Sermon given on Pentecost Sunday, May 20, 2018. What a powerful day to bring together the messages of Pentecost, John Wesley’s Aldersgate Experience, and the 50th anniversary of the merger of the Evangelical Brethern and the Methodist churches in 1968.
Reflection: The Church Begins: Pentecost Ignites the Apostles
Pentais Greek for the number five, and pentecostliterally means the 50thday. Originally this was 50 days after Passover in the Jewish tradition, but after Jesus’ Resurrection, which concluded during the Jewish Passover festival, the term pentecosthas developed its own significance as the birth of The Church.
Today, May 20, 2018, we celebrate Pentecost as the birth of The Church but more importantly the arrival of the Holy Spirit as God with us. The Apostles were still trying to sort out what they were to do after the crucifixion and the resurrection of their teacher Jesus Christ. There was no university program designed to equip them with the skills to take a peaceful, service-minded, loving idea and set up an organization to drive the movement forward. But as they sat in community, the Holy Spirit arrived:
Acts 2 1On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.
Can you even imagine what the experience must have been like? The closest thing we could even compare to that is a tremendous thunderstorm suddenly developing, but this happened without the meteorological event—and not outdoors but inside a closed building.
The record in Acts is not the first mention of the Holy Spirit. The first reference is in Genesis 1:1-2:
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
This event followed the Resurrection, 50 days later. Bob Deffinbaugh, a pastor from Texas describes the event:
The Day of Pentecost arrived when the small company of believers were gathered together in one place. It was then that the Holy Spirit came upon them in a powerful and dramatic way. The accompanying sound from heaven attracted a large crowd, many of whom were devoutly religious. A large number of them had come from distant lands to reside in Jerusalem (to be there when Messiah appeared?). [Accessed on May 17, 2018 at https://bible.org/seriespage/4-peters-sermon-pentecost-acts-214-36%5D
The event now known as Pentecost for Christians across the world and throughout all denominations marked the beginning of The Church as the Apostles began their work.
Deffinbaugh describes the gathering as a “small company of believers,” but that is a very relative term. In Wesley’s Study Bible, the commentary states: “They” probably refers to the 120. The “one place” may be the temple courts, due to the group’s size and the crowd’s reaction. (p.1324). That number refers to Acts 1:15 in which it states that Peter stood up among the believers (together the crowd numbered about 120) . . . The gathering was also in conjunction with the Jewish harvest festival during which the faithful practiced a covenant renewal.
How appropriate was the setting and the crowd for God to send the Holy Spirit in a highly visual manner, or as Deffinbaugh said, “a powerful and dramatic way”! The prophecies of the Old Testament and of Jesus were fulfilled by the anointing of these Apostles and the earliest disciples with the Holy Spirit. The ability for all to hear the words in their own language demonstrates the inclusiveness of God’s message. The Church began its work as each one of those Apostles and faithful stepped out to share God’s message of loving one another.
Today’s celebration is global. The work is global. The audience is global. We are just as important today as the very first disciples were on that fiftieth day after Jesus’ resurrection. We are The Church.
[Join in a time to talk with God.]
Reflection resumes: Pentecost: John Wesley’s heart strangely warmed
Pentecost is reflected in the COR’s stained glass window, but the real impact can be seen right here in this sanctuary. Our own stained glass story is “dramatic and powerful” and we can witness the effect of the Holy Spirit in our own history.
Each one of us knows how the Holy Spirit works in our own lives. We have met others who are filled with the Spirit as they serve others in love. We have felt moved to love someone in some manner that may have surprised even you. We have suddenly turned down a road we did not plan turning onto only to discover we were there to listen to someone in pain or to help someone with a flat tire or to spot a situation that needed immediate help. We know God works through us in ways we may not even suspect. This is the evidence of the Holy Spirit.
Maybe we have not experienced a life-altering event, or have a “heart strangely warmed” as John Wesley did. But God is present with us as the Holy Spirit, and it is alive when we serve one another in love. God’s work is mysteriously done in not so mysterious ways as when Christians actively live out their faith in their daily lives.
Pick any day of the week, month or year, and you can see God alive in this world. You can see it in your own homes, on the roads you drive, and at the businesses you visit. Sometimes it is easy to see; sometimes it is more hidden. At the same time, you can see so many places in which God is needed. God asks us to live our faith out loud. He asks us to respond to the cry of those in need. He asks us to take care of this world he created.
Pentecost, as an event, occurred on that fiftieth day after Jesus’ resurrection, but Pentecost occurs each time we experience empathy with another, when we feel moved to act as God would act, when we see through God’s eyes, when we hear with God’s ears, when we step into the sanctuary and feel calmed by his presence. God is with us all the time. He is triune—as creator, as Jesus Christ the human son, and as the Holy Spirit that resides within all who believe.
So, happy birthday to The Church that was born when the earliest believers were baptized by the Holy Spirit on that harvest festival day in Jerusalem. The Church grew from that point in time, that place in the world, to the Church it is today that wraps around this globe.
(Pause for the offering and hymn.)
Resuming the reflection:
Another birthday, so to speak, is included on this day, and that honors John Wesley’s epiphany when he was attending a study group on Aldersgate Street when “he felt his heart was strangely warmed.” This experience was on May 24, 1738, often referred to as the Aldersgate experience.
In an on-line article from UMC.org, Rev. Fred Day explains the experience:
. . . John Wesley was at a low point, having just returned from his disappointing missionary efforts at the colony of Georgia in the New World.
Wesley reluctantly attended a group meeting on the evening of May 24th on Aldersgate Street in London. As he heard a reading from Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans, he felt his “heart strangely warmed.”
Rev. Fred Day: “He writes in his journal, “I felt that God loved me.” I experienced that God loved me. It was no longer something that was in my head, but it’s something that I felt in my heart.”
I can remember a conversation with my dad about knowing the truth of one’s own faith. He said wondered if he really knew God because he had never had an experience that told him he did. I know Dad experienced times when his heart “felt strangely warmed” because he also said explained that sometimes driving and listening to the news he would just start crying. Surely these were moments when the Holy Spirit were speaking to him.
The Pentecost comes to each of us in our own way. Today, one of the closest Sundays to May 24, honors Wesley’s Aldersgate experience. With Pentecost being celebrated today, what better time to acknowledge that Wesley’s personal Pentecost that moved The Church forward through his own work that has resulted in the denomination of which we are part—Methodism.
So today, let’s say happy birthday to the Wesley’s Methodist movement.
(Pause for a small celebration. Singing and cake are possible additions.)
Concluding today’s reflection: The Church Evolves: 50years as United Methodists
And The Church continues to evolve. The Methodist denomination that grew out of Wesley’s ministry has also evolved. Today the United Methodist Church celebrates 50 years. In 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical Brethren Church. Personally I can remember that because I had a classmate who was a member of the Evangelical Brethren Church and when the announcement was made, I wondered if she would begin attending with me. (She did not; but she also lived in another community so I have no idea where she worshipped.) That merger was 50 years ago:
[Show the UMC.org video on You Tube.}
So, another happy birthday we say to the United Methodist Church. The Church continues. Each denomination has its own story. The heritage is filled with changes because humanity is static, every-changing, too. Therefore, The Church continues to evolve. The stories in the stained glass window(s) capture the history, but it cannot freeze the evolution of The Church.
The United Methodist Church is currently undergoing another stage of change. The social and cultural changes that are challenging today’s people are beginning to be addressed by so many organizations and the United Methodist Church is one of them.
The Council of Bishops has worked for several years to create appropriate amendments to the Book of Discipline that reflect the Christian values in today’s global culture. The Bishops finally submitted five amendments:
- The first amendment proposed a new paragraph between current Paragraph 5 and Paragraph 6. This new paragraph would have focused on gender justice. (66.5%)
- The second amendment proposed changes to the wording in Paragraph 4 in “The Book of Discipline.” If it were ratified, the proposed amendment would have added “gender,” “ability,” “age” and “marital status” to the protected membership groups. (61.3%)
III. The third amendment dealt with the election of delegates to the General Conference as contained in Paragraph 34. As ratified, the amendment adds this sentence to Paragraph 34: “Such elections shall include open nominations from the floor by the annual conference, and delegates shall be elected by a minimum of a simple majority of the ballots cast.” (90.3%)
- The fourth amendment clarified the time of election of bishops in Central Conferences as contained in Paragraph 46. As ratified, the amendment adds the following words to Paragraph 46: “provided that episcopal elections in central conferences shall be held at a regular, not an extra, session of the central conference, except in the case where an unexpected vacancy must be filled.” (92.9%)
- The fifth proposed amendment adds language to Paragraph 50 regarding how the Council of Bishops holds its individual members accountable for their work. As ratified, the amendment adds the following sentence to the end of Paragraph 50: “These provisions shall not preclude that adoption by the General Conference of provisions for the Council of Bishops to hold its individual members accountable for their work, both as general superintendents and as presidents and residents in episcopal areas.”(81.2%)
The amendments had to receive 2/3 majority to be passed, and much to their own surprise, the first two amendments did not receive the required 2/3 majority (the percentage of yes votes are indicated in parenthesis after each amendment).
This is the reaction by the Council of Bishops:
“While we are not completely clear concerning the motivation that caused them to miss the two-thirds required majority by slim margins, we want to be clear that we are unequivocal in our commitment to the equality of women and their full inclusion in our Church,” said the Council statement.
Another surprise was the expressed by the female bishops who wrote in their letter:
“Like Rachel weeping for her children, so we as episcopal leaders weep for our church. We weep for the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual harm that is inflicted upon women and girls because of this action. We weep for those who are denied the ability to use their gifts to make a difference in the world. We also weep for those who are not protected from exclusion in the church because of race, color, gender, national origin, ability, age, marital status, or economic condition.”
On May 7, 2018, Bishop Robert Farr, our state’s bishop made the following statement:
I am saddened and disappointed that two of the constitutional amendments related to the right of girls, women, and other vulnerable groups did not receive the necessary 2/3 aggregate vote of all the annual conferences in The United Methodist Church. Please know that as your bishop in Missouri, I am firmly committed to the equality of women and their full inclusion in our Church. I stand beside the active and retired women bishops’ statement released alongside the announcement. . . .
While I believe we have made progress in Missouri, I know we have miles to go before we realize gender justice in the Church. Both amendments passed handily in the Missouri Conference at 90% and 80% respectively. In fact, it passed in both of our partner conferences in Mozambique, too, by even greater margins.
The Church evolves. We are connectional, but as a congregation we are responsible for carrying out God’s work in all the ways that we can, as best as we can, for as long as we can. The Church is all denominations and how our community defines itself is by the work of this church family in relation to the community in which it exists. The Church is much more than its discipline and its connectional organization. The Church is the action of the Holy Spirit within us. This Pentecost Sunday is a time to review the birth, the growth and the evolution of The Church since the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The story continues. . .
Closing prayer:
Dear All-knowing Lord,
Thank you for the Holy Spirit
Who is your presence within us.
Thank you for the earliest Apostles
Who established The Church.
Thank you for all the reformers
Who continued The Church’s growth.
Thank you for accepting efforts
That keep The Church evolving.
Guide us through the Holy Spirit
To continue your work
Sharing the story
Loving one another
Guide us to listen carefully
In how to work together
In how to grow the church
In how to serve one another.
Guide us to see this world
By the power of the Holy Spirit
By the vision of Jesus Christ
By your unlimited love.
May our work reflect your perfection.
May our work continue the story.
May our work strangely warm others hearts.
In you name, Heavenly Father,
And in your son Jesus Christ’s,
And through the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
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