Sermons & Meditations

Acts 2:1-11; Romans 8:14-17
Presented May 27th, 2007, by J.D. Kline
Pentecost Sunday

Episcopal preacher Barbara Brown Taylor begins a Pentecost sermon with the reminder that the word conspire means to breathe together. Generally when we think of conspiracy, we conjure up images of plotting and intrigue, scheming and maneuvering to get our own way. Those currently holding power plot to maintain their positions of influence, while those on the fringes frequently scheme to gain status and power over others. We’re familiar with this kind of conspiracy as plotting, scheming and intrigue. But at its root, conspiracy is a matter of breathing together. And on the first Christian Pentecost, that surely was the case, as God’s Spirit commingles with the spirits of the early believers in Jesus; God’s Spirit conspires with the first followers of the way of Jesus, so much so that, in the aftermath of Pentecost,

shy people had become bold, scared people had become gutsy, and lost people had found a sure direction. Disciples who had not believed themselves capable of tying their own sandals without Jesus discovered abilities within themselves they never knew they had. When they opened their mouths to speak, they sounded like Jesus (Barbara Brown Taylor, “The Gospel of the Holy Spirit,” in Home By Another Way).

Those first followers of Jesus, you may remember, were gathered together in a room in Jerusalem, quite uncertain about their next steps. In the aftermath of the events of Good Friday and Easter, still seeking to make sense of Jesus’ resurrection, the early disciples heard the risen Jesus urging them to wait in Jerusalem. Wait for God’s promise. Wait until the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And according to the book of Acts, they had indeed been waiting—for some 50 days. But one gets the sense that they little grasp what they are waiting for. What might this promise mean, the disciples wonder. And just how long will we have to wait? Some, no doubt, were becoming impatient; others struggled to move beyond their grief and loss; still others were nearly ready to dismiss experiences with Jesus as nothing more than an idle dream. No one among that small group, it seems clear, was anticipating a new kind of conspiracy. No one expected God’s Holy Spirit to so empower the disciples that they would become God’s partners in living and proclaiming a new reality—life in the unfolding kingdom of God. No one seemed to be anticipating a time when the very Spirit of God would conspire with them, breathing into them new life, new courage, new insight, new power, new hope, new peace, new purpose, new direction for their lives.

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Acts 11:1-18
Presented May 20th, 2007, by J.D. Kline
The Seventh Sunday of Easter

Wayne Muller, founder of Bread for the Journey, a nationwide organization serving families in need, begins his book Learning to Pray by describing the frequent morning fog in Northern California where he lives. Often when Muller rises, he cannot see the mountains and the trees, the grasses and the sky, yet he can somehow feel their presence. Muller trusts that the fog will once again lift on those foggy mornings, and as it does, the outlines, colors, and textures of the familiar environment will again become clear. Prayer, suggests Muller, is much like that; it is a “deep, faithful listening, waiting for what is hidden to be revealed. Prayer is not words; prayer is what happens when you listen and wait, beneath the words, for the outlines of heaven to emerge.”

In this morning’s Scripture lesson from the book of Acts, chapter eleven, Peter relates the story of a vision he experiences when praying on the rooftop of Simon the tanner’s home in Joppa. Peter’s vision leads to a pivotal moment in the life of the early church, a time when the outlines of heaven emerge in ways that were shocking to the early church. In the first century, you will recall, lines of separation between Jew and Gentile were unmistakably clear, but this vision suggests that something markedly new is in the works, that the first Christians are being called to move in radically new directions.

Recall with me the story. While praying, Peter enters into a trance, seeing before him the heavens opening and something like a huge sheet being lowered before him. The sheet is filled with a host of creatures—all manner of four-footed animals and reptiles, as well as birds of the air. As a Jew long steeped in laws and regulations concerning cleanliness, Peter immediately recognizes that these are unclean creatures. Imagine his shock, then, upon hearing God’s voice command, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.” Even while in a trance Peter remains true to his convictions, protesting, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is profane or unclean.” Three times Peter sees this same vision, with the voice from above contradicting Peter’s protest, “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.”

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Acts 9:1-20
Presented May 6th, 2007, by J.D. Kline
The Fifth Sunday of Easter

The New Testament book of Acts tells the unfolding story of the development of the early church, the creation of a radically inclusive community of persons intent upon following in the footsteps of Jesus. In the aftermath of Jesus’ resurrection, you will recall, the early disciples struggled to make sense of that remarkably unexpected event. What could resurrection possibly mean for those first followers of Jesus who, in spite of spending considerable time hearing and participating in Jesus’ ministry, were little prepared for something that simply was not on their “radar?” As the story begins in Acts, the disciples ask the risen Jesus, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). It is a question that makes it clear that those first followers of Jesus continued to view life from a narrow perspective. Even though the disciples had heard Jesus proclaim a new way of living, including love for one’s enemies, they held firm to their conviction that God’s realm was Israel’s exclusive domain; it was Israel’s, and Israel’s alone.

In response to the disciples’ question, Jesus urges them to remain in Jerusalem until they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is a gift that will begin to move them beyond their narrow bias, for the Spirit, Jesus assures the disciples, will empower them to become Christ’s “witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (1:8). But just as their Easter encounter with resurrection caught the disciples off guard, so does the Spirit when it falls upon them on Pentecost. Nevertheless, the first believers soon find themselves living and proclaiming the gospel with new power, with deepened wisdom, with surprising courage. And the church begins to grow and expand in unexpected places and unexpected ways. It is as if a series of ever-expanding concentric circles comes to characterize the church, as not only fellow Jews are drawn to the good news about Jesus, but also Samaritans and unusual seekers such as an Ethiopian eunuch.

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