So here we are – gathered in this “new to us” space where we will be for worship this summer.

For the next few minutes, I invite you into a piece of faith imagination. This is a means by which we can experience the scripture, and based on the gifts we have been given, learn something about ourselves or about the Holy Spirit through it. So, I ask that you participate.

“When the day of Pentecost arrived, they all met in one room.” – Acts 2:1

Close your eyes and imagine the room. What does it look like? What details do you see? The disciples were there but so were many other people That you do not yet know. Where do you choose to stand within the room? By whom? Look at the others. There were:

“Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and those who have become Jewish, those from Greek and Arab areas.” – Acts 2:9-10

How do you feel in this group? They are all speaking in their own languages, and although you are fluent in a few languages, you cannot understand much being said. Draw your attention to your body. What do you notice?

“Suddenly they heard what sounded like a violent, rushing wind from heaven; The noise filled the entire house in which they were sitting.” – Acts 2:2

Now that the wind has rushed passed you. What do you notice within yourself? Look at the others around you. What do you see?

“Something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire; these separated and came to rest on the head of each one.” – Acts 2:3

Look at the flames above each person’s head. How are you feeling? Scared? Intrigued? Overwhelmed? Excited?

“They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as she enabled them.” – Acts 2:4

Suddenly you can understand everything being said around you! Where you felt left out of conversations and wondered what was being said, now you know what they’re saying. How do you feel? What are you thinking? What has happened in this space? How did the Holy Spirit blowing through and becoming like flames over each person affect you? Are you anxious? Questioning? Amazed? Confused? Frightened? Look at the people around you. How are they reacting? Do they feel like you do?

Suddenly, the one they call Peter stood up and said,

“Women and men of Judea, and all you who live in Jerusalem! Listen to what I have to say! These people are not drunk as you think – It is only nine o’clock in the morning! No, its what Joel the prophet spoke of: ‘In the days to come – it is our God who speaks – I will pour out my Spirit on all humankind. Your daughters and sons will prophesy, Your young people will see visions, and your elders will dream dreams.” – Acts 14-17

What are you thinking? How do you feel? Are you one of the ones seeing visions or dreaming dreams? Pause and allow the Holy Spirit who is with you Speak to you. What do they say?

Since this is how your day just started, What do you want to do next?

May it be so. Amen.
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So this week, I could go on at length about the problems of the world.

As we were hit by a cyberattack, which not only overwhelmed our email system but also, through my email, got into some of my personal affairs. The good news is that after changing some passwords, this seems to be resolving. The bad news is that it occupied way too much of my time this week! It took my mental and emotional energy.

I also saw an email from my friend Megan Malick in her post for The New Path, where she states that this is a time for “Invisible Grief.” Around Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and graduations, these happy occasions have expectations that we will act in certain ways, which may not align with how we are feeling.

Like we talked last week, about how we don’t know what physical or health challenges one is dealing with, we also don’t know what grief may be there. The point of my sharing this is I think that was also true for the disciples during today’s scripture.

Let’s take a moment to reflect on the events leading up to today.

The person, Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had spent so much time with and whom they had come to know as the promised Messiah, was killed by the Roman Empire, and they couldn’t – didn’t stop it. They watched him die and knew his body was buried.

But three days later, they were told of his resurrection. The women found the tomb empty, and “two men in dazzling clothes” showed up and reminded them that he had told them this was what would happen. The women ran and told the disciples, but they did not believe. Then Peter went to the tomb and, after seeing the grave clothes, “he went home, amazed at what happened.”

Then Clopas and a friend were walking and talking on the Road to Emmaus, and a man joined them to listen and then shared the story of faith. And at the meal, he was revealed to be the risen Christ in the breaking of the bread. So they went to the disciples, who are still huddled together, and told them what happened. While they were telling the disciples their Emmaus Road story, Jesus Christ showed up among them and asked for something to eat and ate it to prove that he was a physical being and not a ghost.

Then he stayed with them for 40 days, where they may have thought everything was going back to how it had been. Until he took them out to Bethany, raised his hands, and was physically lifted into the sky and disappeared.

Emotionally, they had been at their lowest and were unsure of how to proceed, when suddenly Jesus was back with them. This had to have taken them a moment – to go from deep sadness and grief to joy-filled surprise. I’m sure they needed some time to believe what they were experiencing. It’s a “pinch me so I know it’s real” moment. I can only imagine they were thinking, “Now what?!?” In their bewilderment wondering, “What are we to do?”

That’s when “two men in white robes” show up and ask them, “Why are they standing there staring at the sky?” Which sounds a bit insensitive, but the point is that they are to be about the work of Jesus. He had empowered them to do the healing work he had done and asked them to continue his mission by being his witnesses to the ends of the earth.

This was their role – to be witnesses – and they did it. This is what led to the creation of the Christian church. Because of their witness, the writers created the gospels. They were the storytellers of their time.

What are we to do with their stories, with our holy scriptures?

I think we are called to be the messengers who share the stories. Like the disciples, we cannot get stuck reminiscing about the past – about what the church used to be – about what we once did. We are called to look forward to what still can be, to listen and discern what the Spirit is saying to us.

Today, we will be praying a Litany of Gratitude for this space as it has seen baptisms, weddings, and great celebrations. It has also housed funerals and times of great loss and grief. This sanctuary has held it all, and the Spirit here still invites us each week. And the Spirit will journey with us as we go to the Bachman Center next week and be with us there for the summer during the renovation. There we will have a blessing of the space and give thanks for the Spirit that is always present when two or more gather in Christ’s name.

When we return after the renovation, We will rededicate this space for the continuation of its mission – of it being a place of inclusive refuge, a place of compassionate justice, and a place of environmental advocacy.

And our role is to continue to consider how we are living that out in our ministries. How are we reaching out to our community to tell them about the inclusive refuge we are working to be? How do we tell them that we care about injustice in our world? How do we tell them that we are working towards being better stewards of the environment?

May it be so. Amen.
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If you don’t know this about me, the word “obey” has negative connotations to me.

I was raised in a house, yes, I said house, not a home, Because although we looked similar to the Brady Bunch, we were not – we co-existed. So when I am told to “obey,” I want more specifics. Obey what rule? Who wants my obedience? And for what reason?

I am one of those people who does not respond well to “Because I told you so,” even though I used that line on our children, too. It is with this context that I approach this week’s scripture.

So if we look at the problem in the scripture, we remember from last week, we are still in the 14th chapter of John.

This was written to Jewish people who have been ostracized from their Jewish community -put out of their synagogues for believing in Jesus as the Messiah. It was NOT intended to create new followers but to sustain the faith of those already following “The Way.” This happened in the late first century.

Again, this context is crucial to working through the language of John’s gospel. Our focus verse for this week is the words of Jesus saying,

“Those who obey the commandments are the ones who love me, and those who love me will be loved by God.” – John 14:21a

And…being me…I want to know which commandments we are referring to. In the Gospel of John, Jesus gives the “New Commandment.” In John 13:34 and two other times later, “Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other.” I would add to this, “Love the Lord your God”

Because they are Jewish – That is the first and most important commandment. It is also the one used by Jesus in the other Gospels where Jesus says, “Love the Lord your God with all of your being and love your neighbor as yourself.”

But do you hear the difference? John’s version is inwardly facing. We are to love “each other.” It doesn’t say anything about our neighbor. And the answer to the question of why the difference is the same reason that John’s Gospel appears to look harshly at “The Jews.” Because John’s audience is the minority who are grieving the loss of their community.

They are the outsiders trying to find their way of living “The Way!” Jesus’ statement is an invitation to participate in God’s loving mission!

In the Acts scripture, Peter has just had a dream where God told him there is no such thing as clean and unclean in creation.

All creatures in creation are clean and can be eaten as all people are clean and worthy of baptism and inclusion in God’s Beloved Community. So Peter has an attitude adjustment and welcomes the Gentiles. Here I think the words of Mahatma Gandhi are relevant: “Whenever you are in doubt… recall the face of the poorest and the most vulnerable person whom you may have seen, and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be of any use to them“

The love that God has for us and the love we are being called to share is an expansive love rather than exclusive.

It seeks to help us grow in knowledge and wisdom to find more hope, peace, love, and joy in the world. So, as we gather, we have to remember to make space.

For instance – for those with disabilities we cannot see. It is allowing others to name what they need that includes them rather than deciding that we know best. And if we are honest, we have done that A LOT!!

This is a humble love that wants the best for others without declaring what that is. God declared God’s ultimate love for us in sending us Jesus, so that we can learn to love as God loves. And this love transcends greed, prejudice, self-Interest, fear, and narrow-mindedness. Instead, God’s love is one that embraces all people and creation! This is the love we are called to experience and to share!

And I leave you with the wisdom of Gandalf… A dismayed Frodo said, “I wish it need not have happened in my time.” And Gandalf responds, “And so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

We don’t choose the times we live in, but it’s often the case that the times choose us, to live out our faith, our resistance, and our healing. It is seldom, if ever, fun. Or easy.

But remember the words from 8th Chapter of John’s gospel where Jesus says, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” – John 8:31-32

May it be so. Amen.
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How did you learn what love is? Who helped you to learn this?

For the first century hearers of our scripture, the answer was probably through the stories of Jesus from family and friends who knew Jesus or knew of him. I would say that I learned about love through those stories, too, and more specifically, through my grandparents, who taught me about love and grace while I learned right from wrong.

In a recent episode of On Being, Krista Tippett interviewed Rabbi & Jewish philosopher, Shai Held. In the course of that interview, they talked about the relationship between love and faith. In his book called Judaism Is About Love, he specifically addresses what it means to love our enemies, which I think is very pertinent to us today.

In short, he said that love can be “wishing the other person would repent.” Rabbi Held then told the story of an 80-year-old woman who came to him during a book promotion, and, taking him aside, told him that her husband had beaten her and their children for 15 years and asked, “Does the Torah think I’m supposed to love him?” The Rabbi responded by saying, “That is a terrible thing that no one should have to experience. How would it be to pray that before he dies, your husband would have one minute where he fully faces the enormity of what he did?” Yes, that is a way to love.

Our scripture for today from the 1^st Letter of John doesn’t actually read like a letter.

Most of the letters identify both the writer and the intended recipient. This does neither. It is written more as a sermon to speak against Docetism, the belief that Jesus existed only spiritually and not with a physical body.

Today’s scripture reminds us that we know love because God loves us. Love is a defining characteristic of God. And our love for others is meant to be our grateful response to God’s unconditional love for us. In the past, I have had folks ask me about what type of love this is. It is not a romantic or even purely emotional love. To me, it is wanting others to feel valued and able to find joy in life. It is accepting people for who they are and, in the case of those who are hurtful or cruel, praying that they will understand how they have hurt others.

As this 1^st Letter of John references John’s gospel, consider, if you will, the characters of John’s gospel and how Jesus “loved” each of them. With Nicodemus, he met him at night to protect his identity and listened as well as shared his wisdom. With the woman at the well, he asked her questions and accepted who she was as well as offering love and grace through the “living waters.” To those who were ill, he offered compassion and healed them. To those who were hungry, he asked them to sit down, and he fed them with food shared among them. To the woman caught in adultery, he offered grace and challenged those who wanted to stone her – Who among them was without sin? To Martha & Mary, whose brother Lazarus had died, he came with empathy. He listened, felt their grief and offered healing.

You may be thinking that we do not have the power to heal as Jesus did, but I say that we can be about helping others heal spiritually and know they are worthy and loved by God.

The power of respecting, listening and showing up for another is the beginning of the healing process. When we make ourselves smaller and allow space for others to be themselves, we give a great gift. We all want to matter to someone. We can be the people who help others know that they matter!

Love is about a relationship with others and is measured by what you give, not what you receive. You cannot have your heart broken if you don’t open it to anyone. There will always be enough love in the world if we have love to give. And if we withhold love, something dies. Every time we withhold love, it becomes easier to withhold it the next time.

We are SO easily fixated on our own wants and needs, but we are failing to show God our gratitude if we fail to love others as God loves us. May love always be our guide.

May it be so. Amen.
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I don’t know what your week was like but mine was hard.

There were several mornings when I just wanted to stay in bed and pull the covers up over my head because that felt safe and comfortable. I always thought I had a pretty high tolerance for discomfort, but I met my limit this week.

On Tuesday morning, while eating breakfast, two jets flew over the house, which does happen now and then, but not often. And my mind took me back to when we lived in SC on the flight path for the Marine air base. Then, when the jets flew over, we said, “That’s the sound of freedom.” But Tuesday, I thought, “No, it’s not. Is this going to be one of those moments that I will remember for the rest of my life – like Sept 11, 2001, or the day President Ronald Reagan was shot?”

In that moment, I realized just how much fear I was carrying but not acknowledging. I say that because it helps me relate to the disciples in the locked room. What they knew was that Jesus had been killed. Mary Magdalene told them that he was alive and would meet them, but they didn’t really trust her word – I mean, she’s only a woman. I’ve met several of those guys!

So here they gather, trying to take comfort in being together, because it beats being alone, but they are scared and don’t know what to do. And when they needed it most, Jesus showed up.

Come now, Lord Jesus, come and save us again! And then again, no, please don’t – As if my opinion would change your plans. I say that only because there is a group within the Christian Nationalist movement who want just that. There is a group that believes the Book of Revelation is still to come true and thinks that the Anti-Christ will come from the Middle East and a war with them will bring about Armageddon and end the world. Please, Lord, please do not let them be right!

So Jesus showed up and gave them a few minutes of peace, a few minutes of encouragement, a few minutes of hope by reminding them that “Death has lost its sting.” And he breathed on them with the breath of life, the breath of creation’s birth, to bring them out of the darkness and into the light.

And then he said to them, “As God has sent me, so I send you.” They don’t get to stay in the locked room. I don’t get to stay in bed with the covers pulled up over my head. It’s time to move on! There’s work to be done!

And that’s where part of the rub is. We want safety and comfort, but that isn’t what Jesus did or where he went. He went to the uncomfortable places and offered healing. We are also called to the places that make us uncomfortable to offer healing and wholeness by naming those who feel left out, forgotten, or unworthy, that they are loved by God, and then show them with our words and actions. We are the hands and feet of Jesus for our time in history.

AND Jesus told them something else, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained.” – John 20:23

This is a major responsibility, and I will add that if you do not forgive, you will be hurting yourself far more than them. Carrying the anger and resentment will be a disease in your body and take its toll. Because as I am learning in the class I’m taking, The body keeps the score. It knows and holds all the unresolved pain, anger and hurt and it is stored within our bodies until we work it out.

Here I think the wisdom of the great Howard Thurman is worth telling:

“The “growing edge” of a society is the place where new life is possible
because people refuse to accept what diminishes human dignity.
That edge is not held by those in power alone.
It is held by communities, by individuals,
by those who choose to remain grounded
when the systems around them begin to lose their balance.”
-Thurman, Howard. Jesus and the Disinherited. Boston: Beacon Press, 1949, p. 11.

And how do we care for ourselves so we can do the work Jesus calls us to do?

We come together, and we dance! Moving our bodies allows our bodies to process the emotions, the pain, anger, and hurt that we are holding. It gives us the endorphins we need to say, “Yes!” to Jesus and climb out of bed ready to work even in uncomfortable places.

Dancing together is not as easy as it sounds. It means watching each other. It is a give and take, or we will just end up “stepping on each other’s toes” and not getting where we need to be.

May it be so. Amen.

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