Sermon: May 28, 2023

“All Together In One Place”

A family driving a large camper pulled up in front of a church just as the pastor started toward home. Desiring to be friendly, the pastor introduced himself and expressed his admiration for the camper. The man of the family told him rather proudly: “This camper sleeps eight people comfortably.” Then he asked: “What is the capacity of your church, Pastor?” The beleaguered pastor replied rather glumly, “Oh, it sleeps about eighty comfortably.”

Acts 2:1-21

A minister was having trouble preparing his Pentecost Sunday sermon. He said to himself, “Maybe the Holy Spirit will tell me what to say on Sunday morning.”
When at last he stood silently before his congregation, he turned to the Holy Spirit for guidance. A celestial voice said to him, “Tell the people you are unprepared!”
Rev. Jack Musick of Narrows, VA has written “A Pastor’s Prayer”: Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff and nudge me when I’ve said enough.

Have you ever had one of those weeks that you were especially grateful for it to come to an end and never be seen or experienced ever again? This past week has been one of those for me. If I were to boil it all down to one word that word would be, “Disappointment.”

Some of my disappointment stems from a personal matter that I’ve been forced to deal with. And yes, preachers deal with these kinds of things as well. We aren’t immune to them. Some of the rest of it, but not all of it, was generated as I watched and participated in our Special Called Annual Conference last Sunday. We spent the majority of our time voting yes or no for every one of the 193 churches that had done their due diligence and are prepared to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church and our South Georgia Conference. Every church that I have served up to this point in my twenty years of ministry is no longer a United Methodist Church and many of my brothers and sisters in the ministry, folks that I call my friends are gone as well. In just a week we will convene as a Conference in Tifton and though Annual Conference can be a somewhat bore at times it’s always been at the Annual Conference that I got to spend time with my friends. It won’t be like that this year!

Bishop Graves, in a devotional said that people, friends, had been asking him what he would say to us, and he turned it around to them with the same question, “What do you say?” He shared that 58% of the people living in our country say they have no hope for their future. And he shared how the leaders of the UM Church keep saying that our denomination is a big tent, and it has room for everyone but he’s starting to feel like there isn’t even room for him.

I love, or I used to love the UM Church. The UM Church had enough grace to allow an old broken-down horse trainer to become a full-time pastor. The church allowed, once again with grace, for me to go through a divorce and not leave the ministry. Not so with some of our other denominations. But when I went into the ministry, I never imagined having to deal with what we are forced to deal with in these trying times.

We celebrated Aldersgate Day this week remembering when John Wesley found his heart to be strangely warmed. I have to wonder what Brother Wesley would say to his church right now.

If Bishop Graves feels like there’s no place for him in the UM Church, then for sure there is no place or me!

I have to wonder if there weren’t some gathered in Jerusalem on that First Day of Pentecost who felt disappointed—like they didn’t have a place—that their life held very little hope for their future?

They were under Roman rule, and the Messiah had come but things didn’t get any better for them politically. Then He was crucified, but He came back, and now He’s gone again leaving a promise for some kind of Holy Spirit, an Advocate, to bring them a new energy.

The Jews gathered in Jerusalem that day were there for a celebration called the “Feast of Weeks” or the “Feast of Harvest.” This was a celebration, in the opinion of some scholars, which marked the anniversary of the giving of the law on Mount Sinai.

This crowd would have been from all the areas mentioned in the text, so the crowd represented the whole world—Jewish and heathen alike—and Luke presumably considers this as the beginning of the worldwide mission entrusted to the disciples. Pentecost marks the birthday of a new community—The Church!
Luke begins our Pentecost story by writing, “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.” Some scholars believe they were in the Upper Room (John Mark’s mother’s home). Some believe they were in the Temple. In our Gospel Lesson last Sunday Luke wrote, “And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God” (Luke 24:53). The temple—the Upper Room—potato potato, six or half-dozen, what does it matter? What matters is what happened to those gathered together and the effect it had on those who were outside!
You know, the Day of Pentecost may have been the last occasion when the church—or the world for that matter—was ever in complete agreement about anything.

To those gathered that day—the Holy Spirit descended—and they all began to speak—to proclaim the mighty works of God. Maybe you think that proclamation is limited to preachers—people whom God and His Church have called into the ministry. Think again!!!!! Martin Luther called it “The Priesthood of all believers.” Yes, I have been called—set apart for ministry—but so have all of you. The same Holy Spirit that resides in me has a home in you as well. And to the 58% of this country who say they have no hope we have a story to tell! Amen!

Peter spoke with boldness and with power. If anyone had said to Peter, “I didn’t know you had it in you,” he surely would have said, “I didn’t. It was the Spirit of the Lord Jesus that gave him the words. And 3,000 joined the church that day!

I heard that statement, “I didn’t know you had it in you,” after I spoke in my home church, Hawkinsville First, before answering the call to enter full-time ministry. I heard it from our daughter Heather (my favorite child), after she heard me preach for the first time. Like Peter, I didn’t have it in me. It was the Holy Spirit!

Do you see it? Do you get it? That very same Spirit—the one promised by Jesus—is now poured out on EVERYONE—no matter what brought you to church—no matter your abilities or disabilities. The Spirit enables ordinary people to do what Jesus did—to speak up boldly for God and His Good News.

Notice how Luke writes nothing about the personalities or qualifications of any of the believers gathered together that day. He doesn’t write that the Spirit descended on the best and the brightest. He writes that it descended upon all of them.

Douglas Murer, 15 at the time, from Creve Coeur, Missouri had been feeling bad for several days, so his mom took him to a hospital in St. Louis where he was diagnosed with Leukemia.

The doctors told him in frank terms about his disease. They said for the next three years, he would have to undergo chemotherapy. They didn’t sugarcoat the side effects. They told Douglas he would go bald and that his body would most likely bloat. Upon learning this, he went into a deep depression.

His aunt called a floral shop to send Douglas an arrangement of flowers. She told the clerk that it was for her teenage nephew who had leukemia. When the flowers arrived at the hospital, they were beautiful. Douglas read the card from his aunt without emotion. Then he noticed a second card. It said: “Douglas—I took your order. I work at Brix Florist. I had leukemia when I was seven years old. I’m 22-years-old now. Good luck. My heart goes out to you. Sincerely, Laura Bradley.” “Oh wow,” said Douglas, his face beaming.

Douglas Maurer was in a hospital filled with millions of dollars of the most sophisticated technological equipment. He was being treated by expert doctors and nurses with competent medical training. But it was a sales clerk in a flower shop, a young woman who was probably making the minimum wage, who—by taking the time to care, and by being willing to go with what her heart told her to do—gave Douglas hope and the will to carry on. (THE HOLY SPIRIT)

The power of God can invade the body—inflate the mind—swell the soul—lift the Spirit and make us more than we ever imagined. It will make you young when you are old—and it will make you live even when you die. The power of the Spirit will disturb, delight, deliver and lift. When God sends forth the Spirit, the whole face of the earth is renewed.

When God sends forth the Spirit chaos is changed into creation and the Red Sea opens up to a highway of freedom. When God sends forth the Spirit—a young woman says “Yes.” Jesus is born and life is never the same.

When God send forth the Spirit amazing things happen: Barriers are broken—communities are formed—opposites are reconciled—unity is established—disease is cured—addiction is broken—cities are renewed—races are reconciled—hope is established—people are blessed—and church happens.

Today the Spirit of God is present, and we are all together in this place. So, be ready, get ready…God is up to something…Discouraged folks cheer up—dishonest folks fess up—sour folks sweeten up—closed folks open up—gossipers shut up—conflicted folks make up—sleeping folks wake up—lukewarm folks fire up—dry bones shake up—and pew potatoes stand up!

But most of all—because of us—because of Pentecost—because of the coming of the Holy Spirit—Christ the Savior of all the world is lifted up!
Thanks be to God!