This sermon was given on Pentecost Sunday, 2023. It was also the day we voted (affirmatively) to reunite South Congregational Church (UCC) and First Church of Christ (UCC) of Pittsfield, MA, after about 170 years of separation.
In today’s scripture, the disciples gathered together, and things were not going well. Life was very uncertain and more than a little weird. The state had executed their teacher and friend, and the disciples kept a low profile for fear of being affiliated with this rebel heretic. Then things got weirder.
At first, it seemed as though the body of Jesus had been stolen from the tomb. But then, some of the disciples claimed to see Jesus alive and among them in different places. Some people recognized Jesus not by his face but by his words and actions. The disciples began to gather again with this differently present Jesus, and then, as if things had already been strange enough, the story tells us Jesus ascended into heaven.
I can imagine how unsettling this time must have been. Yet, we’re in unsettling times, too.
There is very little that seems steady these days. We’re in unstable times between climate change, increasing social inequity, the pandemic, violent political discord, economic rockiness, and political, religious, and social violence. We’re in unstable times between the mental health crisis and increasing hunger. Between increasing attacks on the LGBTQ community, the immigrant community, the religious community, racial and ethnic groups, and women, we’re in unstable times. Between world war by proxy, threats, and rumors of war, we’re in unstable times.
We are in a time of withdrawal and entrenchment when we feel ourselves pulling back from relationships and running into what sometimes seems like invisible barriers to new relationships. For good reasons, we are seeking safety and stability. And yet, this quest for safety and painlessness in life is making us lonely and addicted to anything that can give us the illusion of relationships without conflict or something that can dull the pain.
The disciples were in a different time of instability and tried to do something very, very institutional to fix it. They had a vote. Part of their instability had come from the betrayal of Judas, and to help get things in order again, they elected Matthias to replace him as treasurer. Part of their instability came from having too much to do, so they voted to expand their number by a couple more disciples.
And this felt good and probably comforting at first. The festival of Pentecost was happening outside, and I’m sure the sounds were leaking into where they gathered, but in the middle of it all, they had order. Amid all the uncertainty, they had a vote. There was some completion. They were moving forward. This was all important and good. They were in this room all by themselves, and I imagine they felt safe. I don’t know if they were resting or hiding.
And then, despite the stability they sought, things got weird again. The wind started to blow, and, in my imagination, the window coverings began to shake a bit. What started as a puff of wind gained more and more power until a loud solid wind swirled around the room.
I don’t know who saw the first flame, but I can only imagine the fear that came with it. I can imagine the table where they met, a place of order and control, flipped. At that moment, this didn’t look like the beginning of something but only the end of something.
Then, tongues of flame formed out of the whirlwind and started to touch the heads of the disciples without burning them. Then the disciples were suddenly able to speak languages they didn’t understand.
At this point, I imagine that all the window coverings had been blown away and the doors were all open, and the sound of the festival was overcome by the sound of what was happening in this room. Those at the festival were from many different lands and spoke many languages. The story says that all those gathered around could hear what the disciples were saying in their native tongue and were both astonished and trying to rationalize what the heck was going on. Some were sure they were drunk.
Somewhere in this, I imagine the wind stopped, and the flames faded away (blow out all the candles but the Christ candle). Then, into the stunned silence, Peter stood up and clarified that this was not a group of early morning drinkers. Then, he started talking about the end of things, calling out for God’s help, and about God’s liberation.
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The holy, somewhat disturbing, and liberating reality is that God’s answer to institutional discomfort and disruption is spiritual discomfort and disruption. It means sometimes moving forward without the absolute certainty of what it means to move forward. We talk about Pentecost as the birthday of the Church. But the Church that birthed, at this moment, was not only an institution people were welcomed to through a vote but a movement that people were transformed by and sent out from. The church they formed with a vote didn’t end the moment’s chaos but became a servant of the Spirit’s movement; a movement activated to address and disrupt the powers and principalities that were messing with God’s hopes for a creative, loving, inclusive, and healthy world.
During the offering, we will offer a vote on a new mission statement and a vision statement for a reunited church. You’ve heard this many times and will hear it again in just a bit:
The Mission Statement: Embraced by Christ’s love and in community with one another, we seek to practice loving-kindness, do justice, care for all creation, and walk humbly with God.
The Vision Statement: As we ourselves are nurtured by faith and covenant, we are a nurturing community working to ensure that we all live in a just world where peace prevails and where all of God’s creation is loved and cared for. Through our worship and work, we celebrate the spark of divinity that resides in all of us as we continue to grow together in spirit and faith.
If we vote to affirm these, after a separation of around 170 years, we will become a reunited body, one congregation, one church. It is something we need to celebrate and should. You have worked so hard on this discernment through countless meetings, lots of conversation and sorting, and occasionally some conflict. This vote won’t solve everything but it will establish a different intent for how we relate to one another and what we make central to every decision we make over the coming days, weeks, months, and years.
Pentecost teaches us that the vote is not the end. We may make the vessel and set the intention with our mission and vision statement, but the moment we let go to the movement of the Holy Spirit is when the most amazing things will happen. It will seem dangerous because, when we let go, we will no longer be led solely by our faith in God but also by God’s faith in us. It means our words and music will be transformed, and our actions will be transformed into things that don’t simply speak to us but to those currently outside our walls who need to hear a liberating word of God in their own words, music, and actions. It means that we may become a new church institutionally, but that we also join and give our lives to the movement of mutuality, love, liberation, and reconciliation that is much bigger than us.
It means that our doors may be blown off the hinges and that this place will become a place that – and we become a people who – serves the world with love and faithfulness. It means we become stewards of a church in service of a movement.
This vote is on Pentecost but is not our pentecost. This vote helps prepare a vessel for withstanding and enhancing the fiery wind of the Holy Spirit. This vote is not the final moment of our transformation but is another step in preparing for the ongoing transformation to which we are called.
Today is a big deal. We will witness history at this time and create something that serves the timeless vision of God.
Come, Holy Spirit. Come.
Come, Holy Spirit. Come.
Amen.
The Rev. Mike Denton is the designated pastor of First Church of Christ (UCC) and South Congregational Church (UCC) in Pittsfield, MA. Join us for worship at 10 am on Sundays! Click here if you’d like to donate to the church and its ministries!
Centering out 