WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.299 This morning we continue into our second Sunday 00:00:03.299 --> 00:00:06.500 of our summer sermon series, Rooted in the Spirit, 00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:09.300 where we're looking at the fruits of the Spirit 00:00:09.300 --> 00:00:13.980 and how we may learn how to live them out. So 00:00:13.980 --> 00:00:17.620 we start looking again at Galatians chapter 5, 00:00:17.760 --> 00:00:20.980 verses 22, and I'm going to read through verse 00:00:20.980 --> 00:00:29.879 26. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, 00:00:30.179 --> 00:00:34.560 patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 00:00:34.659 --> 00:00:38.439 gentleness, and self -control. There is no law 00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:41.520 against such things. And those who belong to 00:00:41.520 --> 00:00:44.579 Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its 00:00:44.579 --> 00:00:48.000 passions and desires. For if we live by the Spirit, 00:00:48.259 --> 00:00:52.539 let us also be guided by the Spirit. Let us not 00:00:52.539 --> 00:00:55.259 become conceited, competing against one another 00:00:55.259 --> 00:00:59.439 or envying one another. In our second reading, 00:00:59.659 --> 00:01:05.659 the Pentecost story coming from Acts 2. When 00:01:05.659 --> 00:01:09.180 the day of Pentecost had come, they were all 00:01:09.180 --> 00:01:12.959 together in one place. And suddenly from heaven 00:01:12.959 --> 00:01:16.060 there came a sound like the rush of a violent 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:18.780 wind, and it filled the entire house where they 00:01:18.780 --> 00:01:23.379 were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire 00:01:23.379 --> 00:01:26.379 appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each 00:01:26.379 --> 00:01:30.209 of them. And all of them in that space were filled 00:01:30.209 --> 00:01:32.909 with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other 00:01:32.909 --> 00:01:37.590 languages as the Spirit gave them ability. Now 00:01:37.590 --> 00:01:39.829 there were devout Jews from every nation under 00:01:39.829 --> 00:01:43.189 heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound, 00:01:43.230 --> 00:01:46.349 the crowd gathered and was bewildered because 00:01:46.349 --> 00:01:50.109 each one heard them speaking in the native language 00:01:50.109 --> 00:01:55.250 of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, Are 00:01:55.250 --> 00:01:57.950 not all of these who are speaking Galileans? 00:01:58.409 --> 00:02:01.849 And how is it that we hear each of us in our 00:02:01.849 --> 00:02:06.170 own native language, Parthians, Medes, Elamites, 00:02:06.170 --> 00:02:10.189 and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, 00:02:10.330 --> 00:02:15.490 Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt 00:02:15.490 --> 00:02:18.969 and parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors 00:02:18.969 --> 00:02:23.169 from Rome, both Jews and proselytates? Cretans 00:02:23.169 --> 00:02:28.909 and Arabs in our own languages, we hear them 00:02:28.909 --> 00:02:34.129 speaking of God's deeds and power. And all were 00:02:34.129 --> 00:02:36.590 amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, 00:02:36.830 --> 00:02:41.990 what does this mean? But others, they sneered 00:02:41.990 --> 00:02:46.150 and they said, they are filled with the new wine. 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:50.319 But Peter, standing with the eleven, he raised 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:53.819 his voice and he addressed them, Men of Judea 00:02:53.819 --> 00:02:57.120 and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known 00:02:57.120 --> 00:03:01.599 to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these 00:03:01.599 --> 00:03:05.419 men are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is 00:03:05.419 --> 00:03:09.139 only nine o 'clock in the morning. No, this is 00:03:09.139 --> 00:03:12.560 what was spoken through the prophet Joel. In 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:16.639 the last days it will be, God declares. that 00:03:16.639 --> 00:03:21.840 I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:24.039 your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:26.520 and your young men shall see visions, and your 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:30.379 old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:33.900 both men and women, in those days I will pour 00:03:33.900 --> 00:03:39.379 out my spirit, and they too shall prophesy. And 00:03:39.379 --> 00:03:41.539 I will show portents in the heaven above and 00:03:41.539 --> 00:03:44.900 on signs on the earth below, blood and fire and 00:03:44.900 --> 00:03:47.979 smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness 00:03:47.979 --> 00:03:51.180 and the moon to blood before the coming of the 00:03:51.180 --> 00:03:56.060 Lord's great and glorious day. And then everyone, 00:03:56.199 --> 00:04:00.240 everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:04.219 be saved. Friends, this is the word of God for 00:04:04.219 --> 00:04:09.330 us, the people of God. Thanks be to God. Will 00:04:09.330 --> 00:04:17.490 you join me in prayer? Let us pray. Good and 00:04:17.490 --> 00:04:22.569 holy God, you have called each of us into this 00:04:22.569 --> 00:04:28.009 place. From wherever we were, it was your voice, 00:04:28.029 --> 00:04:31.550 your spirit that was a wind at our back and brought 00:04:31.550 --> 00:04:37.410 us here together. May that same spirit fill this 00:04:37.410 --> 00:04:42.939 room. maybe with the sound of a violent rushing 00:04:42.939 --> 00:04:47.620 wind, that our own spirits and hearts might be 00:04:47.620 --> 00:04:50.899 transformed by your word, that we might be sent 00:04:50.899 --> 00:04:54.500 out a new people, renewed in our mission for 00:04:54.500 --> 00:04:58.160 the world. May the words of my mouth and the 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:01.180 meditations of all our hearts gathered here in 00:05:01.180 --> 00:05:03.779 this place be pleasing to you, O God, our rock 00:05:03.779 --> 00:05:13.269 and our redeemer. Amen. So last summer, I had 00:05:13.269 --> 00:05:18.009 the joy of taking a group of our youth on a mission 00:05:18.009 --> 00:05:20.449 trip to Cedar Kirk Camp and Conference Center, 00:05:20.610 --> 00:05:23.889 which is in Lithia, Florida, just outside Tampa. 00:05:23.990 --> 00:05:26.430 Some of you may have heard about this trip, in 00:05:26.430 --> 00:05:30.470 particular, the bus AC breaking on the way down 00:05:30.470 --> 00:05:34.250 to Florida in the second week of June. And if 00:05:34.250 --> 00:05:36.430 you know anything about Florida, the second week 00:05:36.430 --> 00:05:38.670 of June is not an ideal time to have your AC 00:05:38.670 --> 00:05:42.879 break down. But other than that being a memorable 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:46.060 moment of the trip, this trip was significant 00:05:46.060 --> 00:05:49.939 for me because it was an opportunity to share 00:05:49.939 --> 00:05:53.620 a place that I love and hold dear with the youth 00:05:53.620 --> 00:05:57.500 that I've been called to serve. Cedar Kirk, it 00:05:57.500 --> 00:06:00.279 stands for the church among the cedar trees. 00:06:01.100 --> 00:06:04.939 And I trace my call to ministry back to my lone 00:06:04.939 --> 00:06:08.779 summer there as a camp counselor. It was that 00:06:08.779 --> 00:06:12.279 summer that God called to me again as he had 00:06:12.279 --> 00:06:15.399 many times before. But there, that summer, I 00:06:15.399 --> 00:06:19.160 finally listened. And what a gift it was to share 00:06:19.160 --> 00:06:23.579 the holiness of that place with those youth. 00:06:24.970 --> 00:06:26.930 Now there's a tradition on the last night of 00:06:26.930 --> 00:06:30.449 camp where everyone who has been present gathers 00:06:30.449 --> 00:06:34.750 around a large campfire, a bonfire really, and 00:06:34.750 --> 00:06:38.389 after the counselors take time to share dances 00:06:38.389 --> 00:06:43.670 and skits or stories and songs, Mark Orendorf, 00:06:43.689 --> 00:06:46.329 who is the assistant director of Cedar Kirk, 00:06:46.569 --> 00:06:50.970 he approaches the campfire and he walks around 00:06:50.970 --> 00:06:57.670 it slowly. Very intentionally. And he talks about 00:06:57.670 --> 00:07:01.529 the power of the relationships and the bonds 00:07:01.529 --> 00:07:04.129 of community that have been built during the 00:07:04.129 --> 00:07:06.389 week, no matter if you are in the kindergarten 00:07:06.389 --> 00:07:09.910 camp or senior high leadership or like us in 00:07:09.910 --> 00:07:13.889 the Challenge to Change mission program. And 00:07:13.889 --> 00:07:18.750 as the fire there flickers and it crackles, Mark 00:07:18.750 --> 00:07:21.949 goes on to share that we as a community are like 00:07:21.949 --> 00:07:26.980 this fire. We are strong and we are fueled by 00:07:26.980 --> 00:07:30.680 one another. And we are able to withstand almost 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:34.000 anything when we are together, when we are united. 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:38.699 And it's then that Mark takes some sort of other 00:07:38.699 --> 00:07:41.920 stick and he knocks a coal from out of the flames. 00:07:42.899 --> 00:07:47.220 And he goes on, sometimes, sometimes a coal is 00:07:47.220 --> 00:07:52.740 thrown out from the fire. And what happens if 00:07:52.740 --> 00:07:57.139 this coal stays out of the flames too long? And 00:07:57.139 --> 00:08:02.579 a child shouts, it'll go out. It won't be on 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:06.000 fire anymore. And Mark responds, that's right. 00:08:06.699 --> 00:08:10.639 And like this coal, if someone in our community 00:08:10.639 --> 00:08:14.920 strays or is even excluded from the group, not 00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:19.199 only do they eventually lose their light, But 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:24.220 our collective fire, our light grows weaker and 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:30.139 weaker. Mark takes that stick again and he scoots 00:08:30.139 --> 00:08:33.299 or knocks that coal back into the flames. And 00:08:33.299 --> 00:08:39.080 he says, it's our call that we must bring these 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:43.019 coals back into the fold so that our fire, our 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:47.789 flame can continue shining bright. Strong once 00:08:47.789 --> 00:08:54.970 again and united. That all may know they belong 00:08:54.970 --> 00:09:00.870 here. That everyone, everyone may know the love 00:09:00.870 --> 00:09:06.370 of God because everyone deserves, deserves to 00:09:06.370 --> 00:09:12.029 feel the joy that we feel here in community. 00:09:14.250 --> 00:09:21.700 Everyone. is included here. In Pentecost, we 00:09:21.700 --> 00:09:25.899 read and we hear that no one, even in this mysterious 00:09:25.899 --> 00:09:29.860 circumstance, no one is left without understanding. 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:34.080 With the flames of the Spirit resting there on 00:09:34.080 --> 00:09:39.659 the heads of the disciples, everyone hears of 00:09:39.659 --> 00:09:42.919 God's power and God's love in their native language. 00:09:45.519 --> 00:09:48.259 Peter speaks the words of the prophet Joel, I 00:09:48.259 --> 00:09:53.539 will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your 00:09:53.539 --> 00:09:58.000 sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:01.120 shall see visions, and your old shall dream dreams. 00:10:02.480 --> 00:10:06.779 The message of the Spirit's descent in this way 00:10:06.779 --> 00:10:12.620 is that there is no joy in division. There's 00:10:12.620 --> 00:10:20.549 no joy. In exclusion. And how powerful. How powerful 00:10:20.549 --> 00:10:24.990 that like Pentecost, the fruits of the Spirit 00:10:24.990 --> 00:10:33.009 are for everyone. They're all inclusive. Everybody 00:10:33.009 --> 00:10:36.809 understands the fruits of the Spirit when they're 00:10:36.809 --> 00:10:41.830 presented in one's own language. Love and joy, 00:10:42.009 --> 00:10:46.929 peace, patience. kindness, generosity, faithfulness, 00:10:47.070 --> 00:10:52.970 gentleness, and self -control. No one is excluded 00:10:52.970 --> 00:10:56.149 from these. No one is excluded from understanding 00:10:56.149 --> 00:11:00.889 the deep truths and powers of these fruits. Now, 00:11:00.909 --> 00:11:03.970 these fruits, they may look or sound or smell 00:11:03.970 --> 00:11:06.629 or even feel different in different cultures, 00:11:06.690 --> 00:11:09.889 different societies, different moments of life. 00:11:11.210 --> 00:11:14.990 But that diversity of lived experience, of knowing 00:11:14.990 --> 00:11:19.450 joy and love, that is representative of who God 00:11:19.450 --> 00:11:28.129 is. There's no division in joy. There's only 00:11:28.129 --> 00:11:34.950 celebration. And I want to admit that by no means 00:11:34.950 --> 00:11:39.299 am I the best read pastor. I can read, but I'm 00:11:39.299 --> 00:11:44.080 not the best read pastor. And I'm often not able 00:11:44.080 --> 00:11:48.059 to regularly recall countless theologians or 00:11:48.059 --> 00:11:52.059 scripture verses for the perfect circumstances. 00:11:52.100 --> 00:11:57.399 It's just not my gift. However, every now and 00:11:57.399 --> 00:12:03.120 then, lightning strikes in a bottle. And as I 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:06.379 reflected on the Pentecost story this week through 00:12:06.379 --> 00:12:10.940 the lens of joy for our sermon series, Richard 00:12:10.940 --> 00:12:14.080 Foster's book, The Celebration of Discipline, 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:19.559 popped into my mind. Now in this book, Foster, 00:12:19.779 --> 00:12:26.419 related to you? No. Foster in this book, he lays 00:12:26.419 --> 00:12:30.360 out the importance. of inward and outward spiritual 00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:33.860 disciplines that we can lean on that will lead 00:12:33.860 --> 00:12:38.779 us to a faithful life, that will lead us as close 00:12:38.779 --> 00:12:43.279 as we can get to being like Christ. And it's 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:46.879 in the last chapter that Foster writes about 00:12:46.879 --> 00:12:51.370 celebration. And he notes that this is an intentional 00:12:51.370 --> 00:12:55.090 move because he believes that living into the 00:12:55.090 --> 00:12:58.149 spiritual disciplines that he's laid out before 00:12:58.149 --> 00:13:02.049 this, or I might say even the fruits of the Spirit, 00:13:02.309 --> 00:13:06.889 that living into these, it's meaningless, meaningless 00:13:06.889 --> 00:13:12.909 if we don't live with joy. He calls at one point 00:13:12.909 --> 00:13:18.519 joy the motor or the energy of our faith. But 00:13:18.519 --> 00:13:20.820 it's this quote that stands out to me above the 00:13:20.820 --> 00:13:28.460 rest. Joy begets joy. Laughter begets laughter. 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:33.620 It's one of those few things in life that we 00:13:33.620 --> 00:13:44.220 multiply by giving. Joy begets joy. And it multiplies 00:13:44.220 --> 00:13:53.360 by us giving it. Joy is a gift. And it's not 00:13:53.360 --> 00:13:56.940 like other gifts that we may receive that we 00:13:56.940 --> 00:14:00.779 are to hoard or hide for ourselves. No, joy is 00:14:00.779 --> 00:14:05.679 meant to be shared, given, and expressed repeatedly. 00:14:07.019 --> 00:14:11.279 We are called to live with celebration. at this 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:13.620 gospel that we've received. It's in Pentecost 00:14:13.620 --> 00:14:16.419 that the disciples are given the Holy Spirit 00:14:16.419 --> 00:14:20.539 and they are sent to give as they too have received. 00:14:22.179 --> 00:14:26.539 And to share that joy of God's love in Christ's 00:14:26.539 --> 00:14:31.940 saving grace so that all may know, that all may 00:14:31.940 --> 00:14:35.779 understand, that all may be led into a life of 00:14:35.779 --> 00:14:39.529 the fruits of God's Spirit. Friends, the story, 00:14:39.549 --> 00:14:44.309 it begins here in Jerusalem. But the next chapters, 00:14:44.490 --> 00:14:48.970 they're still being written. We are writing them. 00:14:49.009 --> 00:14:52.750 And those chapters, this story, it expands from 00:14:52.750 --> 00:14:58.870 Jerusalem to the very ends of the earth. Now, 00:14:58.909 --> 00:15:04.309 Pentecost occurs in the Jewish tradition 50 days 00:15:04.309 --> 00:15:11.289 after the Passover meal. Fifty days after the 00:15:11.289 --> 00:15:14.789 meal where Jesus sits at a table with his closest 00:15:14.789 --> 00:15:18.409 friends, looking at them, even the one who is 00:15:18.409 --> 00:15:21.309 to betray him that night, and it's there at that 00:15:21.309 --> 00:15:27.029 table that he gives them a gift. The gift of 00:15:27.029 --> 00:15:31.769 his body and the bread broken. The gift of his 00:15:31.769 --> 00:15:36.730 blood in the cup that is poured. The sacrament 00:15:36.730 --> 00:15:40.509 of communion which to this day we participate 00:15:40.509 --> 00:15:44.269 in every time that we come down and we gather 00:15:44.269 --> 00:15:51.149 at this table together. Now for 50 days and seven 00:15:51.149 --> 00:15:55.629 weeks, seven Sundays of Easter, we have, like 00:15:55.629 --> 00:16:01.629 the disciples, lived in a sort of limbo. We've 00:16:01.629 --> 00:16:05.870 known. We've understood. We've had the joy and 00:16:05.870 --> 00:16:09.370 the hope and the resurrection fill our spirits 00:16:09.370 --> 00:16:12.350 and our hearts, our very beings. But at times, 00:16:12.370 --> 00:16:19.149 I wonder, have we still been awestruck or confused? 00:16:20.809 --> 00:16:25.629 Have we been sitting here wondering, what do 00:16:25.629 --> 00:16:30.909 we do with this? What do I do with this new reality, 00:16:31.029 --> 00:16:34.210 with the news of resurrection, of death, which 00:16:34.210 --> 00:16:38.889 has been defeated with this gift of joy? What 00:16:38.889 --> 00:16:46.269 do I do with this? And in Pentecost, the Holy 00:16:46.269 --> 00:16:49.970 Spirit fills us once again with joy as our motor 00:16:49.970 --> 00:16:53.570 to share the good news. It is in Pentecost that 00:16:53.570 --> 00:16:58.250 we too are ordained to prophesy, to vision. to 00:16:58.250 --> 00:17:04.289 dream dreams, to imagine and wonder, and to proclaim 00:17:04.289 --> 00:17:07.789 the gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news that 00:17:07.789 --> 00:17:13.130 he will come again. Pentecost says that everyone, 00:17:13.549 --> 00:17:19.410 everyone, not only needs but deserves this joy. 00:17:21.890 --> 00:17:26.109 After our 50 days of waiting, of getting to this 00:17:26.109 --> 00:17:30.630 moment, I wonder what would it look like for 00:17:30.630 --> 00:17:34.930 us as individuals and as the collective, what 00:17:34.930 --> 00:17:37.049 would it look like for us to take these next 00:17:37.049 --> 00:17:43.230 50 days and to focus our lives on joy with a 00:17:43.230 --> 00:17:48.109 holy intentionality? To take 50 days, starting 00:17:48.109 --> 00:17:54.059 right now, 50 days. And to be led by the Spirit 00:17:54.059 --> 00:17:59.660 of God that's filled us with joy. To go out like 00:17:59.660 --> 00:18:03.460 rivers from a spring, spreading that joy as it 00:18:03.460 --> 00:18:08.720 continues to flow in and through us. As Alan 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:12.680 noted, Pentecost marks the beginning for us of 00:18:12.680 --> 00:18:15.220 ordinary time. But I want to say, forget ordinary 00:18:15.220 --> 00:18:19.140 time. What does it look like for us to see this 00:18:19.140 --> 00:18:24.559 as a time of joy? and for joy itself to become 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:34.839 extraordinary. I wonder. Friends, our world is 00:18:34.839 --> 00:18:40.579 torn apart. It's torn apart by war, by political 00:18:40.579 --> 00:18:46.039 divisions, by economic disparities, by injustices, 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:51.630 and by fear. So what would it require of us to 00:18:51.630 --> 00:18:59.410 lead with joy in a world like that? I believe 00:18:59.410 --> 00:19:03.849 that it quite simply would require for us to 00:19:03.849 --> 00:19:10.549 be the church. To be the church of Jesus Christ. 00:19:10.630 --> 00:19:15.809 To be the church of Pentecost. Because in our 00:19:15.809 --> 00:19:19.230 very birth, we are called as the church to be 00:19:19.230 --> 00:19:25.609 a river of joy in the world. That in joy, people 00:19:25.609 --> 00:19:29.990 might find hope. That in celebration, which is 00:19:29.990 --> 00:19:34.289 the holy chaos of joy lived out, that the world 00:19:34.289 --> 00:19:39.069 may know peace and belonging and the love of 00:19:39.069 --> 00:19:45.509 God who called all things into being. What would 00:19:45.509 --> 00:19:53.569 that look like? 50 days of joy. And once we complete 00:19:53.569 --> 00:19:59.529 that, once we've met our goal of 50 days, let's 00:19:59.529 --> 00:20:05.210 go for 50 more. And then how about 50 more from 00:20:05.210 --> 00:20:12.069 there? And then we just keep going. Keep going 00:20:12.069 --> 00:20:15.309 until the joy of the Spirit is the motor of our 00:20:15.309 --> 00:20:18.450 faith, that the joy that God has given us is 00:20:18.450 --> 00:20:21.990 the driving energy in the world around us, able 00:20:21.990 --> 00:20:27.450 to transform anything. Let's be rooted in that. 00:20:28.849 --> 00:20:36.369 The Spirit of Pentecost. The Spirit of joy. 50 00:20:36.369 --> 00:20:53.369 days. 50 days. Let us pray. Lord, on this Pentecost 00:20:53.369 --> 00:20:59.930 Sunday, may your spirit fill us, we who have 00:20:59.930 --> 00:21:04.470 been waiting for our sending. May it fill us 00:21:04.470 --> 00:21:09.609 with love and joy, with the motivation to go 00:21:09.609 --> 00:21:16.009 out. knowing that we do not go alone. May you 00:21:16.009 --> 00:21:19.609 give us the strength and the courage to keep 00:21:19.609 --> 00:21:23.009 at it when we feel like we've reached a dead 00:21:23.009 --> 00:21:30.650 end. For we know that together, as we point to 00:21:30.650 --> 00:21:33.009 your Spirit, to your good news, to your Son, 00:21:33.130 --> 00:21:38.019 Christ, anything is possible. We pray this all 00:21:38.019 --> 00:21:39.859 in the name of the Father and the Son and the 00:21:39.859 --> 00:21:42.079 Holy Spirit. Amen.