice. He took his team off-site to open up about his cancer diagnosis. Although initially silent, his colleagues then began sharing their own personal stories. At the heart of Sakaguchi’s strategy, and Google’s findings, is the concept of “psychological safety” — a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.
Google now describes psychological safety as the most important factor in building a successful team.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
In The Atrium (Being Together)
In 1986, shortly after he was forced out of Apple, Steve Jobs bought a small computer manufacturer named (drumroll) Pixar.
In 2000, he relocated the company to an abandoned Del Monte canning factory. The original plan called for three buildings, with separate offices for computer scientists, animators, and the Pixar executives. Jobs immediately scrapped it. Instead of three buildings, there was going to be a single vast space, with an atrium at its center.
But for Jobs, it was not just about creating a space: he needed to make people go there. The primary challenge for Pixar, as he saw it, was getting its different cultures to work together and collaborate.
Jobs saw separated offices as a design problem. He began with shifting the mailboxes to the atrium. He then moved the meeting rooms, the cafeteria, the coffee bar, and the gift shop to the center of the building.
Brad Bird, the director of “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille,” said, “The atrium initially might seem like a waste of space. But Steve realized that when people run into each other when they make eye contact, things happen.”
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Patiently in waiting (Waiting for the Holy Spirit)
After Easter, Jesus advised his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to arrive and anoint them with insight and power. So, they waited, according to tradition, 50 days until Pentecost. Fifty days. Nearly two months. Longer than Advent. Longer than Lent.
Waiting patiently, it seems, is a big part of what it means to be the People of God. Even God is not above waiting from time to time.
According to a traditional Hebrew story, Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him into his tent. There he washed the old man's feet and gave him food and drink.
The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So Abraham asked him, "Don't you worship God?"
The old traveler replied, "I worship fire only and reverence no other god."
When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out of his tent into the cold night air.
When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, "I forced him out because he did not worship you."
God answered, "I have suffered him these eighty years although he dishonors me. Could you not endure him one night?"
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Patiently in waiting 2.0 (Waiting for the Holy Spirit)
In 1924, Dallas Theological Seminary almost went bankrupt. On the day it was to foreclose at noon, Dr. Harry Ironside, the president, held a prayer meeting in his office. That day he prayed a prayer he had often prayed: “Lord, we know the cattle on a thousand hills are thine. [Psalm 50:10] Please sell some of them and give us the money.”
As he prayed with some staff and faculty, a tall Texas oilman walked into the receptionist’s office and told the secretary: “I just sold two carloads of cattle in Fort Worth. I’ve been trying to make a business deal go through and it won’t work, and I’ve been compelled to give this money to the seminary. I don’t know if you need this, but here’s the check.” The secretary burst into the room where the men were praying and said to Dr. Ironside, “Harry, God just sold the cattle!”
(From Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent by Ben Patterson Copyright © 1989 by Ben Patterson. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL.)
* * * * * *
WORSHIP
by George Reed
Call to Worship:
One: O God, how manifold are your works!
All: In wisdom you have made them all.
One: The earth is full of your creatures.
All: They all look to you to give them their food in due season;
One: Let us sing to the Lord as long as we live.
All: We will sing praise to my God while we have being.
OR
One: Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
All: Come and bring new life to us.
One: Come and renew what has lost its vitality.
All: Come and bring new things to life among us.
One: Come so that we may be join in your new life.
All: Come so that we can share your life with others.
Hymns and Songs:
All Creatures of Our God and King
UMH: 62
H82: 400
PH: 455
AAHH: 147
NNBH: 33
NCH: 17
CH: 22
LBW: 527
ELW: 835
W&P: 23
AMEC: 50
STLT: 203
Renew: 47
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
UMH: 75
H82: 377/378
PH: 220/221
NNBH: 36
NCH: 7
CH: 18
LBW: 245
ELW: 883
W&P: 661
AMEC: 73
STLT: 370
I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELW: 815
W&P: 248
Renew: 152
Sweet, Sweet Spirit
UMH: 334
AAHH: 326
NNBH: 127
NCH: 293
CH: 261
W&P: 134
AMEC: 196
CCB: 7
Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart
UMH: 500
PH: 326
AAHH: 312
NCH: 290
CH: 265
LBW: 486
ELW: 800
W&P: 132
AMEC: 189
Breathe on Me, Breath of God
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
Spirit of the Living God
UMH: 393
PH: 322
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 133
NCH: 283
CH: 259
W&P: 492
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song
UMH: 544
H82: 513
PH: 314
NCH: 270
CH: 245
ELW: 403
W&P: 327
Renew: 280
In Christ There Is No East or West
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439/440
AAHH: 398/399
NNBH: 299
NCH: 394/395
CH: 687
LBW: 259
ELW: 650
W&P: 600/603
AMEC: 557
The Church’s One Foundation
UMH: 545/546
H82: 525
PH: 442
AAHH: 337
NNBH: 297
NCH: 386
CH: 272
LBW: 269
ELW: 654
W&P: 544
AMEC: 519
Surely the Presence of the Lord
CCB: 1
Renew: 167
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
CCB: 78
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: 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 offers us life that is new and different:
Grant us the grace to expect the unexpected
as you come among us once more;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are the source of life. From you the comes new life in forms old and new. Help us to be open to all that you are offering us in this new time. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to wait on God’s Spirit to lead us.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. Even when we have the best of intentions, we tend to rush into action before we have taken the time to listen for the direction of the Spirit. We forget that our viewpoint is limited and there is much we do not yet know. Help us to wait upon you, O God, so that we may be your faithful people. Amen.
One: God desires good for all of us. Trust in God as you wait upon the Spirit so that all you do will be a blessing to all.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God, who brings life to this old and new.
(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. Even when we have the best of intentions, we tend to rush into action before we have taken the time to listen for the direction of the Spirit. We forget that our viewpoint is limited and there is much we do not yet know. Help us to wait upon you, O God, so that we may be your faithful people.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you gift us with your own life. You have blessed us in many ways and we are grateful. When we have thought that all was lost, you have come to us with new life. You have been at work within and among us even when we thought you were absent from us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your creation. We pray for those who think that all is lost and without hope. We pray for openness to all that you might be trying to bring to us that we are not aware of yet.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together 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 Starter
Waiting can be hard. We want something and we don’t want to have to wait for it. We want it now. But sometimes we need to wait. Sometimes we aren’t ready. Sometimes what we want isn’t ready. Sometimes we have to wait until we are big enough or old enough to do something. It isn’t fun to wait but we need to so we can be safe. Maybe we are hungry but we have to wait until the food is ready. Today we heard about the disciples having to wait for the Spirit. They probably didn’t want to wait but it was all worth it when the Spirit came!
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMON
The Strangest Day Ever!
by Chris Keating
Acts 2:1-21
From flames and rushing winds to tongues of fire and wide-eyed onlookers, Pentecost brims with vivid visuals and exciting narratives appealing to children. Avoid the temptation to smooth out the wrinkles or explain away the story’s outlandish features. Allow these features to speak for themselves in offering a remarkable vision of the Spirit’s movement.
Be sure to point out all the many ways your congregation is celebrating Pentecost. How many people are wearing something red? Are there red banners and paraments, or even descending doves or representations of flames? Children will also resonate with the understanding of Pentecost as the church’s birthday. Involve them in the celebration, providing party favors and plenty of cake!
Here’s a creative retelling of the story that tries to evoke a sense of curiosity and wonder among children. Get creative — bring in a fan, include members who speak other languages, and so on — and allow the Spirit to move through the congregation.
By way of explanation, share with the children that Pentecost is the 50th day following Easter, and that it originated from the Jewish festival of Weeks (Shavuot). Shavuot is an agricultural festival marking the harvest of wheat, and the festival would have been a time of many celebrations in Jerusalem.
Ask the children to imagine all the disciples gathered in a house when all of a sudden, things became very strange. Very, very strange! In fact, those who were there thought it was perhaps the strangest day they had ever experienced! One moment they were huddled together in a house, scared because of all the things that had happened after Jesus had been crucified and raised. Because of this, they had shut the windows, closed the curtains and locked the doors. But then…the strangest thing happened: the wind started blowing…and blowing…and blowing! It was loud and furious! Ask the children to wonder…
But then…if you can believe it…things got even more strange! All of a sudden they were all speaking in different languages. Two friends were talking…but suddenly one was talking in Spanish and the other was speaking Latin! Meanwhile, another person was speaking Greek while their friend was speaking Ethiopian! But the amazing thing was that everyone could understand each other. This was truly a strange day!
By now neighbors were beginning to wonder. “What is going on over there?” Someone even thought the disciples had been sipping too much wine! All of the strange things made people wonder — what would you wonder if you saw this?
That’s when Peter decided to speak up. Peter had remembered that Jesus had promised to send the Holy Spirit to the disciples. Jesus had told them the Spirit would come to bring them comfort and as a sign of his presence with the disciples. Suddenly, Peter was no longer afraid. He stood up and told the crowd that this was a sign of God’s love. The Spirit would help people imagine new ways of sharing that love so that all people can experience God’s promises for their lives. The Spirit would help all people — young and old — discover God’s promises. It turns out that was not so strange — it was just another way of experiencing the power and love of our God.
Close with a prayer celebrating the gift of the Spirit, and asking the Spirit to help us be alert for God’s presence even in our strangest of days!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 23, 2021 issue.
Copyright 2021 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.
- Are We There Yet? by Mary Austin — God’s people never get good at waiting. Our Christian calendar has two whole seasons dedicated to preparation, aka waiting, and we never quite mange to do it gracefully.
- Second Thoughts: Can These Bones Live? Should These Bones Live? by Katy Stenta — The emphasis on the finitude of Ezekiel in this passage strikes hard this year — mortal, finite being, withering one, person who will die — tell me can these bones live.
- Sermon illustrations by Tom Willadsen and Dean Feldmeyer.
- Worship resources by George Reed.
- Children's sermon: The Strangest Day Ever! by Chris Keating.
Are We There Yet?by Mary Austin
Acts 2:1-21, John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15, Romans 8:22-27
God’s people never get good at waiting.
Our Christian calendar has two whole seasons dedicated to preparation, aka waiting, and we never quite mange to do it gracefully. Apparently, our ancestors in faith had the same problem. “Are we there yet?” the early disciples keep asking Jesus, when he promises them the gift of the Holy Spirit. We don’t typically think of the Easter season as a period of waiting, and yet the early disciples spend fifty days waiting for the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Nothing can happen until it arrives.
After Jesus is raised from the dead, he tells his followers “not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for the promise of the Father.” A baptism with the Holy Spirit is coming. Jesus answers that they can’t know the time, “but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”
In a similar way, the end (we hope…) of Covid has moved us into a different season of waiting. Post-vaccine for many, we are wondering what life will be like now. Much like the early disciples, we are looking around for a version of “normal” that is never coming back. As Pentecost comes, we are waiting for the future to make itself known.
In the News
We have waited a long time for the hopeful news we’re getting these days, as more people are vaccinated, and public spaces open up again. Some people are thoroughly done with waiting, and are flinging off their masks and embracing their former activities. We have been waiting for over a year to see each other’s faces, and the CDC's new guidance about mask wearing prompted some states and businesses to immediately lift their mask requirements. "If you are fully vaccinated, you can start doing the things that you had stopped doing because of the pandemic," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said at a White House briefing about masks. Other places are still insisting on masks, leaving us in a limbo of conflicting rules.
Night owls and people with third shift jobs are rejoicing that, after a long hiatus, the New York City subway has returned to 24-hour service. For the city, “the restoration of full subway service represents a major milestone on the city’s long road back from a public health crisis that made New York a global epicenter of the outbreak. It is one of the few cities in the world that usually never closes its subway, long a source of pride for New Yorkers.” Said Sarah Feinberg, interim subway director, “We’re thrilled to have people come back 24-7. We’re a 24-7 city, we want to be a 24-7 system. We always have been except for the last year, so it’s wonderful to be able to bring back ridership to 24 hours a day.”
But what about families with unvaccinated children, or people with medical reasons for not getting vaccinated? Not everyone is so jubilant. Vaccinated parents hesitate to get the vaccine for their teenagers. Even after their own shots, they are “hesitant about getting their children the shot. They were not skeptical about all vaccines; their children tended to be up to date with recommended well-child vaccines. Their overall fear was related to the newness of the vaccine and unknown future outcomes.” They’re willing to keep waiting.
Schools are open, and yet people are hesitant about returning. Schools will have to wait for students like Pauline Rojas, “who has not returned, and has little interest in doing so. During the coronavirus pandemic, she started working 20 to 40 hours per week at Raising Cane’s, a fast-food restaurant, and has used the money to help pay her family’s internet bill, buy clothes and save for a car. Ms. Rojas, 18, has no doubt that a year of online school, squeezed between work shifts that end at midnight, has affected her learning. Still, she has embraced her new role as a breadwinner, sharing responsibilities with her mother who works at a hardware store.” Ms. Rojas is not alone, as “the percentage of students learning fully remotely is much greater: more than a third of fourth and eighth graders, and an even larger group of high school students. A majority of Black, Hispanic and Asian-American students remain out of school.” Families have come to rely on students for child care, and students have found work to support their families. Students have new rhythms to life, and are not racing to get back to school.
Other people are waiting for more reassuring news about Covid before they return to their former habits. And some plan to make mask wearing a permanent way of life. Like a man named Joe Glickman, who plans to keep masking, they’re not waiting for anything. “For people like Mr. Glickman, a combination of anxiety, murky information about new virus variants and the emergence of an obdurate and sizable faction of vaccine holdouts means mask-free life is on hold — possibly forever. “I have no problem being one of the only people,” said Mr. Glickman, a professional photographer and musician from Albany, NY.” Mr. Glickman thinks other people will join him, whether out of uncertainty, or to ward off other disease like the flu or colds. There are other reasons for continuing to wear masks, too. “For a number of so-called perma-maskers, the decision is informed by trauma: They endured the coronavirus or witnessed loved ones die, and they say taking off their mask makes them feel terrifyingly vulnerable.”
Our waiting for the end of Covid isn’t over yet.
In the Scriptures
The sound of the Holy Spirit must be more like a tornado than a spring wind. It’s enough to attract the attention of the people in Jerusalem, who come rushing to see what’s going on. The disciples rush out of the room where they’re gathered, and somehow find themselves outside, in the street, talking away so that everyone can hear. The listeners are “bewildered” at first. None of this makes any sense.
Amusingly, the scoffers suggest that the disciples are drunk — filled with spirits, when it’s really the Spirit.
Dr. Willie James Jennings, in his commentary on Acts, traces a connection between Pentecost and the days of creation. Both the Pentecost miracle and the creation of the world happen through the creative energy of God. Jennings says, “This is the beginning of a community broken open by the sheer act of God, and we are yet to comprehend the extent to which God acts and is acting to break us open. Indeed it will be a community created by the Spirit precisely in the breaking open. Now Israel, the new Israel, is turned out by the Spirit. Only the gracious work of God in creation matches this moment of prevenient grace. This is God’s doing: no one helped, no one assisted, and everyone only tarried. The waiting in prayer has not come to an end. It has only moved forward into an action fully of God.”
The followers of Jesus, broken apart by his death, and blown into confusion by his resurrection, are now broken open to God’s power in the world. Peter, just fifty days past denying Jesus, is transformed into an orator who defends the disciples and shares the legacy of Jesus. He gives this first version of the stump speech he will give over and over as the community of faith forms itself. Transformation is in the air.
In the Sermon
We know that Pentecost comes fifty days after Easter — or, really, after Passover. The ancient Jewish festivals give us the calendar for Jesus’ death, resurrection and the arrival of the Holy Spirit for the disciples. Still, we don’t observe the Easter season as a time of waiting in the way that we could. Our joyful celebration obscures the fact that this is also a season of preparation for the early disciples. They are in a curious limbo between the promise of the Holy Spirit (John 17) and her arrival.
Perhaps we’re picturing the disciples wrong, in this time. What if they’re spending this time waiting faithfully? The sermon might look at how we prepare for something as unruly as the Holy Spirit. How do we wait attentively for a gift that comes and goes as it pleases? Could this be a third season of preparation in our faith calendars?
Or, the sermon might look at how we take in something as world changing as Pentecost. The end of Covid and the return to church in person give us a similar opportunity. The world of church in the pews has been shaken open, and we have a chance to speak to people so they hear in their own languages — in our case, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and more. “The ancient challenge,” says Dr. Willie James Jennings, “is a God who is way ahead of us and is calling us to catch up.” Where should we be catching up with God and thinking about church in new ways?
Or, the sermon might look at the gift of speaking and hearing in other languages. This isn’t a party trick — the Spirit makes language accessible for a reason. This is the way the followers of Jesus will translate their experience for people who weren’t there for the original Jesus story. The Spirit is acting with purpose, giving them a way to move across cultures and languages to reach people of all kinds. This gift has a challenge embedded in it. The sermon might look at where God is challenging us to reach across a divide, especially after the divisions of Covid.
The wild, uncontainable Holy Spirit came to the early believers after a time of preparation and we can trust that the same Spirit is still coming, after our own seasons of waiting.
SECOND THOUGHTSCan These Bones Live? Should These Bones Live?
by Pastor Katy Stenta
Ezekiel 37:1-14
God asks “Mortal, can these bones live?” This is the question that we are asking in the middle of a pandemic that has reached the entirety of the earth. What can be revived? And when it is revived will it be the same? The emphasis on the finitude of Ezekiel in this passage strikes hard this year — mortal, finite being, withering one, person who will die — tell me can these bones live? Ezekiel is sharp enough not to say “I don’t know” but instead to proclaim the truth of the situation “O Lord God, you know.” God knows what will be brought back to life.
God also knows that things will not be restored without being changed. Ezekiel is commanded to prophesy to the bones, and through that God will “put breath in you." Ruah is the Hebrew word for breath, which is also the word for spirit. It is the word for the breath and spirit that God breathed into Adam and Eve in Genesis 6:17. God will give us God’s own breath and spirit and through that power we will be rebuilt sinew by sinew, flesh by flesh. Things shall be changed. We will come back as ourselves, but different. In India, where the pandemic rages, Arundhati Roy unfolds how this pandemic is a portal a gateway between the old world and the new.
“Mortal, can these bones live?” Should these bones live? Do we want to flesh out the world the way it was before? Can the stunning gaps between rich and poor continue? Do we really want to go back to where the racial wealth gap is even more pronounced? In the United States the crisis in all kinds of childcare is acute — especially for women.
In a time that could be a portal, we could enflesh the new world with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Tackling wealth inequities, rethinking school and childcare, and even deciding to do something as simple and basic as provide free school meals not just next year, but always. Feed my sheep, as Jesus is known to say. There is also a whole new generation of entrepreneurs starting new businesses and reimagining old ones. There is also the possibility of a new labor movement, as many are unable or unwilling to return to high risk, low paying jobs in the midst of a pandemic. This is especially hitting the restaurant and fast food sector hard.
Can these bones live? Only God knows — because some things should be brought back and some should be allowed to decompose into dust. We do not want zombies where there are sinews and flesh “but no breath in them.” Those things that can live, those things that God knows should live, God will bring back, and they will be brought back not as creaky shadows of what they used to be, but renewed and invigorated pieces of God’s creation.
Because God promises that when Ezekiel prophesies over the bones, they will become “God-breathed.” Another meaning of ruah is inspiration. These creatures will not only be recreated, but also re-inspired. This is because God is at the heart of this renewal. It will be a renewal that is started, fleshed out and maintained by God. It will be transformative, so much so that “we shall know that God is the Lord.” We will not be able to help but know, for our very essence will become imbued with the breath and life of God.
And even when “our hope is cut off completely” God promises that they will “put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil.” We are withering, but God can replant us. What should survive and thrive in this new era we are entering? Where do you see God’s Holy Spirit moving and breathing life today?
Rest assured, we are called to prophesy over those places today and every day. Let us find those bones and work on them together.
ILLUSTRATIONS
From team member Tom Willadsen:Ezekiel 37:1-14, Psalm 104:24-34, 35b, Acts 2:1-21
The Ezekiel lesson is dramatic and even ghastly. It is the basis for “Dem Dry Bones,” by James Weldon Johnson, who also wrote “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing.”
Ezekiel’s word is that there will not just be renewal, but resurrection, even though the valley the prophet sees is filled with bones. The Lord commands the prophet to prophesy to the bones. Then, with the breath of the Holy Spirit, the bones are reassembled, rattling together and joined with sinews and flesh. They are not alive until Ezekiel prophesies to the breath and it comes into the bones; they stand on their feet — a vast multitude.
In the next paragraph, starting at verse 11, the Lord promises the now standing, living bones, that the graves where their ancestors’ bones lie will be opened and the dead will come back to life and they will live in peace after being returned to the land of Israel.
This scene is eerily parallel to at least two others, moments when societies were threatened with extinction, who sought deliverance, and hope in the belief that their dead ancestors would come back to life.
At Masada, the mesa top fortress where Jews fled during the First Jewish-Roman War, a total of more than 900 believers committed suicide rather than be subjected to Roman rule. Archaeologists found scroll fragments of Deuteronomy 33-34, Moses’ blessing to the tribes of Israel and the account of his death — and Ezekiel 35-38, promises of cleansing, unity and deliverance to the people. The scrolls were hidden in a pit dug into the floor of a small room in the synagogue. Certainly they drew hope from these texts as they realized their situation was hopeless.
An eerily similar event happened in 1890 among Lakota tribe members near Wounded Knee, South Dakota. The tribes were facing starvation after a poor harvest due to drought and a 50% reduction of their rations by the Federal government. Wovoka, an influential member of the Paiute tribe, based in what is the State of Nevada today, began a renewal movement among Native Americans of all tribes, centered on what became known as The Ghost Dance.
Part of his prophecy, as recorded in Dee Brown’s Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, reads:
All Indians must dance, everywhere, keep on dancing. Pretty soon in next spring Great Spirit come. He bring back all game of every kind. The game be thick everywhere. All dead Indians come back and live again. (Underline mine.)
Both societies were facing extermination and found hope in the prophecy that their dead will return to life.
Alas, the renewal movement in South Dakota in 1890 caused fear and anxiety among the Federal troops stationed there. This fear, along with many long-standing conflicts and miscommunication led to the massacre 150 Lakota, and 51 more wounded.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
They can’t be drunk; it’s too early!
“Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.” Acts 2:15. Does alcohol only become intoxicating at noon? The notion that it’s too early for anyone to be drunk is laughable, especially to anyone who attended college in the United States in the last 50 years! Still, do not leave this image too quickly, the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit, which isn’t all that far from being filled with spirits.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Amazed and perplexed
More than any of the other gospel writers, Luke describes crowds as being confused, perplexed, puzzled and frightened.
When the angels appeared to the shepherds, the shepherds were terrified. After the shepherds left the manger-side, Luke reports that everyone who heard what the shepherds had said about what the angels had said was amazed. In Luke 4 when Jesus read from the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah, it says everyone who heard was astonished at Jesus’ gracious words. After Jesus healed a paralyzed man “amazement seized everyone who saw this…and they were filled with awe.” When Jesus calmed the sea his disciples were afraid and amazed. Peter was amazed at what he saw when he looked into the tomb. In Luke’s gospel Jesus does amazing, awe-inspiring things from the moment he is born until after his death. In Acts it’s the Holy Spirit that does the amazing. Do not forget that wonder is the beginning of faith.
* * *
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
The Lord made a terrifying…bathtub toy!
Probably the term we find in Psalm 104:26 as Leviathan is based on a Ugaritic name Lôtān, a sea monster servant of the sea god Yammu. Yammu was defeated by Hadad in Ugaritic mythology. This coiled, fearsome monster in the sea was formed by God the Creator, “to sport” in the sea. This was probably a huge insult to Ugaritics who heard Psalm 104. Among the “innumerable” creatures in the sea, only the Leviathan is named, and it was created specifically to be played with by the awesome Creator of Heaven and Earth. Preacher, if there might be Ugaritics in your congregation this morning, tread carefully.
* * * * * *
From team member Dean Feldmeyer:Acts 2:1-21
Speaking in real estate tongues (Speaking and Being Understood)
For more than 40 years, my family and I lived in church owned parsonages, which was fine with us. But, when we retired a few years ago my wife and I found ourselves suddenly homeless. So, we bought a house.
First house. First Mortgage.
When it came time for the closing on the sale of the house, I explained to all those present — realtor, lender, seller, buyer, etc. — that, even though our hair was gray, we were novices in the practice of buying and selling houses and didn’t understand much of the jargon that was involved, so they were going to have to go slowly and be patient at explaining things to us.
They agreed to do so.
And then, of course, off they went talking, rapid fire, about things like price points and escrows, and insurance deck pages, and all kinds of things. At one point the bank loan officer looked at me and said, “Are you with me so far?”
I said, “Well, no. I’m not. I didn’t understand most of what you just said.”
He smiled, indulgently, and in his best effort to help me understand, said exactly the same things he had said the first time only slower and louder. Fortunately, another bank officer was present who volunteered to serve as interpreter and, within a few minutes, we were back on track and had the keys to our new house.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Together in one place (Being Together)
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus.
"These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold."
"Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?"
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Together (Being Together)
In 2012 Google ran a project known as Project Aristotle. It took several years and included interviews with hundreds of employees. They analyzed data about the people on more than 100 active teams at the company.
They looked at 180 teams from all over the company. Going into the study, they believed that the most important part of a team’s success was picking the very best people they could find to serve on the team. When they compiled the data, however, there was nothing showing that a mix of specific personality types or skills or backgrounds made any difference. The ‘who’ part of the equation didn’t seem to matter.
After all their work, they discovered what good managers have always known: In the best teams, members show sensitivity, and most importantly, listen to one another.
Matt Sakaguchi, a midlevel manager at Google, was keen to put Project Aristotle’s findings into practice. He took his team off-site to open up about his cancer diagnosis. Although initially silent, his colleagues then began sharing their own personal stories. At the heart of Sakaguchi’s strategy, and Google’s findings, is the concept of “psychological safety” — a shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking.
Google now describes psychological safety as the most important factor in building a successful team.
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
In The Atrium (Being Together)
In 1986, shortly after he was forced out of Apple, Steve Jobs bought a small computer manufacturer named (drumroll) Pixar.
In 2000, he relocated the company to an abandoned Del Monte canning factory. The original plan called for three buildings, with separate offices for computer scientists, animators, and the Pixar executives. Jobs immediately scrapped it. Instead of three buildings, there was going to be a single vast space, with an atrium at its center.
But for Jobs, it was not just about creating a space: he needed to make people go there. The primary challenge for Pixar, as he saw it, was getting its different cultures to work together and collaborate.
Jobs saw separated offices as a design problem. He began with shifting the mailboxes to the atrium. He then moved the meeting rooms, the cafeteria, the coffee bar, and the gift shop to the center of the building.
Brad Bird, the director of “The Incredibles” and “Ratatouille,” said, “The atrium initially might seem like a waste of space. But Steve realized that when people run into each other when they make eye contact, things happen.”
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Patiently in waiting (Waiting for the Holy Spirit)
After Easter, Jesus advised his disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to arrive and anoint them with insight and power. So, they waited, according to tradition, 50 days until Pentecost. Fifty days. Nearly two months. Longer than Advent. Longer than Lent.
Waiting patiently, it seems, is a big part of what it means to be the People of God. Even God is not above waiting from time to time.
According to a traditional Hebrew story, Abraham was sitting outside his tent one evening when he saw an old man, weary from age and journey, coming toward him. Abraham rushed out, greeted him, and then invited him into his tent. There he washed the old man's feet and gave him food and drink.
The old man immediately began eating without saying any prayer or blessing. So Abraham asked him, "Don't you worship God?"
The old traveler replied, "I worship fire only and reverence no other god."
When he heard this, Abraham became incensed, grabbed the old man by the shoulders, and threw him out of his tent into the cold night air.
When the old man had departed, God called to his friend Abraham and asked where the stranger was. Abraham replied, "I forced him out because he did not worship you."
God answered, "I have suffered him these eighty years although he dishonors me. Could you not endure him one night?"
* * *
Acts 2:1-21
Patiently in waiting 2.0 (Waiting for the Holy Spirit)
In 1924, Dallas Theological Seminary almost went bankrupt. On the day it was to foreclose at noon, Dr. Harry Ironside, the president, held a prayer meeting in his office. That day he prayed a prayer he had often prayed: “Lord, we know the cattle on a thousand hills are thine. [Psalm 50:10] Please sell some of them and give us the money.”
As he prayed with some staff and faculty, a tall Texas oilman walked into the receptionist’s office and told the secretary: “I just sold two carloads of cattle in Fort Worth. I’ve been trying to make a business deal go through and it won’t work, and I’ve been compelled to give this money to the seminary. I don’t know if you need this, but here’s the check.” The secretary burst into the room where the men were praying and said to Dr. Ironside, “Harry, God just sold the cattle!”
(From Waiting: Finding Hope When God Seems Silent by Ben Patterson Copyright © 1989 by Ben Patterson. Published by InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL.)
* * * * * *
WORSHIPby George Reed
Call to Worship:
One: O God, how manifold are your works!
All: In wisdom you have made them all.
One: The earth is full of your creatures.
All: They all look to you to give them their food in due season;
One: Let us sing to the Lord as long as we live.
All: We will sing praise to my God while we have being.
OR
One: Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
All: Come and bring new life to us.
One: Come and renew what has lost its vitality.
All: Come and bring new things to life among us.
One: Come so that we may be join in your new life.
All: Come so that we can share your life with others.
Hymns and Songs:
All Creatures of Our God and King
UMH: 62
H82: 400
PH: 455
AAHH: 147
NNBH: 33
NCH: 17
CH: 22
LBW: 527
ELW: 835
W&P: 23
AMEC: 50
STLT: 203
Renew: 47
All People That on Earth Do Dwell
UMH: 75
H82: 377/378
PH: 220/221
NNBH: 36
NCH: 7
CH: 18
LBW: 245
ELW: 883
W&P: 661
AMEC: 73
STLT: 370
I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light
UMH: 206
H82: 490
ELW: 815
W&P: 248
Renew: 152
Sweet, Sweet Spirit
UMH: 334
AAHH: 326
NNBH: 127
NCH: 293
CH: 261
W&P: 134
AMEC: 196
CCB: 7
Spirit of God, Descend Upon My Heart
UMH: 500
PH: 326
AAHH: 312
NCH: 290
CH: 265
LBW: 486
ELW: 800
W&P: 132
AMEC: 189
Breathe on Me, Breath of God
UMH: 420
H82: 508
PH: 316
AAHH: 317
NNBH: 126
NCH: 292
CH: 254
LBW: 488
W&P: 461
AMEC: 192
Spirit of the Living God
UMH: 393
PH: 322
AAHH: 320
NNBH: 133
NCH: 283
CH: 259
W&P: 492
CCB: 57
Renew: 90
Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song
UMH: 544
H82: 513
PH: 314
NCH: 270
CH: 245
ELW: 403
W&P: 327
Renew: 280
In Christ There Is No East or West
UMH: 548
H82: 529
PH: 439/440
AAHH: 398/399
NNBH: 299
NCH: 394/395
CH: 687
LBW: 259
ELW: 650
W&P: 600/603
AMEC: 557
The Church’s One Foundation
UMH: 545/546
H82: 525
PH: 442
AAHH: 337
NNBH: 297
NCH: 386
CH: 272
LBW: 269
ELW: 654
W&P: 544
AMEC: 519
Surely the Presence of the Lord
CCB: 1
Renew: 167
They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love
CCB: 78
Music Resources Key:
UMH: United Methodist Hymnal
H82: The Hymnal 1982
PH: 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 offers us life that is new and different:
Grant us the grace to expect the unexpected
as you come among us once more;
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
OR
We praise you, O God, because you are the source of life. From you the comes new life in forms old and new. Help us to be open to all that you are offering us in this new time. Amen.
Prayer of Confession
One: Let us confess to God and before one another our sins and especially our failure to wait on God’s Spirit to lead us.
All: We confess to you, O God, and before one another that we have sinned. Even when we have the best of intentions, we tend to rush into action before we have taken the time to listen for the direction of the Spirit. We forget that our viewpoint is limited and there is much we do not yet know. Help us to wait upon you, O God, so that we may be your faithful people. Amen.
One: God desires good for all of us. Trust in God as you wait upon the Spirit so that all you do will be a blessing to all.
Prayers of the People
Praise and glory to you, O God, who brings life to this old and new.
(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. Even when we have the best of intentions, we tend to rush into action before we have taken the time to listen for the direction of the Spirit. We forget that our viewpoint is limited and there is much we do not yet know. Help us to wait upon you, O God, so that we may be your faithful people.
We give you thanks for all the ways in which you gift us with your own life. You have blessed us in many ways and we are grateful. When we have thought that all was lost, you have come to us with new life. You have been at work within and among us even when we thought you were absent from us.
(Other thanksgivings may be offered.)
We pray for all your creation. We pray for those who think that all is lost and without hope. We pray for openness to all that you might be trying to bring to us that we are not aware of yet.
(Other intercessions may be offered.)
All these things we ask in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ who taught us to pray together 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 Starter
Waiting can be hard. We want something and we don’t want to have to wait for it. We want it now. But sometimes we need to wait. Sometimes we aren’t ready. Sometimes what we want isn’t ready. Sometimes we have to wait until we are big enough or old enough to do something. It isn’t fun to wait but we need to so we can be safe. Maybe we are hungry but we have to wait until the food is ready. Today we heard about the disciples having to wait for the Spirit. They probably didn’t want to wait but it was all worth it when the Spirit came!
* * * * * *
CHILDREN'S SERMONThe Strangest Day Ever!
by Chris Keating
Acts 2:1-21
From flames and rushing winds to tongues of fire and wide-eyed onlookers, Pentecost brims with vivid visuals and exciting narratives appealing to children. Avoid the temptation to smooth out the wrinkles or explain away the story’s outlandish features. Allow these features to speak for themselves in offering a remarkable vision of the Spirit’s movement.
Be sure to point out all the many ways your congregation is celebrating Pentecost. How many people are wearing something red? Are there red banners and paraments, or even descending doves or representations of flames? Children will also resonate with the understanding of Pentecost as the church’s birthday. Involve them in the celebration, providing party favors and plenty of cake!
Here’s a creative retelling of the story that tries to evoke a sense of curiosity and wonder among children. Get creative — bring in a fan, include members who speak other languages, and so on — and allow the Spirit to move through the congregation.
By way of explanation, share with the children that Pentecost is the 50th day following Easter, and that it originated from the Jewish festival of Weeks (Shavuot). Shavuot is an agricultural festival marking the harvest of wheat, and the festival would have been a time of many celebrations in Jerusalem.
Ask the children to imagine all the disciples gathered in a house when all of a sudden, things became very strange. Very, very strange! In fact, those who were there thought it was perhaps the strangest day they had ever experienced! One moment they were huddled together in a house, scared because of all the things that had happened after Jesus had been crucified and raised. Because of this, they had shut the windows, closed the curtains and locked the doors. But then…the strangest thing happened: the wind started blowing…and blowing…and blowing! It was loud and furious! Ask the children to wonder…
- I wonder if sound of the wind made them scared.
- I wonder what they were thinking: had something happened outside?
- I wonder if they began to pray?
But then…if you can believe it…things got even more strange! All of a sudden they were all speaking in different languages. Two friends were talking…but suddenly one was talking in Spanish and the other was speaking Latin! Meanwhile, another person was speaking Greek while their friend was speaking Ethiopian! But the amazing thing was that everyone could understand each other. This was truly a strange day!
By now neighbors were beginning to wonder. “What is going on over there?” Someone even thought the disciples had been sipping too much wine! All of the strange things made people wonder — what would you wonder if you saw this?
That’s when Peter decided to speak up. Peter had remembered that Jesus had promised to send the Holy Spirit to the disciples. Jesus had told them the Spirit would come to bring them comfort and as a sign of his presence with the disciples. Suddenly, Peter was no longer afraid. He stood up and told the crowd that this was a sign of God’s love. The Spirit would help people imagine new ways of sharing that love so that all people can experience God’s promises for their lives. The Spirit would help all people — young and old — discover God’s promises. It turns out that was not so strange — it was just another way of experiencing the power and love of our God.
Close with a prayer celebrating the gift of the Spirit, and asking the Spirit to help us be alert for God’s presence even in our strangest of days!
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The Immediate Word, May 23, 2021 issue.
Copyright 2021 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.
