Lectionary 15A

Matthew 13:1-9,18-23
Isaiah 55:10-13
Psalm 65: 9-13 

Let us pray…

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. 

 

I recently heard a farmer talking about the drought. 

 

Did you know that full-grown dairy cow can drink 50 gallons of water every day? Imagine it – a bathtub worth of water, every day! 

 

Fresh, clean water is essential to having healthy crops, healthy cows and healthy milk. So, it’s not surprising that the current drought has affected them since the winter. Their pastures never got what they needed to get off to a good start and while they’ve sold some of their cows, and adapted as best as they can, they need to get second cuttings of hay and a good silage crop to get them through the year. 

 

When Jesus tells the parable of the sower that we hear in today’s gospel, he talks about the person who sows the seed, 

and he talks about the types of ground, soil or dirt where the seeds land, 

and he even talks about what happens to the seeds and what the harvest looks like. 

 

There are a couple of popular interpretations of the parable. One would ask the church to be more like God, sowing seeds recklessly or with wild abandon and trusting God is at work in the mess we create. Another tasks us with making amends, correcting the ways we have not let faith take root in us and urging us to become “good” soil. 

 

But do you know what Jesus doesn’t talk about?

 

The rain. Or the snow. 

The precipitation that waters the ground, 

that prepares the living earth to grow and bloom.

 

And yet, that is exactly where God’s attention is both in the words of the prophet Isaiah and the psalmist.

 

Martin Luther recognized that the texts don’t tell us to be more diligent or fastidious planters or to strive to be good soil. 

 

We aren’t the ones doing this work. God is.

God’s Word nourishes faith.

 

We must remember that God gets all the verbs. I know you’ve heard me say that before. It’s an important refrain because it helps me remember that Scripture is always pointing to what God is doing, 

telling us what God promises, 

and showing us God’s love for all of God’s world. 

 

God sows faith in us through God’s Word, 

and God wants us to respond, 

but God’s Word offers invitation, not condemnation.

 

As I was thinking about this week’s texts, I read a children’s story by Kate Messner called Up in the Garden, Down in the Dirt. As she describes the ways a little girl and her grandmother work together to plant a garden, the granddaughter pays attention to all that is happening. Sure, up in the garden, she and her nana dig, plant and pick tomatoes and cucumbers. But she also names the ways helpers – like spiders, skunks and snakes - participate in this growing world, eating pests while the humans sleep, and joining in the harvest. And then she describes how the earth itself prepares for winter and a whole new garden.

 

I think the kingdom of God is like that. 

 

God sows a living Word. In the prologue to his gospel, John tells us,

 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. (John 1:1-2)

 

And that living Word -embodied in Jesus Christ - invites us to participate, side-by-side, in God’s creation and to witness God’s own imagination at work.

 

The psalmist invites us to praise God because

God makes the earth alive, 

full of abundant life, 

overflowing with plenty, 

cloaked with grain 

and clothed with joy. 

 

We believe in this beautiful and holy creation because God says it is so. And we marvel at all God has given us, even as we realize that there is so much of God’s world that we never see first-hand. Not only in a plot of dirt where our garden grows, but across the whole earth.

 

I think today’s texts invite us into wonder and imagination. It’s a conversation I want us to have at Grace. If we believe – or rather, because we believe we are God’s people, 

and this is a place where God is at work, in us and through us, 

then what is happening down in the dirt?

 

God has sown the seed and watered the earth so that God’s kingdom will grow.

 

So, what is being nourished and nurtured to grow and bloom?

And what else might God be sowing right now? 

 

How are we being called to work together and with partners to bear witness to what God is doing? 

 

Those are my questions as I listen to this story of God’s abundance and generosity, God’s unfailing action for us, and I wonder what it all means for us.

 

Let us pray…

God of heavens and earth,

Thank you for your love for all your creation

And especially for our congregation.

Help us drink in your Word and be strengthened in faith.

Show us how to live in your kingdom so that all will flourish.

We pray in Jesus’ name.

Amen.

El Día de Pentecostés

I first preached this sermon in Spanish; the English translation is below.

Hechos 2:1-21

Juan 20:19-23

Oremos…

Que las palabras de mi boca y las meditaciones de nuestros corazones sean aceptables ante tu presencia, Señor, fortaleza nuestra y redentor nuestro. Amén.

 

Pentecostés era originalmente la festividad judía que celebraba la cosecha y la entrega de la Ley en el Monte Sinaí, cincuenta días después de la Pascua.

En la tradición cristiana, cincuenta días después de la Pascua de Resurrección,

celebramos al Espíritu Santo como la presencia de Dios en nosotros y entre nosotros. (Sundays and Seasons)

 

El texto de los Hechos de los Apóstoles ofrece un hilo conductor que se repite año tras año en Pentecostés; sin embargo, este año lo escuchamos junto con el Evangelio según San Juan correspondiente a la tarde del Domingo de Pascua.

 

Cincuenta días después, podríamos olvidar fácilmente el miedo y la incertidumbre que se apoderaron de los discípulos tras la crucifixión. 

 

El Cuarto Evangelista nos recuerda que los amigos de Jesús estaban escondidos detrás de puertas cerradas con llave cuando Jesús se les apareció en una de sus primeras manifestaciones después de la resurrección.

 

Y mientras se encontraban allí reunidos, él les ofreció un saludo de paz y sopló sobre ellos,

diciéndoles: “Reciban el Espíritu Santo.” (v. 22)

 

Entre los acontecimientos de aquella primera noche y la escena que hoy nos presentan en el libro de los Hechos, los discípulos permanecieron en Jerusalén, continuando su convivencia con Jesús hasta el momento de su Ascensión (Hechos 1:6-11).

 

No tenemos un relato detallado de lo que aconteció durante ese tiempo; pero podemos imaginar que fue un tiempo de instrucción y enseñanza adicionales, destinado a preparar a los discípulos para la labor que tenían por delante. La narración se reanuda en este día festivo: el Día de Pentecostés.

 

Lucas nos relata que todas aquellas personas —provenientes de regiones remotas y distantes—estaban reunidas; y, sin embargo, cada una de ellas podía oír a los discípulos en su propio idioma, «proclamando las obras poderosas de Dios…» (v. 11).

 

Una manera de entender esta escena de Pentecostés es considerarla como la inversión del episodio de la Torre de Babel, descrito en el capítulo 11 del Génesis. Dicho libro nos narra que, cuando la humanidad entera «tenía un solo idioma y las mismas palabras», el pueblo intentó construir una torre para ascender hasta los cielos; pero Dios los humilló, confundiendo su lenguaje y dispersándolos por toda la faz de la tierra. (Gén. 11:9)

 

Ahora, el pueblo de Dios se ha reunido en un entendimiento compartido, unido por una sola ley y un solo Espíritu. 

 

En el Evangelio de Juan, los apóstoles reciben el aliento del Espíritu Santo y son capacitados para la obra del ministerio en el mundo.

 

Si respiran profundamente, permitiendo que su abdomen y su pecho se llenen de aire,

pueden imaginar el espacio que se creó en sus propios cuerpos al recibir ese aliento de Dios, vivificante y transformador.

 

A menudo, representamos el movimiento del Espíritu Santo con banderas que ondean suavemente o con molinillos que giran con ligereza; sin embargo, en el libro de los Hechos, el Espíritu Santo no es tan apacible.

 

En cambio, Lucas lo describe como «el estruendo de un viento impetuoso» (2:2) que llenó toda la casa donde estaban reunidos los discípulos.

 

El aliento puede ser suave, pero el viento es incontrolable: sopla con fuerza y desgarrando el aire ; puede ser dañino o destructivo, haciendo pedazos las cosas que se resisten a doblegarse.

 

Y así, tenemos ante nosotros esta imagen de un tremendo poder divino, desatado sobre y entre los discípulos en Jerusalén.

 

Por un acto puramente divino, la comunidad es impulsada hacia el mundo por el Espíritu Santo.

 

Tras haber recibido el Espíritu Santo, los seguidores de Jesús se transforman: dejan de ser testigos temerosos para convertirse en testigos valientes en el mundo (Brian Stoffregen).

 

Y, sin embargo, a veces sus caminos fueron peligrosos. Sus discursos eran objeto de burla. En ocasiones, eran arrestados y encarcelados. La comodidad no era una señal de su discipulado.

 

Al leer el texto de los Hechos, un predicador reflexionó: “Nuestra incomodidad no es un signo de la ausencia de Dios, sino de la actividad de Dios.”

 

Por lo tanto, al celebrar Pentecostés, espero que podamos sentir curiosidad por lo que Dios está haciendo aquí y ahora;

incluso —o tal vez, especialmente— en aquellos momentos en los que nos sentimos incómodos. 

 

Que Dios estreche nuestra imaginación respecto a quiénes somos y a quiénes estamos llamados a ser como pueblo suyo.

 

Mientras reflexionamos juntos, como congregación, sobre el ministerio al que hemos sido llamados, el pastor Mark nos ha ofrecido esta ilustración.

 

El año pasado, al sacar mi bicicleta después del invierno, me dirigí al sendero Ecusta Trail, en Horseshoe, y pronto descubrí que las ruedas estaban desinfladas. Todo el aire se había escapado y yo ni siquiera me había dado cuenta.

 

La bicicleta es una ilustración de nuestro trabajo conjunto como congregación. El aire en los llantas es esencial. Dios nos llena y nos envía.

 

La rueda trasera es donde se concentra toda la energía.

Esta lleva la etiqueta de “ministerio diario”; es la labor de toda la congregación, de cada uno de nosotros.

 

Y hay cuatro áreas en las que se desarrolla nuestro ministerio diario: discipulado, compañerismo, mayordomía y adoración.

Todo nuestro trabajo conjunto se sustenta en una pieza central llamada administración.

La rueda delantera es la que dirige la bicicleta, dándole rumbo, y lleva la etiqueta de “liderazgo”.

 

Volviendo a nuestras imágenes del Espíritu Santo como el aliento y el viento que nos capacita y nos envían al mundo, se les invita a mirar esta imagen y a reflexionar sobre qué áreas del ministerio podrían estar llamados a participar.

 

Tal vez sea la adoración, donde las personas sirven como músicos, ujieres, lectores y asistentes de la comunión.

o el compañerismo, al reflexionar sobre las formas de profundizar nuestras relaciones y cuidarnos mutuamente los unos a los otros;

o el discipulado, al considerar cómo aprendemos más acerca de quién nos llama Dios a ser;

o la mayordomía, donde consideramos cómo compartimos nuestros dones con la comunidad y cómo cuidamos aquello que Dios ya nos ha dado.

 

Por favor, escriban su nombre en el papel y marquen con un círculo dos áreas en las que creen que podrían servir.

 

Una de mis profesoras de predicación en el seminario, Karoline Lewis, dijo recientemente: “Pentecostés no es solo un día; Pentecostés es una forma de vida”. Creo que es una forma de vida compartida en la que decimos: “Ven, Espíritu Santo”, y observamos qué sucede después.

 

Oremos...

Dios del aliento y Dios del viento,

sopla sobre nosotros. Transfórmanos y ábrenos para recibir a tu Espíritu Santo.

Capacítanos envíanos como tus discípulos, para que el mundo te conozca y te ame.

Amén.

Acts 2:1-21

John 20:19-23

Let us pray…

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight, Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Amen. 

 

Pentecost was originally the Jewish festival celebrating the harvest and the giving of the law on Mount Sinai fifty days after Passover. 

In the Christian tradition, fifty days after Easter, 

we celebrate the Holy Spirit as God’s presence within and among us. (Sundays and Seasons)

 

The Acts text provides a common thread year to year on Pentecost but this year, we hear it alongside the Johannine gospel from Easter evening. 

 

Fifty days later, we could easily forget the fear and uncertainty that seized the disciples after the crucifixion. The Fourth Evangelist reminds us that Jesus’ friends were hiding behind locked doors when Jesus appeared to them in one of his first appearances after the resurrection. And while they were gathered there together, he offered them a greeting of peace and he breathed on them, 

telling them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (v. 22)

 

Between the events of that first night, and the scene we get in Acts today, the disciples stayed in Jerusalem, continuing to spend time with Jesus until his ascension (Acts 1:6-11). 

 

We don’t have a detailed account of what took place during that time; but we can imagine it was a time of further instruction and teaching, preparing the disciples for the work ahead of them. The narrative resumes on this feast day, the Day of Pentecost.

 

Luke tells us that all the people were together from far-flung, distant regions, and yet each of them could hear the disciples in their own languages “speaking about God’s deeds of power….” (v. 11). 

 

One way to understand this scene of Pentecost is as a reversal of the tower of Babel that is described in Genesis 11. Genesis says that when all humanity “had one language and the same words”, the people tried to build a tower to ascend to the heavens, but God humbled them, confusing their language and scattering them abroad over the face of all the earth. (Gen. 11:9)  

 

Now God’s people have come together in shared understanding, united by one law and one Spirit.

 

In John’s gospel the apostles receive the breath of the Holy Spirit and are empowered for the work of ministry in the world. 

If you will breathe deeply, letting your belly and chest fill with air, 

you can imagine the space that was created in their own bodies as they received that life-giving, transforming breath of God. 

 

Often, we show the movement of the Holy Spirit with gently waving banners or lightly spinning pinwheels, but the Holy Spirit is not that subdued in Acts. 

 

Instead, Luke describes it as a “the rush of a violent wind” (2:2) that filled the whole house where the disciples were gathered. 

 

Breath may be gentle, but wind is uncontrollable, gusting and tearing through the air; it can be damaging or destructive, breaking things apart if they will not bend. 

 

And so, we have this image of tremendous divine power, unleashed upon and among the disciples in Jerusalem. 

By the sheer act of God, the community is swept out into the world by the Holy Spirit.

 

Having received the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ followers are changed from fearful to fearless witnesses in the world. (Stoffregen)

 

And yet, sometimes their journeys were dangerous. Their speeches were mocked. Sometimes they were arrested and jailed. Comfort was not a mark of their discipleship. 

 

Reading the Acts text, one preacher reflected that “our discomfort isn’t a sign of God’s absence, but of God’s activity.” 

 

So, as we celebrate Pentecost, I hope we can be curious about what God is doing here and now – 

even, or maybe especially, when we may be uncomfortable. 

May God stretch our imagination about who we are and who we are called to be as God’s people. 

 

As we think together as a congregation about the ministry we are called to, Pastor Mark has offered this illustration.

Last year, when I got my bike out after the winter, I headed over to the Ecusta Trail in Horseshoe, and quickly discovered the tires were flat. All the air had leaked out and I hadn’t even noticed. 

 

The bicycle is an illustration of our work together as a congregation. The air in the tires is essential. God fills us up and sends us out.

 

The rear wheel is where all the energy goes.

That is labeled “daily ministry”; it is the work of the whole congregation, every one of us.

 

And there are four areas that our daily ministry falls into- discipleship, fellowship, stewardship and worship.

All of our work together is supported by a central piece called administration.

The front wheel is what steers the bicycle, giving it direction, and it’s labeled “leadership”.

 

Returning to our images of Holy Spirit as the breath and wind that is empowering us and sending us out into the world, you are invited to look at this image and think about which ministry areas you may be called into. 

 

Maybe it’s worship where people serve as musicians, greeters, readers and communion assistants; 

or fellowship as we think about ways to deepen relationships with each other and care for each other; 

or discipleship as we look at how we learn more about who God calls us to be; 

or stewardship, where we look at how we share our gifts with the community and how we care for what God has given us already.

 

Please write your name on the paper and circle two areas where you think you could serve.

 

One of my seminary preaching professors Karoline Lewis said recently that, “Pentecost is not just a day, Pentecost is a way of life”. I think it is a way of life together where we say, “Come, Holy Spirit” and see what happens next. 

 

Let us pray…

God of breath and God of wind, 

Breathe on us. Change us and open us to receive your Holy Spirit.

Empower us and send us out as your disciples that the world would know and love you. 

Amen.