Preached Pentecost Sunday, May 19, 2024
This is the story
of the church’s birth-day
A day like no other,
the Spirit on full display
It’s a wonderful tale,
both frightening and good
It may, it just may,
alight your soul, as it should
It’s a tale that is playful
so I hope you don’t mind,
I was thinking of
preaching today in a rhyme
This Seussian sermon
is meant to be whimsical
An exercise in dancing to
the beat of the metaphysical
A poet, a playwright,
an artist, a painter,
The Spirit is certainly,
quite the sustainer.
God’s Advocate gives life,
so don’t you dare fall asleep
Or your heart, your soul,
may need some upkeep
That’s enough of an intro,
it’s time to paint a picture
Let us now begin to
dive deep in this scripture…
The Story of Pentecost
when the Spirit flies through
from the New Testament;
Book of Acts, Chapter 2:
It began on a day
of gathering and assembly
The apostles came together
oh so quite intently
To celebrate the fiftieth day
after the Passover meal
When suddenly came
a violent sound like a squeal
The wind filled the whole house
where they were all sitting
Like fire, there appeared above them
tongues that were splitting
And then, each and every one,
all were filled with the Holy Spirit
Ruah, pneuma, A wind, a cough,
a breath: Can you hear it?
That’s when they began to speak
in languages not their own
And they found this new ability:
the Pentecostal capstone
Now in Jerusalem, there were
Jews from each and every nation
And they all got to witness
this spontaneous polyglot oration
They were astonished, amazed,
startled, bewildered
To hear their own language
come out so unfiltered
They asked: “Are not these
who are speaking Galileans all?”
So how then do we hear,
each of us, in our own native drawl.
In our own languages we hear them
speak of God’s deeds and God’s power
Like the diverse languages and culture
blessed by the Babel Tower
One and all were amazed
and quite perplexed by the scene,
And more than a few asked themselves,
“What does this mean?”
But others, jealous or lonely or cynical;
perhaps afraid of the divine
Sneered and derided and claimed
“They are but filled with new wine!”
From the valley to the mountain
from the chancel to the steeple
Hear, O hear, what
the Spirit is telling God’s people.
Thanks be to God.
What is this day when
we wear red all about?
Especially for Presbyterians
Who rarely, if ever, act out
We who are not known
for being overly spontaneous
Can learn a lesson or two
From the more extemporaneous
There’s a cadence to today
A rhythm more like jazz
When we are called by God
To worship with a bit more pizzazz
So, wake up from your dreamy
church-induced torpor
And let us cut loose
Maybe a bit out of order
Let’s praise God with
joyful noise and sound
Let’s shake our shoes off
Like Moses, on holy ground
Let’s let down our hair
Let’s worry less of appearance
For today, can we not worry
so much of dogmatic adherence?
And instead let us embrace
As best, as much as we can
The enigmatic and confusing:
The Trinity’s third per-son
The wind on the waters,
Of creation’s Holy Writ
The gift that Christ spoke of,
God’s lasting Advocate
So, let’s take a day at least
And maybe a few more
To ruminate on the Paraclete
An element of the Holy tri-corps.
This is quite fun,
but what am I preaching?
To spend the day rhyming
but not really beseeching
Well…you’ve heard me speak
of the spirit for ages
A few years and still counting,
I’ve preached pages and pages.
Well, the Spirit, is the Spirit
and the Spirit is quite a mystery
And some things we can’t explain,
No matter the sermon delivery.
So instead of sitting through
more heavy theological jargon
Instead of making you sleepy
I thought I’d make you a bargain
I’ll rhyme and speak in verse
Like the books of our youth
But you must, you just must
remember this divine truth:
God made creation
And Jesus is the Word
But the Spirit flies around us
Like the wind, (like a bat?) like a bird.
And what can we say
about this Pentecostal moment
What I know intellectually
maybe could fill a post-it
The Spirit is not a thing
to be figured out and dissected,
It’s not a math problem
or a project to be perfected
The Spirit’s something to feel,
to fall into, to love
And simply to watch
like the flight of a dove.
So, I take my cue
from Geisel comma Theodor
Whose Green Eggs and Ham,
Were never, not ever a bore.
For I suspect we, including myself
may soon forget what I say
But the wind, the air, the fire
I hope we hold onto this day
I studied for years,
I learned Hebrew and Greek
And believe me, I like words,
So I was quite the linguistic geek
But all those years of study,
My nose in books for hours
Should not, would not, could not
take the place of the Spirit’s powers
To make us feel whole
To make us feel seen
To let us know God’s warm presence
Like a fire of gasoline
So, forget my words,
don’t listen to this sermon
And instead take in the day
Let the Spirit, your path determine
Watch the fire, breathe in the air,
feel the breeze on your face,
Say hi to a neighbor, greet a friend,
know God here, in this place.
For like the high of a runner
Or a crew of eight’s swing
Knowing the Spirit of God
Is a being present thing
I’ve got a few more verses,
Maybe one or two stanza
I hope that you have enjoyed
this Spirit-full extravaganza
For I’ll say what I’ll say,
and I’ll preach what I preach
But nothing can compare
with what the Spirit can teach
For I am just vessel,
Beautiful, but quite broken
But the Spirit is amazing
So let’s listen to what’s spoken
By the Spirit, not by me,
For that’s the path to peace
And maybe if more would do that
All violence and war might cease?
Let us come together
Let’s enjoy this day of sun
And let in the spirit
For I’m telling you, that’s the one.
And I guess all that is left
is to say a quick prayer
For the life the Spirit gives,
the chaos, and life’s flare
So with your permission
if it’s okay:
I’d like to offer thanks
Here, let us pray
[from Together We Pray]
As the bird finds a home
where her children can nest,
my heart finds in the Spirit
a good place to rest.
The stars do a dance
while the moon sings a hymn
to praise our Triune God.
Hallelujah, amen!