Sermon, "One of the Crowd," John 10:1-18

Sermon 6/14/20

John 10:1-18

One of the Crowd

We spent a few weeks after Easter talking about planting seeds, and during that series we explored several of Jesus’ parables. Last week, too, we heard another of Jesus’ parables. And we talked about how the parables of Jesus help us learn something about the kingdom of God, about God’s reign and how we can live in God’s reign in the now. We learned, too, that parables aren’t always allegories where this equals that, but stories that are meant engage our imagination, and unfold more and more as we look at them from different angles, see ourselves in different parts of the stories. They can be challenging, but for many, Jesus’ parables are favorites among his teaching. 

You might have noticed, though, that while we heard parables from the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, we never read a parable from the gospel of John. In fact, the word parable doesn’t appear anywhere in John’s gospel. Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the synoptic gospels, which means they “look together with one eye,” because they have similar content, drawing on common sources to tell us about Jesus. But the gospel of John has a lot of material we don’t hear anywhere else. And, John’s style of telling us about Jesus is significantly different than that of the other gospel writers. Jesus does a lot of talking in the gospel of John - long discourses of teaching. These discourses include “I AM” statements - where Jesus gives us different images to understand who he is to us - two of which appear in our reading for today. John’s Jesus uses a lot of symbolism in his teaching. John’s style of writing is poetic and beautiful, absolutely. But as challenging as the parables of Jesus can be, I personally find Jesus’ discourses in John even harder to understand, particularly when I’m trying to figure out what they mean for my life and faith today. Still, though, John’s gospel contains my very favorite verse of scripture, and that’s the text I want us to explore this morning. 

I’ve shared with you before that John 10:10 is my favorite verse in the Bible. Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” When I first really noticed the verse when I was a young teen, I just loved the idea that Jesus wanted us to have abundant, full life. I think a lot of spiritual formation for teens, at least as I experienced, was about what you should not be doing in order to be a “good Christian.” No sex, no drugs, no smoking, no swearing, no cheating, no lying, no this or that. It seemed like it was mostly about the “Thou shalt nots.” But here was Jesus saying that his purpose, his aim was for us to have abundant life. That sounded a lot more compelling than a list of things I shouldn’t do. It’s still a compelling message. But I think, as with all of Jesus’ teachings, we understand more when we look at the context. 

John 10 actually brings us Jesus’ wods mid-discourse. There’s a context here that might help us understand more. In John 9, Jesus heals a man who had been blind from birth. As was common, everyone assumed the man was blind because he or his parents had sinned, and his blindness was God’s punishment. Jesus tries to give them a new perspective through his healing of the man, but mostly, the Pharisees - religious scholars and interpreters of the law of Moses - mostly they just seem upset. Jesus had healed on a Sabbath. And if he was willing to disregard an important part of the religious law, how could he be from God? Instead of rejoicing in the man’s healing, the Pharisees question him and his parents about Jesus. I encourage you to read the exchange between the now-healed man and the Pharisees, as the man neatly challenges these scholars by questioning them as much they question him. At the end of the scene, Jesus says, “I came into this world for judgement so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” The Pharisees, overhearing, respond, “Surely we are not blind, are we?’ And Jesus answers, “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, “We see”, your sin remains.” So while the Pharisees assumed the once-blind man was full of sin, and that Jesus was a sinner too, Jesus says that they are the ones who are blind to God’s purpose in the world. 

And it is from there, continuing in conversation with the Pharisees, that he launches into the extended, complicated, and compelling message that we find in John 10. Jesus talks about a sheepfold. Some people try to enter the sheepfold by climbing in, breaking in, instead of coming through the gate - thieves and bandits. But not the shepherd. The sheep know the voice of the shepherd. They follow the shepherd’s voice because they trust the shepherd. Jesus says that he is the gate and he is the Good Shepherd. Others are thieves and bandits, and the sheep shouldn’t listen to them. Even a hired hand doesn’t have the same dedication as the good shepherd, and will leave the sheep vulnerable when danger comes. But the Good Shepherd is one who puts their own life on the line for the sake of the sheep. And in this context, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

If Jesus is the good shepherd who gives us abundant life, I most definitely want to be a sheep in his flock. And I think part of that is very appealing at first. Jesus is the shepherd, we’re the sheep. We follow him. He leads us by those green pastures we hear about. We don’t have to know much, do much, except trust Jesus. That’s a pretty good life, right? Except: sheep aren’t necessarily wise. We sometimes use the word sheep in a derogatory way to indicate someone who is just a crowd-follower, not thinking for themselves. Is that what we want to be? I can’t help but think of a video that I saw on facebook a couple years back - a shepherd pulling a sheep out of a hole in the ground that it had somehow gotten stuck in. The shepherd really had to yank on that poor sheep; it was so stuck in that hole, which you could barely see in the long grass, that it would have been easy to miss and walk right by. What an image for the places we get stuck in life when we wander away from the shepherd! What a compelling image for how much we’re sheep, even if we think we’re too wise to need to be ourselves in the hands of someone who will lead us! I know there are times in my life when I can relate deeply to that sheep stuck in the ground. You? If Jesus is our good shepherd, then we are sheep. And some days we’re happy to be one of the flock, but some days we chafe against following Jesus. Our best bet for claiming the abundant life the shepherd promises is following the shepherd at all times. That means putting the shepherd in charge instead of the sheep. Jesus in charge instead of you. God’s will instead of our own. Working so that God’s will and our will are in sync! 

I think we do that work by making sure we know the voice of Jesus. Jesus says that the sheep know the good shepherd because they listen to his voice. They recognize his voice. And because they recognize Jesus, they don’t get confused and follow other voices that intend harm instead of good. How do we make sure we know Jesus’ voice? I think of some of the work our confirmands have been doing over this last year. They met with me regularly throughout the year and we read the Bible together and talked about different aspects of our faith. Being immersed in scripture is one of the more direct, literal ways we listen to Jesus’ voice. They also committed to regular worship attendance, even if by the end of their journey attendance meant watching worship on a computer screen! Being part of a community of faith, being part of a flock of sheep, is a way we can gather together to listen to Jesus’ voice. They committed to acts of service throughout the year, writing notes, and serving at dinners, and volunteering with outreach activities. Since Jesus’ life is marked by serving others, and he calls us to love our neighbors, we learn his voice through acts of caring and compassion. Tucker and Hannah also had to interview someone who was a member of the congregation, and they had to learn about our history - as local church and as a denomination. We learn to recognize Jesus’ voice when we learn from others who have been a part of his flock for a long time and know his voice well. How are you making sure you know Jesus’ voice? 

Jesus, our good shepherd, offers us, the sheep, abundant life. What is abundant life exactly? What does it mean when Jesus promises us “life to the full”? He doesn’t mean that we’ll all get rich, and be able to get bigger and better houses and cars and bank accounts, I’m pretty sure. So what makes life full and abundant? I asked that question on facebook this week, and got a few responses. Nichole Fullerton shared this: “If you had asked me this question a year ago my answer would be completely different than it is now. Last year I thought my life was fulfilled by a job I loved but this year things are so much different. I honestly believe God blessed me with this time in quarantine. Although I love my job, this break has given me time I didn’t have before to focus on my family and the things I enjoy in life. I’ve built a stronger relationship with my children, my husband and God. I’ve found time to bake and try new recipes. I even mastered a cheesecake! I’ve become creative with arts and crafts and I started a blog hoping to help others grow in their faith and their relationship with God. I’ve even made connections to start becoming a lay minister. My life is always evolving but in this moment I am abundantly peaceful, content and hopeful for my future.” Maybe you can relate to Nichole’s response, finding that this difficult season of pandemic has caused you to reevaluate how we experience blessing and abundance. I also connect with Nichole on the way our experiences of abundance change over time, as God journeys with us through the stages of our life. 

When I think about times I’ve experienced abundant life, some surprising things pop into my mind. I think about moments of deep grief - like when my grandparents died. Even in the pain, they were experiences of abundant life, both because we could treasure faithful lives well lived, lives entrusted to God, and because of the incredible bond I felt with my extended family in those times when we rallied together, pouring over family stories together, comforting each other. I think about worshiping with you all on Christmas Eves, and on Wally’s hill on Easter morning, or when we celebrate communion together, or when we rejoice together, like on Confirmation Sundays, and my heart is so full. I think about times we work really hard, and that hard work is deeply satisfying, because we’re serving others, or because we’re using the gifts God gives us, or because we were able to do something we thought we couldn’t, or because we know, with God’s help, we’ve made a real difference to others. I think about the fullness of life I experience when I know that I’ve wrestled with a hard decision, and found the peace that comes from hearing and understanding God’s call. The common thread of abundance, unsurprisingly, is in times when my relationship with God and my relationships with God’s people are flourishing. And that, that flourishing, that true joy that pervades even great sorrow, that deep peace that comes from knowing that we are created by God and that we belong to God - that’s what Jesus promises when we’re sheep who belong to the Good Shepherd. And that’s why this verse continues to be my favorite, long beyond my teenage fascination. 

Do you want to be part of Jesus’ flock? Today we celebrate as Tucker and Hannah say “yes!” And as they are confirmed, we have a chance to say yes too - maybe for the first time, or maybe renewing our yes for the 1000th time, or maybe saying yes after saying no. Whatever brings you to your yes, Jesus welcomes you, too. Together, let’s continue to make sure we know his voice so well that we can follow wherever he leads. Life abundant as one of the flock. Amen. 

 

Sermon for Pentecost Sunday, Year B, "Confirmation," Acts 2:1-21

Sermon 5/20/18
Acts 2:1-21

Pentecost: Confirmation


Last Sunday, it was a joy to have our District Superintendent Rev. Mike Weeden here with us in worship. He helped us wrap up our series “Strengthen Your Core,” by talking about the last of our five areas of focus, based on the membership vows of The United Methodist Church. We’d talked already about prayers, presence, gifts, and service, and he shared with us about what it means to be a witness. How do we tell the world our story? How do we share our faith in meaningful ways? How do we convey to others how God has impacted our lives through our relationship with Jesus Christ? How will we be witnesses?  
As I’ve reflected on his questions, I have been thinking back to my years taking piano lessons throughout junior high and high school. I had a few different teachers over the years, and until I started with my final teacher, I never had to perform in any sort of recital. In fact, I never really had to play for other people at all, except informally, for members of my family. This suited me just fine, because I was petrified of playing piano in front of others. I practiced a lot, but I wasn’t very confident. When I was nervous, my hands would shake, and when my hands shook, it made it quite difficult to actually hit the right notes. But when I started with a new teacher in high school, she was much more demanding all around. She was demanding about my consistent practicing, and she was insistent that I play a solo for NYSSMA – that’s where students in NY go to get graded on a musical performance and some musical skills – and that I perform for a local recital and scholarship competition. I was petrified. But my teacher was such a gifted musician, and though she was strict she was kind, and I admired her skills as a pianist so much. I wanted to be able to play like she played. And so, with fear and trembling, I agreed to everything she wanted me to sign up to do. Perhaps you are expecting that here is where I will share with you my triumph, but alas: I ended my first piece at the scholarship competition on a wrong note, my hands were shaking so badly! But I survived. And having conquered that most terrifying event, I went on to be able to play in other settings in a more relaxed way. I never attained the skill of my teacher, but I did become able to share my playing with others. And music has so much power when we share it, doesn’t it? I’m so thankful for my teacher pushing me to move beyond my comfort zone, even though I struggled still. We practice, practice, practice, always! But eventually, we have to wonder: What are we practicing for? Will we ever put our practicing to use? 
In just over a month, I will celebrate 15 years of ministry, as I hit the anniversary of my very first day when I officially became “Pastor Beth.” I still remember stepping into St. Paul’s United Methodist Church in Oneida on my very first day. The day before, I hadn’t been a pastor, not yet. Now, I had gone through a lot of training to get where I was. I had been to college, and years of seminary. I had spent time working as a chaplain, and time interning at churches. I had done preaching and visiting, and was cultivating my skills. I was well-equipped, I thought, to be a pastor. But that day, July 1st, 2003, I was suddenly “Pastor Beth.” I was a bit petrified, frankly. I felt a little bit in over my head. And to be clear: I still had a lot to learn. I look back with such love in my heart for the people of St. Paul’s, because they were so nurturing and supportive as I figured out what it meant for real to be a pastor, and when I made mistakes, they loved me anyway. But even as I continued to learn – and still continue to learn – if I just stayed in school, and kept training, and kept practicing at being a pastor until I felt 100% ready for all that ministry would bring my way: Well, I’d still be a student, and not a pastor at all. 
What are we practicing for? What are we training for? When do we put all of our learning and growing to use? When we ask these questions in context of faith, I think the day of Pentecost is a day of answers and action. Remember, last week Mike shared with us a text from Acts 1. The resurrected Jesus was speaking to the disciples for the last time in person, in the flesh, before returning to heaven. The disciples had been just that – disciples, which means students – for three years, traveling with Jesus and learning from him, and practicing, occasionally, on their own, healing and preaching and sharing the news about God’s reign on earth. But now, Jesus told them that he was returning to God and they would be the witnesses to God’s work in the world. They would be the messengers of Jesus. They would be the ones doing what Jesus had been doing, strengthened by the power of the Holy Spirit. The same Holy Spirit that descended on Jesus at his baptism, that led him into the wilderness, and that filled him up as he preached for the first time: this same Spirit was now about to fill the disciples so that they could be in ministry to all the world. 
And that’s exactly what we see happen on Pentecost, in our reading from Acts. The disciples are gathered together, ready to celebrate Pentecost, a festival celebrating both harvest, and the giving of the Torah, the law, to the people of Israel. It’s a festival that takes place 50 days after the Passover. So not only are the disciples gathered, but many others are in Jerusalem to celebrate the festival too. And suddenly, we read, a sound comes from the heavens, the sound of a mighty rushing wind, and it fills the house where the disciples are. Something like flames, like tongues of fire, seems to rest on each of them, and they are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, somehow, gives them words to speak in many languages so that the people gathered from so many places will understand what they’re saying. People are rightly astonished by what they hear from the disciples, and some even wonder if they’re drunk. But Peter, ready to be a witness, just as Jesus has called him to be, stands and addresses the crowd. Using the words of the prophet Joel, Peter insists that what the crowds are seeing is a fulfillment of what Joel’s wrote about: God’s Spirit is poured on all flesh, sons and daughters prophesy, young and old along share visions and dreams, and even the boundaries and limits created by humans, like the institution of slavery, cannot bind up the Spirit – slaves will be Spirit-filled too, will be prophets too. And everyone who calls on God’s name will be saved. 
Peter, who seemed sometimes to be a hopeless disciple, one moment saying something brilliant that made it seem like he knew who Jesus was, and the next moment causing Jesus to say to him, “Get behind me, Satan”; Peter, who was brave enough to step out on to the water with Jesus, and afraid enough to quickly sink; Peter, who Jesus said would be the rock of the church, but who also denied even knowing Jesus – Peter is not just practicing at following Jesus anymore. He’s standing up. He’s sharing his faith. He’s boldly claiming the work of Jesus as his own. Filled with God’s Spirit to strengthen him, encourage him, inspire him, he’s making God’s story his story, and sharing it in a way of his own. The other disciples begin to do likewise. And suddenly, even though Jesus is no longer there in the flesh, the message of Jesus begins to get carried to the world. 
What about you? How will you make this story your story? How will you make God’s story, the story of Jesus, Jesus’ work in the world, into something that has meaning for you?  How will you share your story so that others might make Jesus’ story their own too? We’re celebrating something else here today too. The Service of Confirmation is a spiritual milestone that has been celebrated in conjunction with Pentecost over the years because of the new baptisms that take place just after our text for today in Acts. It’s a day of making a commitment to follow Jesus. But I think it is especially appropriate because both Pentecost and Confirmation are stories about taking what has been taught to you by someone else, and making it your own. At Pentecost, the disciples finally took everything Jesus had taught them, all the encouragement he’d given them, and, empowered by the Holy Spirit, stepped out in front of the crowds to make a bold statement of faith, putting it all on the line. Finally, they had to stop standing behind Jesus, relying on him to answer their questions and tell them what to do, and start acting as his messengers in the world.
            Confirmation is a similar occasion. Ayse, Peyton, Shea, and Taylor, who will stand before you today, were instilled with the values of faith and the church. Their parents and other teachers and family members and guides in their life have led them and shaped their faith, guiding them to learn about God’s grace and walking with Jesus. But Confirmation is a celebration that these young women are choosing to confirm for their own what they have been taught already. From here on out, they can continue to be guided and helped by their elders, of course: but we’re saying together, them, and us, that their faith journey is their responsibility. They stop standing behind adults to answer for them, and start acting as disciples in their own right, even leaders and messengers of God in this congregation, in our world.              
They’ve been through a lot of lesson this year, our confirmands. They certainly don’t know everything about this congregation, or Christianity, or Methodism. Although, until they forget it, they might know a little more than some of you do! But the point is, if we waited to give them all the rights and responsibilities of membership and leadership in the church until they knew everything and were totally ready and prepared – well, then, I’d bet we’d never celebrate confirmation again. They won’t stop learning just because they’re confirmed. But they lay claim now to having their voice in all that we do here, because they’re laying claim to their own faith.
            What happened on Pentecost is both hard to explain and easy to understand. The disciples, even though they weren’t really ready, became the church. Since Jesus had returned to God, they became the body of Christ in the world. They weren’t ready. They needed to know more. They still didn’t have all the answers. It isn’t long before they get in fights with each other and stray from what Jesus might have done. But they take the plunge. They take the leap of faith. They can do it, because once they feel the Spirit moving, they know that Jesus is really always with them. They aren’t alone. When they step out on faith, God is with them.
            What will you do? God is with you. The Spirit is yours, just as Jesus promised. So whatever it is you are waiting for to be ready to start following God, really – remind yourself that we’re never ready for everything we’ll face. But we can be ready to put our trust in God, who has never failed us yet. Let’s tell the story. God’s story. The story of Jesus. Our story. We’re not just practicing. We’re living it. Amen. 

Sermon for Pentecost, "The Next Step: Confirmation," Acts 2:1-21 (Preached at 9:30am service)

Sermon 6/8/14

Acts 2:1-21

Confirmation Sermon

             Today, we celebrate Pentecost, known as the birthday of the church, a beginning, a new start, where we read of the disciples seemingly literally on fire with the new energy they have found in the gift of the Holy Spirit. The disciples had been on quite the roller-coaster ride with Jesus. For three years they’d followed him, worked with him, ministered with him. They’d been through an ordeal, watching Jesus be put to death, and then they’d received the joy – Jesus resurrected. But now Jesus had returned to God, and no longer walked the earth in human form with them.

And then, Pentecost comes, as our text from Acts begins. In the Christian faith, we know Pentecost as the day of the coming of the Holy Spirit, but in the Jewish religious life, Pentecost was an already existing festival – a harvest festival. And so people were coming to Jerusalem, making a pilgrimage to the city to be there for the religious festival, like they would at Passover and other holy days. And then, suddenly, a sound comes like the rush of a violent wind, and it fills the whole place where the disciples were. And Luke, our author, describes to us these “divided tongues,” like flames, resting on each apostle. And all of them are filled with the Holy Spirit and begin speaking in other languages, as the Spirit gives them ability. The Jews in the city, who are from many countries, many places, all hear the disciples speaking in their own language, and they are amazed, dumbfounded, perplexed. Some even wonder if the disciples are drunk. But Peter stands with the rest of the twelve, and raises his voice to address the crowds that have gathered to witness this strange event.

            “Let this be known to you, and listen to what I say,” Peter begins. They aren’t drunk, he insists, but instead, they embody the vision of God which the prophet Joel proclaimed: “God declares . . . I will pour out my Spirit upon all your flesh, and yours sons and your daughters will prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit.” Past our text for today, Peter continues preaching, talking about Jesus Christ, and people respond to his words. In his message, they catch something of the Spirit that has filled Peter and the other disciples, and Luke says that three thousand people were baptized on that day. Three thousand!

We’re celebrating something else here today too. The Service of Confirmation is a spiritual milestone that has been celebrated in conjunction with Pentecost over the years because of the new baptisms that take place just after our text for today in Acts. It’s a day of making a commitment to follow Jesus. But I think it is especially appropriate because both Pentecost and Confirmation are stories about taking what has been taught to you by someone else, and making it your own. At Pentecost, the disciples finally took everything Jesus had taught them, all the encouragement he’d given them, and, empowered by the Holy Spirit, stepped out in front of the crowds to make a bold statement of faith, putting it all on the line. Finally, they had to stop standing behind Jesus, relying on him to answer their questions and tell them what to do, and start acting as his messengers in the world.

            Confirmation is a similar occasion. All of these young people who will stand before you today were baptized when they were too young to make the decision for themselves. But because we believe baptism is a symbol of God’s grace that is already at work within us, parents and sponsors and congregations participate in baptizing babies, taking vows on their behalf, anticipating this very day – when these young people will confirm the vows taken for them and make them their own, confirm that they know about God and God’s love for them, that they want to be in relationship with God. From here on out, they can continue to be guided and helped by their elders, of course: but we’re saying together, them, and us, that their faith journey is their responsibility. They stop standing behind adults to answer for them, and start acting as disciples in their own right, even leaders and messengers of God in this congregation, in our world. 

             Confirmation is one step on the faith journey of these young people. For some of them, it’s a first step in their path – everything that they’re learning is new. For some of our older students, who are already in high school, it’s a different step in the path. They aren’t all having the same experience today. They aren’t all at the same step in knowledge or life experience. But that’s not what it is all about. Confirmation is about taking on for yourself the vows that someone else made for you at your baptism. Confirmation is saying that now, you are responsible for your own faith journey. Someone else can’t be faithful on your behalf – your relationship with God is just that – yours! At the beginning of our service, our young people weren’t full professing members yet, and in a few minutes, they will be. They certainly don’t know everything about this congregation, or Christianity, or Methodism. Although, until they forget it, they might know a little more than some of you do! But the point is, if we waited to give them all the rights and responsibilities of membership and leadership in the church until they knew everything and were totally ready and prepared – well, then, I’d bet we’d never celebrate confirmation again. They won’t stop learning just because they’re confirmed. But they lay claim now to having their voice in all that we do here, because they’re laying claim to their own faith.

            What happened on Pentecost is both hard to explain and easy to understand. The disciples, even though they weren’t really ready, became the church. Since Jesus had returned to God, they became the body of Christ in the world. They weren’t ready. They needed to know more. They still didn’t have all the answers. It isn’t long before they get in fights with each other and stray from what Jesus might have done. But they take the plunge. They take the leap of faith. They can do it, because once they feel the Spirit moving, they know that Jesus is really always with them. They aren’t alone. When they step out on faith, God is with them.

            What will you do? God is with you. You aren’t alone. So whatever it is you are waiting for to be ready to start following God, really – remind yourself that we’re never ready for everything we’ll face. But we can be ready to put our trust in God, who has never failed us yet. Are you ready? Probably not. But let’s get started anyway. Amen. 

Sermon for Pentecost Sunday, "The Next Step: Pentecost," Acts 2:1-21 (Preached at 8am and 11am)

Sermon 6/8/14

Acts 2:1-12

The Next Step: Pentecost

Since Easter Sunday morning, we’ve been talking about Resurrection Stories – stories of new life, celebrations of resurrection that take place because of God’s amazing power drawing life out of death, as we saw demonstrated in Jesus’ own death and resurrection. We’ve seen how this story – life instead of death – is woven all throughout the scriptures. Life, where death was expected. Today, we’re shifting gears. Today we begin a sermon focus called, “The Next Step.” When Pastor Aaron and I picked this sermon focus, we didn’t know exactly the nature of the transition we’d be going through as a congregation, but we knew we’d probably be experiencing some changes, and that the changes we’d be going through would fit right in with the experience we encounter in the disciples on the day of Pentecost.

            Today, we celebrate the day of Pentecost. It is the day we call the birthday of the Christian Church. Today, we read about the disciples receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. Today we read about that strange experience where the sound of a mighty rushing wind broke into the house where the followers of Jesus were celebrating Pentecost. Today, we read about the beginnings of Church as we know it – where Peter steps up and finally does what Jesus had been preparing him and the others to do all along: he shares the gospel – tells the Good News about God’s grace to anyone and everyone he can get to listen. Today is when we hear the story of the next step. After years of following Jesus, after his death and their confusion about what was happening and after Jesus’ resurrection – and the disciples confusion about what was happening – today, we look at their next steps – their first steps, in many ways, as leaders of the Jesus movement, as followers in the way, as leaders in what will become the church.  

Our text from Acts opens with the disciples already gathered together. They are gathered together for the celebration of Pentecost, a Jewish festival set out in the Torah, the law books for the Jews, which make the first five books of our Bible today. Pentecost was a celebration taking place fifty days after Passover, and was called also “the feast of weeks” or Shavuot. The festival celebrated the “first fruits” of the early harvest in spring. So the disciples were gathered together for this traditional celebration – this is what was planned. Jesus had told them to wait in Jerusalem after he returned to be with God in order to receive this strange gift he was to send them – the Spirit, the Advocate, the Comforter. So the disciples were gathered with everyone else there for the Pentecost festival. And suddenly, a sound like the rush of a violent wind came, and filled the gathering place, and the apostles were filled with the Holy Spirit, which seemed to them like divided tongues of fire. And they began to speak the gospel message to all who were gathered in such a way that everyone in the city could understand them. Many people from many places were gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks, and it seemed that everyone could understand the disciples. Some were amazed at this, but others were a bit cynical, and accused the disciples of being drunk. Peter stands and raises his voice to the crowds: We’re not drunk – we are speaking as the prophets spoke – and he goes on to speak to them of visions and power that will come to all – young and old, men and women, slaves and free. He quotes the prophet Joel, saying, “I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.”

Today, when we celebrate Pentecost, our focus is on not on the feast originally celebrated, the planned part, but on the out-of-control wind that swept through and stirred up the celebration – the giving of the Holy Spirit. This is the gift that Jesus has promised the disciples they would receive, the thing that would be their Advocate, their Comforter, helping them to make the transition from followers of Jesus to those who would be leading and guiding and sharing with others. The Holy Spirit is the gift that helps them with all their other gifts, in a way. It’s the foundation for their work, the source of their confidence in their abilities. After all, being filled with the Holy Spirit is being filled up with God’s own self, right inside of you. God dwelling in you certainly should inspire you with confidence! On Pentecost, we celebrate that the Holy Spirit is the gift that is available to each one of us.

            Still, I think it is hard to understand the Holy Spirit sometimes. In my little childhood church where I grew up, in Westernville, we’d usually talk about the “Holy Ghost” rather than the Holy Spirit. This made it even more confusing. (It was hard not to picture this: image on screen.) So how can we think about the Holy Spirit? One of the first Resurrection Stories we talked about was Ezekiel’s vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones, remember? And he had a vision of God breathing new life into dry, lifeless bones. Well, the words for Spirit and Breath are the same in Hebrew and Greek. So Holy Spirit is Holy Breath. It is God’s breath that brings us life – that’s the Holy Spirit. When you are filled with the Spirit, your breath is God’s breath – you breathe God in, and you breathe God out. If you could visualize how your life would be different if every breath you took, you were aware of breathing in God, and every breath you exhaled, you were aware that you were breathing God out into the world – that’s the Holy Spirit, Holy Breath.

            Like Ezekiel’s vision of what happens when we are filled with God’s breath, and like the prophet Joel’s words, shared by Peter on the day of Pentecost, where young and old and men and women are filled with dreams and visions, God’s Holy Breath is meant to inspire us, to see the possibilities for life and hope and abundance that God sees. When I was in my first church, serving in Oneida, there was a gentleman named Al Spawn, who chaired the Evangelism Team. Al was elderly, and made more frail by persistent heart trouble. But he was incredibly faithful, and deeply passionate about his faith walk. In October of my first year there, he came to an Evangelism Meeting and led in a time of devotional study, focusing on Proverbs 29:18, which he read from the King James Versions: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Al was passionate about his hopes and dreams for our church, emphasizing how imperative it was to have a vision for being active, vibrant disciples of Jesus Christ. That night, Al went home and went to bed, and died in his sleep. Sometimes I can’t believe I knew him for only a few months, because his impact was so significant. I think of him and his devotional often: Where there is no vision, the people perish. This verse, in modern translations, has a bit different emphasis, but we get the gist. Without vision and direction, without an intention of where we are going, we cannot survive. To live, to thrive, we must have hope, a dream, a direction. Even in times of transition. Especially in times of transition. We seek, now, especially, for God to plant a vision in our hearts, to fill us with Holy Breath, to inspire us.

Today, we celebrate confirmation, when several of our young people confirm vows once made on their behalf in the sacrament of baptism. Our confirmands all made stoles with personal and spiritual symbols that are meaningful to them that are part of the confirmation service today. I was so impressed by the thoughtfulness and depth of some of their choices and descriptions, and I hope you’ll read about them all. But one in particular I felt connected with today especially, on this day of Pentecost, this day we seek vision, and God’s holy breath.

Lindsay Richards included a butterfly on her stole, writing of it: The Baby Butterfly – My mom has always called me her butterfly. Whether I’m her “social butterfly” or just her “beautiful butterfly.” My mom’s song that reminds her of me is “She’s a butterfly” by Martina McBride. The butterfly isn’t necessarily a ‘baby,’ but it is new to being her adultish self. Going through confirmation, I will have been done being a caterpillar, have prepared all my knowledge in my cocoon, and I will sprout into a beautiful butterfly. I’m destined to be.

The process by which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly is a process most insects go through, called metamorphosis. This is a process of transformation that involves a kind of recycling of cells, in which old cells are turned into completely new kinds of cells. This abrupt kind of change is much different than the kind of changes humans go through. But, there are about 200 million insects on earth for every single human being – that’s a scary fact, right? – so in a way, you can say that our slow way of changing and developing into adults is actually the unusual way. Metamorphosis is more common in the rest of the natural world. Even now, we’re still learning about metamorphosis. You can’t see inside a chrysalis and watch metamorphosis happening without damaging the butterfly. I read that we’re just starting to use a mini-CT scan process to see metamorphosis step by step, and we’re still discovering things we didn’t know. I find that amazing. For all we know and all we can do, we’re still just scratching the surface of the amazingness of the world God has created.

What’s all this have to do with Pentecost? Here’s what I think. God loves us so much that God will continue to try to work with us even if we insist on changing, growing, developing, maturing in our faith at the glacial speed of typical human development. That’s one option, and God won’t ditch us, but be faithful to journey with us as we grow, millimeter by millimeter. But with the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, if we let the Spirit in, if we breathe God in and breath God out, God’s usual way of working change, God’s usual way of changing lives is through metamorphosis. God is about changing caterpillars into butterflies. Dry bones into living flesh. Tongue-tied introverts into leaders of nations. Year-season women into bearers of infants. Shepherd boys into kings. Maiden girls into mothers of saviors. Fishermen into rabble-rousing preachers. Persecutors of Christians into martyred apostles. Struggling congregations into vibrant places where disciples are called, equipped, and sent out. That’s the way God seems to like to work – turning it all upside down, inside out, transforming us in ways we can’t even describe.  

Changes are coming our way, and quickly. I think God is calling us – me, and you, and this congregation, to go through a metamorphosis. I wonder if a caterpillar is astonished when they come out on the other side in the form of a butterfly? We might be astonished at what God plans to do with us. But then again, our God has a reputation for astonishing us, so much so that we can depend on it. We can depend on God’s breath, filling us. We can dream with God’s vision, inspiring us. ““I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young shall see visions, and your old shall dream dreams.” May it be so. Amen.

Confirmation Class

This fall, I'll be teaching confirmation at FLUMC. In the past, I've used both the denominational Claim the Name materials and Bishop Willimon's Making Disciples. Each has strengths and weaknesses. Making Disciples isn't specifically UMC, so it has to be supplemented. Claim the Name - well, I just didn't find it very interesting for young people. 

What confirmation materials have you used? What works? What doesn't? What other things have you done with confirmation classes to make the journey special and meaningful?