June 5 - Pentecost - We Declare ...in a secular age

This week we have an interesting confluence in our service as we come to the fifth session of the "We Declare" series on Pentecost Sunday.  We both celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to everyday people in a new, dramatic way, and look at how we bear witness to what we have seen, heard and believe in a secular age.  

All around us there are people who have very different experiences of God and the the church. Some believe in ways similar to ours, some have come to believe God is calling them to different beliefs and practices, and some don't even believe that God exists.  How do we speak our truth into these diverse situations? How do we respect our siblings, God's other beloved children, while holding diametrically opposing views from theirs?

What role does the Holy Spirit play as we look for answers to these questions? 

As we read the stories and letters that make up the New Testament we see different approaches to sharing the good news of God's love, incarnated in Jesus.  We see Jesus preaching to large crowds, teaching in more intimate settings with his disciples, and even meeting some people one on one.  We see Paul speaking in synagogues, arguing in the marketplace, and writing letters showing a deep concern for each recipient's well being. We hear what sounds like harsh condemnation of hypocrisy, and we hear gentle calls to let the children come.  What is the common thread?  Or is there one? 

God can use us in different ways in different situations.  As the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 gave the disciples the ability to speak so that each listener could hear the message in a language they could understand, so, too,  the Holy Spirit can guide us and grant us wisdom and power to share God's message in a way that enables others to hear what God is trying to communicate through us.

Of course, in order to be guided by the Spirit, we need to open ourselves to an awareness of the presence of that Spirit, in scripture, in the people and nature around us, in the ordinary and extraordinary moments that make up our lives. We also need to be open to God working in mysterious ways. Where as we might think we need an army and weapons to win a war, God may choose to have us march around a city for seven days and have the walls come tumbling down. Whereas we may think we need a large budget and access to food delivery, God may choose to use a single child's lunch to feed 5000 people with lots left over. In this day and age of science and certainty, we like to be able to explain everything that happens. But God's ways are not our ways, and God can work in weird and wonderful, or completely simple, mundane, ways. Over and over we are reminded that God is so much beyond our comprehension that we cannot predict, let alone dictate, how God should work in any given situation. Let's be open to the mystery that is a part of who God is. Let us let God be God! 

We also need to remember that God is love - and love should be the focus in all our interactions if we want to embody the good news God has for humankind. We need to look past the controversial rhetoric and see the person in front of us. We need to remember the person in front of us is someone who probably has been hurt and may be somewhat broken and in need of love and understanding. We need to remember that God loves them just as they are. That person has a reason for thinking/believing/acting as they do. Can we try to understand that and hold their reasons in balance with our own? They may not make sense to us, or they may seem selfish or even malicious from our perspective, but somehow we need to hold opposing views gently. We need to call on the Holy Spirit for guidance and wisdom as we engage in conversation with people who hold different views. We need to love and advocate for those who cannot speak for themselves, but we also need to be aware of the humanity of those to whom they are trying to get a message. Both need love and understanding. Let us continue to remember that God is love!

When we open ourselves to the Spirit and to the mystery of God's ways, and remember that both the oppressor and the oppressed (for example) are God's beloved children, we can learn to speak the truth in love. We can share our stories, our experiences, without claiming them as normative for all people, or condemning or negating the stories and beliefs of other people. We can learn to share love and joy, inviting others from places of fear or hate or insecurity, if that is where they are. God does not expect us to have all the answers for all people, but God does expect us to share what we have experienced and to trust that The Holy Spirit is at work, whether or not we can see that work. God can use our inexpert story telling and actions to bring about real change. God can work through us!

So as we celebrate the Holy Spirit's coming to the believers in Jerusalem many years ago, and the disciples' subsequent successful preaching, let us open ourselves to God filling us with the Holy Spirit and giving us the words and the wisdom to go forth and declare what we have seen and heard.