One in the Spirit

One in the Spirit

It’s Complicated: Family as a Means of Grace - Part 6
June 8, 2025
Joel 2:28, Acts 2:38-47

After that I will pour out my spirit upon everyone;
     your sons and your daughters will prophesy,
     your old men will dream dreams,
     and your young men will see visions.

Joel 2:28

Peter replied, “Change your hearts and lives. Each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you, your children, and for all who are far away — as many as the Lord our God invites.”

Acts 2:38-39

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“I will pour out my Spirit upon everyone… This promise is for you, your children, and for all who are far away — as many as the Lord invites.”

It has been said that the greatest scandal of Christianity is not who it excludes, but who it includes.  If God is at the center of the circle, there are no boundaries.  If Christ is at the head of the table, there is always an extra seat.  If the Holy Spirit is poured out upon everyone, then who are we to say who is in or out, who belongs or doesn’t, who is welcome or who is not?

As the Spirit moves through Acts, we discover that everyone includes than even the prophets or disciples imagined: Jews and Gentiles, men and women, slaves and free, young and old, rich and poor.  The Spirit pours out on Saul, a persecutor of the church.  The Spirit reaches out across the nations and welcomes Roman centurions, wealthy businesswomen, slave girls, prison guards, merchants, tentmakers, and the list goes on. 

Empires thrive on conformity, loyalty, and fear.  As the Wizard says in Wicked, “nothing brings people together like a good enemy.”  Tragically, Christian history has often embraced this philosophy — us vs. them — with devastating results.  From the Crusades the Holocaust to  present-day attacks by Christian leaders against people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQ+ community, people with mental health struggles, other religions, and even certain branches of the church that they don’t consider Christian — the list of those we try to exclude is long.

These are people God so loved, whom Christ came to save and not condemn.  Even when they are in our churches and communities, seeking to live with love and integrity, we are quick to judge, to marginalize, or to ignore them entirely as if they are not really present.

Some claim that history is being “re-written” because it doesn’t match what they learned in school.  In truth, what’s new is  the inclusion of the countless voices long silenced by power.  These people have always been present, in the world and in the church, but they have not always been seen or heard.

That is why we confess the ways we have rejected God’s promise for ALL people.  We ask for a fresh outpouring of the Spirit, to open our eyes and hearts to those we have not seen and to help us hear God’s voice in the voices we have silenced.

Lord have mercy.  Christ have mercy.  Lord have mercy.

Hear the good news! We are one in the Spirit of God, who is poured out on all people, without exception, and who binds us together not by sameness, but by grace.

Let's Head the Other Way

Let’s Head The Other Way

Good News - Part 4

Sunday, January 28, 2024
Mark 1:29-39

Early in the morning, well before sunrise, Jesus rose and went to a deserted place where he could be alone in prayer.  Simon and those with him tracked him down.  When they found him, they told him, “Everyone’s looking for you!”

He replied, “Let’s head in the other direction, to the nearby villages, so that I can preach there too. That’s why I’ve come.”  He traveled throughout Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and throwing out demons.

Mark 1:35-39 CEB)

Listen to this Week’s Sermon here:

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Have you ever gotten a text asking “Did you get my email?” or a call asking “Did you get my text?” only to find out that the initial message was sent less than an hour ago.  In our fast paced, overly connected culture, there is an unwritten expectation that we are available to everyone immediately at any time.  My personal policy is that I will almost always respond to any message, voice, text or email, within 24-hours, but if I answered everything immediately I would never get any work done.  I have known others, however, who would interrupt meetings, meals, or personal conversations just to answer a spam call about their car’s extended warranty.  The idea of not answering, even if they know it is a robot calling, somehow seems more offensive to them than disrupting whatever they are doing. 

I get it.  We all have different personalities and styles.  There is nothing wrong with people who love being on the phone all the time and there is nothing wrong with those who would never answer a phone if they could get away with it.  But Jesus’ example as he begins to spread the good news goes much deeper than personality, preference, or phone etiquette. 

Jesus had been growing quite popular in his  ministry of healing and casting out demons.  Many more needed his help, and yet, the next day he was nowhere to be found.  Like a pop-up store selling the latest greatest gadget or the best food truck you’ve ever been to, but the next day when you try to bring your friend, the business has moved on. 

How can Jesus get everybody’s hopes up and then just disappear?  Why is he not available to help those who didn’t hear about his miracles in time?  Even when the disciples told him that there were many people waiting for him, he turned and went the other way, to go and spread the good news in other villages. 

It is easy for those of us who have spent much of our lives in church to feel a sense of ownership or priority where Jesus is concerned.  We come week after week expecting to hear good news.  We want to be comforted.  We want to be encouraged.  We want to find healing.  We want to be taken care of.  Inevitably there is someone in every worship service who walks away thinking, “I didn’t get anything out of that message today,” and someone else who felt like God was speaking directly to them in their deepest place of need.

Jesus reminds us that the “Good News” is never just for us.  It’s always for someone else too, and the moment we get jealous of how God’s Kingdom is growing in some other place, or the way Jesus is showing up for someone else, the more aware we should be at just how much we’ve missed the point of what this Good News is really all about.  God’s work is never exclusive to one place or one group of people. 

The good news is always for “them” as well, no matter who the “them” may be.