Rev. Dr. Mark Allen Doty, Senior Pastor
Hammond Street Congregational Church, UCC
Bangor, Maine
June 12, 2011
A RED-LETTER DAY
ACTS 2:1-21
LATELY I'VE BEEN FEELING LIKE I AM BEING HIT WITH A TON OF BRICKS. IT SEEMS EVERY TIME I TURN ON THE TELEVISION OR RADIO OR INTERNET, THERE IS A NEW REVELATION ABOUT SOME POWERFUL MAN WHO HAS BROKEN LAWS--GOD'S LAWS OR CIVIL LAWS OR FEDERAL LAWS OR ALL OF THE ABOVE. ELLIOT SPITZER AND MARK SANFORD AND LARRY CRAIG AND JOHN EDWARDS AND ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER AND ANTHONY WEINER ARE AMONG THEM. ONCE THE TRANSGRESSOR HAS CONFESSED, THE OTHER POLITICAL PARTY ALWAYS MOVES IN FOR THE KILL. A PREDICTABLE CYCLE TAKES PLACE: SHOCK, OUTRAGE AND A CALL FOR THE MAN'S RESIGNATION FROM HIS CURRENT POSITION.
I'M NOT TRIVIALIZING WHAT THESE PEOPLE HAVE DONE, BUT I AM GETTING TIRED OF IT. I CAN'T SHAKE THE FEELING THAT YOU AND I ARE GETTING PELTED WITH ONE TAWDRY REVELATION, ONE BRICK AFTER ANOTHER. IN A CERTAIN SENSE, WHAT IS OCCURRING ON OUR NATIONAL SECULAR SCENE REMINDS ME OF WHAT HAPPENED CENTURIES AGO ON THE SACRED SCENE. IT ALL BEGAN WITH THE TOWEL OF BABEL.
IN GENESIS 11 WE READ THAT ALL THE PEOPLE ON THE EARTH "HAD ONE LANGUAGE AND THE SAME WORDS." AND SO THE PEOPLE RESOLVED TO BUILD A CITY, A TOWER OF BABEL. AND SO THEY FIRED BRICKS AND BUILT A TOWER STRETCHING UP TO THE HEAVENS. BUT GENESIS TELLS US GOD WAS DISPLEASED WITH THIS ARRANGEMENT AND SCATTERED THE PEOPLE AND CONFUSED THEIR LANGUAGE ACROSS THE EARTH. AND THAT IS, OF COURSE, HOW WE GOT THE TERM "BABBLE." IN WRITING ABOUT THIS PASSAGE, MICHAEL A. KING SPEAKS OF OUR MODERN BABBLING TOWERS THIS WAY :
IT'S AN EVER NEW STORY--THE BUILDING OF A GREAT TOWER, QUICKLY FOLLOWED BY A DESCENT INTO BABBLE. WE CITIZENS OF THE 21ST MILLENNIUM SEEM TO BE STANDING AMID THE BRICKS FROM OUR OWN BABEL TOWERS. IT ALL BEGAN WHEN CHRISTIANS ALIGNED THEMSELVES WITH EMPEROR CONSTANTINE AND COMMENCED AN EFFORT TO BUILD CHRISTENDOM, TO REACH TO THE HEAVENS BY SEAMLESSLY JOINING CHRISTIAN FAITH AND EARTHLY NATIONS. THEN CAME WESTERN THOUGHT…
NOW IN 2011, SAYS THE AUTHOR, WE SEE CRACKS IN THE TOWERS OF CHRISTIANITY: "BRICKS ARE PLUMMETING FROM THE SKY." THE WRITER SPEAKS OF THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY AND WHAT BEGAN THIS SERMON:
THE INTERNET GIRDLES THE GLOBE. WE TIE INTO THE GLOBAL HIVE FROM THE REMOTEST JUNGLE. WITH A CLICK WE ACCESS DEMOCRATIC, REPUBLICAN, TEA PARTY, CHRISTIAN , MUSLIM, PALESTINIAN, FUNDAMENTALIST, HATE SPEECH AND MORE. ANOTHER TOWER RISES. ONE COCKSURE PONTIFICATOR TURNS A BIT OF INSIGHT INTO TRUTH, ONLY TO BE MET BY AN OPPOSING BIT. YET I BELIEVE THERE ARE SMALL TRUTHS TO PONDER EVEN AS THE BRICKS OF SO MANY CRUMBLING TRUTHS FALL AROUND US (Michael A. King, "Living By The Word," Christian Century, May 18, 2010).
BUT WHAT CALLS US HERE TODAY IS NOT "CRUMBLING TRUTHS," BUT THE COMMEMORATION OF A RED-LETTER DAY IN ANCIENT ISRAEL. IT IS PENTECOST, THE THIRD GREAT FEAST IN THE LITURGICAL CALENDAR, THAT WHICH STARTS 50 DAYS AFTER THE CELEBRATION OF EASTER AND IS REMEMBERED AS AN ANOTHER "BABBLING DAY." WE READ IN ACTS THAT PEOPLE HAVE COME TO JERUSALEM FROM ALL OVER THE KNOWN WORLD TO CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF WEEKS. ACTS TELLS US THAT 120 OF THESE FAITHFUL FOLK GATHERED IN A LARGE UPPER ROOM. SUDDENLY, BEFORE THEY KNEW IT, A "HOLY HURRICANE" WAS UPON THEM. LUKE TELLS US THAT "DIVIDED TONGUES, AS OF FIRE, APPEARED AMONG THEM, AND A TONGUE RESTED ON EACH OF THEM."
IN HER BOOK, HOME BY ANOTHER WAY, BARBARA BROWN TAYLOR DESCRIBES WHAT HAPPENED NEXT:
LIKE A ROOM FULL OF BAGPIPES ALL GOING AT ONCE, THEY SET UP SUCH A RACKET THAT THEY DREW A CROWD. PEOPLE…CAME LEANING IN THE WINDOWS AND PUSHING THROUGH THE DOORS, SURPRISED TO HEAR SOMEONE SPEAKING THEIR OWN LANGUAGE SO FAR FROM HOME. PARTHIANS STUCK THEIR HEADS THROUGH THE DOOR EXPECTING TO SEE OTHER PARTHIANS, AND LIBYANS LOOKED AROUND FOR OTHER LIBYANS, BUT WHAT THEY SAW INSTEAD WERE A BUNCH OF GALILEANS--RURAL TYPES FROM NORTHERN ISRAEL DRESSED IN THE EQUIVALENT OF FIRST-CENTURY OVERALLS--ALL OF THEM GOING ON AND ON ABOUT GOD'S MIGHTY ACTS LIKE A BUNCH OF PH.D.'S IN MIDDLE EASTERN LANGUAGES.".
SO PENTECOST WAS TRULY THE COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THAT BAND OF PEOPLE. HOW ELSE TO EXPLAIN THE TONGUES OF FIRE? HOW ELSE TO EXPLAIN THE MIRACULOUS SPEAKING BY THE DISCIPLES OF THE LANGUAGES OF EVERYONE PRESENT? IN THAT MOMENT, THE DISCIPLES WERE TRULY REACHING ACROSS BOUNDARIES, WERE TRULY BEING AN INCLUSIVE CHURCH.
THE GREAT IRONY WITH THIS PASSAGE, OF COURSE, IS THAT THIS PHENOMENON OF THE GALILEANS SPEAKING THE LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD IS DISMISSED BY SOME AS MEN BEING "FILLED WITH NEW WINE." BUT PETER IMMEDIATELY CALLS THESE DOUBTERS TO TASK AND SAYS, "INDEED, THEY ARE NOT DRUNK, AS YOU SUPPOSE, FOR IT IS ONLY NINE O'CLOCK IN THE MORNING." AND THEN PETER FURTHER SAYS THAT THIS IS THE PROMISE OF THE FAMOUS WORDS UTTERED BY THE PROPHET JOEL:
"'IN THE LAST DAYS IT WILL BE, GOD DECLARES, THAT 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.'"
THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST IS A DENOMINATION THAT IS LISTENING TO A STILLSPEAKING GOD. ONE OF OUR UCC PASTORS SPEAKS OF THIS PASSAGE FROM ACTS THIS WAY:
AS WE REFLECT ON THIS STORY OF THE BIRTH OF THE CHURCH, WE CAN RELATE IT TO THE LIFE OF OUR CHURCH TODAY. PERHAPS THERE ARE MANY "LANGUAGES" THAT DIVIDE THE FOLKS IN OUR CHURCHES, OR AT LEAST MAKE UNITY MORE DIFFICULT TO ACHIEVE: THEY INCLUDE NOT ONLY LANGUAGES THAT WE SPEAK (LITERALLY), BUT ALSO DIFFERENCES IN CULTURE, RELIGIOUS UPBRINGING, ECONOMIC CLASS, EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND, AND BASIC PERSONALITY TYPES (Kathryn Matthews Huey, "Pentecost Sunday," Sermon Seeds).
MANY OF US HAVE EXPERIENCED FIRST-HAND THE BARRIERS THAT DIVIDE GOD'S PEOPLE IN CHURCHES. WHEN I CAME TO HAMMOND STREET TEN YEARS AGO THIS MONTH, I WAS IMPRESSED AT HOW MANY PEOPLE TOLD ME THEY DID NOT WANT THIS CONGREGATION TO BE THAT KIND OF DIVIDING CHURCH WHERE ANYONE IS MADE TO FEEL LESS THAN OR UNWANTED. AND SO SEVERAL YEARS LATER WE FORMALLY SET TO WORK IN OUR QUEST TO BECOME AN "OPEN AND AFFIRMING CONGREGATION." WE FORMED AN ONA COMMITTEE THAT ORGANIZED THE EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES. THERE WERE SECOND HOURS AND SMALL GROUP MEETINGS, AN ONA BIBLE STUDY, A PANEL DISCUSSION, AND FILMS TO PREVIEW.
IN THE BEGINNING, THE FOCUS WAS ON THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL AND TRANSGENDERED COMMUNITY--ON PEOPLE WHO SO VERY OFTEN FEEL EXCLUDED AND DISCRIMINATED AGAINST IN LOCAL CHURCHES. BUT AS THE VARIOUS GROUPS BEGAN MEETING AND AS WE STARTED TO CRAFT OUR OPEN AND AFFIRMING STATEMENT, WE REALIZED IT WAS TOO LIMITING TO ONLY BE CONCERNED WITH THE LGBT COMMUNITY--WORTHY AS THAT WAS AND IS. PEOPLE IN OUR CHURCH BEGAN TO ASK QUESTIONS LIKE, "WHAT ABOUT FOLKS WITH HANDICAPPING CONDITIONS? WHAT ABOUT OUR FRIENDS WITH MENTAL ILLNESS? WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE OF COLOR? WHAT ABOUT HOMELESS PEOPLE AND MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN INCARCERATED?" ON AND ON THE QUESTIONS CAME. AND SO AS THE STATEMENT TOOK SHAPE, THE PENTECOSTAL WIND AND FIRE BLEW THROUGH THIS CHURCH AND THROUGH MINDS AND HEARTS.
AND SO IT WAS A PROUD DAY IN 2004 WHEN WE CALLED THE HAMMOND STREET FAMILY TOGETHER. OUR ONA COMMITTEE PRESENTED THE STATEMENT THAT YOU SEE PRINTED ON THE BACK OF THE BULLETIN AND A VOTE WAS FORMALLY CALLED. WITH OVERWHELMING SUPPORT, HAMMOND STREET CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OFFICIALLY BECAME AN OPEN AND AFFIRMING CONGREGATION OF THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST. THE HOLY SPIRIT TRULY WAS IN CHARGE ON THAT RED-LETTER DAY. IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SHOW OF UNITY ACROSS AGES AND RACES AND EXPERIENCES. SO I WOULD INVITE YOU TO TURN TO THE BACK OF YOUR BULLETIN AND FOR US TO READ OUR ONA STATEMENT TOGETHER:
WE WELCOME ALL PEOPLE REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUNDS, CIRCUMSTANCES, ETHNICITY, FAMILY CONFIGURATION, GENDER IDENTITY, OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION INTO OUR FAITH COMMUNITY, AND AFFIRM THE WORTH OF ALL PERSONS AND ACKNOWLEDGE GOD'S LOVE FOR ALL PEOPLE.
IT IS GOOD AND IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US IN THE HAMMOND STREET FAMILY TO READ OVER THIS STATEMENT FROM TIME TO TIME. FOR WHEN WE DO THAT OR EVEN BETTER, PRACTICE THE INTENT OF THOSE WORDS, I BELIEVE WE ARE DOING THE GOSPEL, LIVING THE JESUS WAY OF LIFE.
IT'S BEEN SAID THAT "A PENTECOST CHURCH WILL REACH OUT TO PEOPLE OF EVERY LANGUAGE AND TONGUE. A PENTECOST CHURCH WILL CALL YOUNG AND OLD, WOMEN AND MEN TO PROPHESY" (Rev. Dr. Barbara K. Lundblad, ELCA, "When Pentecost Ends Too Soon"). IT'S MY FIRM CONVICTION THAT WE PEOPLE CALLED HAMMOND STREETERS ARE DOING EXACTLY THAT.
LAST WEDNESDAY THAT PENTECOSTAL WIND AND FLAME BLEW THROUGH OUR FAITH COMMUNITY ONCE AGAIN. THE PAST COUPLE OF SUNDAYS I ANNOUNCED THE MEETING OF THE COFFEE GROUP AT EDA MORRISON'S. WELL, YOU KNOW HOW I'VE TEASED ABOUT DOING A PROGRAM ON "THE THREE MOST DIFFICULT WOMEN OF HAMMOND STREET CHURCH"! AS YOU MAY IMAGINE, I HAD EVEN MORE FUN WITH THAT ONCE WE GOT THERE. I'VE KNOWN PASTORS WHO MINISTER TO LOTS OF DIFFICULT PEOPLE, AND YOU KNOW SOMETHING? WHEN THERE ARE HARD-TO-LIVE WITH FOLKS IN A CHURCH, THAT'S ONE THING YOU NEVER JOKE ABOUT. I'VE BEEN IN THE MINISTRY FOR 41 YEARS. I'VE SERVED SEVEN CHURCHES IN FOUR STATES. AND ONE THING I DO KNOW IS THAT I AM BLESSED TO SERVE A CHURCH WHERE THERE ARE NO DIFFICULT PEOPLE. THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED TO ME BEFORE! IN THE CONGREGATIONS I HAVE SERVED BEFORE THIS ONE, THERE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AT LEAST ONE SOUL WHO WOULD KEEP ME AWAKE AT NIGHT. BUT NOT HERE--AND DON'T ANYBODY GET ANY IDEAS!
SO INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT DIFFICULT PEOPLE LAST WEDNESDAY, THAT GROUP OF WOMEN TALKED ABOUT THE LOVE THEY SHARE. I SAID AS THEIR PASTOR IT'S MY JOB TO SAY AFFIRMING THINGS ABOUT PEOPLE AT FUNERALS, BUT I'VE ALWAYS THOUGHT THERE WAS SOMETHING WRONG ABOUT THAT. PEOPLE NEED TO HEAR THOSE WONDERFUL THINGS BEFORE THEY DIE. SO MY IDEA WAS FOR EVERY PERSON THERE TO WHISPER IN EACH OTHER'S EARS THE QUALITIES THEY MOST TREASURED. WELL, RIGHT AWAY, THE WOMEN SAID, "OH, WE WANT TO HEAR WHAT EVERYONE HAS TO SAY!" GOOD IDEA, I THOUGHT. SO I BEGAN THE SHARING AND SPOKE ABOUT DEBBIE ON MY RIGHT; OTHERS JOINED IN, AND THEN WE CONTINUED AROUND THE CIRCLE.
WELL, YOU NEVER HEARD MORE BEAUTIFUL, MORE FUNNY, MORE SWEET, MORE TOUCHING SENTIMENTS IN ALL YOUR LIFE! "WE HAVE BEEN BEST FRIENDS SINCE SECOND GRADE…WE'VE KNOWN EACH OTHER SINCE 1945….I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE TIME YOU…THE WORD FOR YOU IS….YOU WERE SO GOOD TO MY MOTHER….I REALLY LOVE YOU." ON AND ON THE SHARING WENT. FOR AN HOUR-AND-A-HALF! FOR ME, THAT AFTERNOON AFFORDED THE RARE AND MARVELOUS OPPORTUNITY TO SAY SOME THINGS TO SOME DEAR SOULS BEFORE THE FUNERAL EULOGY. WHEN I LEFT EDA'S THAT DAY, IT FELT LIKE THE WHOLE HOUSE WAS FILLED WITH SUMMER BOUQUETS! THAT FOR ME IS WHAT IT MEANS TO REACH OUT TO ALL GOD'S CHILDREN.
I LIKE THE PENTECOST STORY BARBARA LUNDBLAD TELLS. THIS SEMINARY PROFESSOR REMEMBERS IT THIS WAY:
A FEW YEARS AGO I TALKED WITH A FRIEND OF MINE WHO'S A PASTOR IN NEW ENGLAND. "HOW YOUR BUILDING PROGRAM?" I ASKED. "OH, WE RAN OUT OF MONEY BEFORE WE GOT TO THE WORSHIP SPACE," SHE SAID. I THOUGHT TO MYSELF, "WHAT COULD BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE WORSHIP SPACE?" BUT I KEPT MY THOUGHT TO MYSELF. "WE RENOVATED THE BASEMENT," SHE SAID. "YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A SHELTER THERE FOR HOMELESS MEN. WE PUT IN NEW SHOWERS AND RENOVATED THE OLD KITCHEN. THE BASEMENT WAS SO DRAB, AND THE SHOWERS--WELL, THERE WAS ONLY ONE SHOWER AND IT WAS LOUSY. ON THE SUNDAY BEFORE THE SHELTER OPENED, THE WORSHIP SERVICE BEGAN AS USUAL IN THE SANCTUARY. WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR COMMUNION, THE PEOPLE CARRIED THE BREAD AND THE CUP DOWNSTAIRS TO THE BASEMENT. THE WHOLE CONGREGATION GATHERED AROUND THE EMPTY BEDS. THEY PASSED THE BREAD AND THE CUP AROUND THE CIRCLE. THE BODY OF CHRIST GIVEN FOR YOU. THAT NIGHT THE SHELTER BEDS WERE FULL, AND THE WORSHIP SPACE STILL NEEDED A LOT OF WORK." THE CHURCH CALENDAR STILL SAID IT WAS THE FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT. BUT PEOPLE IN THAT CONGREGATION KNEW THAT PENTECOST WASN'T OVER. PENTECOST SHAPED THEIR LIFE TOGETHER…("When Pentecost Ends Too Soon").
PENTECOST HAS SHAPED OUR LIFE TOGETHER AS WELL. COME, HOLY SPIRIT. KINDLE YOUR FLAME IN THE HEARTS OF THESE FAITHFUL THIS DAY, NOW AND ALWAYS. AMEN!
Copyright by the Rev. Dr. Mark Allen Doty
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