Waiting

          Today we celebrate the coming of God’s Spirit upon the apostles gathered in the Upper Room. Jesus had given them instructions to remain there until they were… “equipped with the power from on high.” And so they waited…

          Have you ever waited for someone or some thing? The insurance agent called and said he’d be there at 10. Ten o’clock comes and goes and he hasn’t arrived yet. And you wonder, “Should I continue to wait?” After a while you just give up and go on to what you would’ve done if you hadn’t been waiting.

          The disciples of Jesus were waiting…because he’d told them to. But on the first day of the Feast of the Pentecost it had been 50 days since he’d told them to wait. And still they waited. I wonder if we’d have been as patient.

          So, on this day God’s Holy Spirit comes into the room where they’re all gathered. I wonder if any of them had thought that this might be the day Jesus had told them about.  Do you suppose any of them had a premonition that today was the day they’d been waiting for?

          What do you suppose they occupied themselves with while they were waiting? Did they go to the Bible, the Hebrew Bible, and read again what Jesus had taught them about before he was carried up to heaven? Were they cramming for the test they knew was coming? Don’t you wonder?

          Haven’t you ever wondered what was going through their minds as they waited? We’ve had the advantage of the whole written word and still we can’t get our heads around what happened.  And did some get tired of waiting and go home, back to their old lives? Don’t you wonder sometimes what they did?

          Surely they had questions. Maybe that’s what they did. Someone would ask the question for the day then the discussions started.  Were they thinking about how they were going to make disciples and baptize people from every nation in the world?  That’s almost too much for us to grasp so can you imagine what they were thinking?

          And then came the sound of the rushing wind.  Have you wondered what the sound was like? Was it like the wind Wednesday that whipped the flags and brought down leaves from the trees? Did it have the roar of a tornado as it came into the room? What did it sound like, and could everyone hear it?  Could they feel the power of the wind as it entered the room?

          I wonder if some of the disciples had dozed off like I do when I’m waiting. Imagine their surprise when the sound filled the room and disturbed their catnap. I’m sure they looked at each other with wonderment and maybe a little bit of fear.  Then they saw the tongues like fire atop the heads of those across from them. And then, each of them began to speak in different languages. The Spirit was creating chaos and it may have taken them a while to figure out what was happening.

          But then Peter got it! Everything came together for him and he knew what was going on. All that studying and listening to Jesus teach paid off. He remembered what was prophesied by Joel. God had promised that his Spirit would be poured on everyone. Some would spout prophetic statements, some would preach, some would see things they’d never seen before, and some would have weird dreams. Joel said it would happen to men and women. God’s Spirit would be poured on everyone. Peter understood and then he began to talk to the multitude gathered outside the room.

          That’s what happened then. Have you ever thought, “What’s God’s Spirit doing today?” Instead of us waiting for the Spirit is the Spirit waiting and wondering and asking questions of those of us who still don’t get it? Could that be?

          May God’s Spirit fill this room and all who are here with his breath and fire. Lord, let it be so. Amen.

A Witness

          What is a “witness” and why are witnesses so important? Peter, when he was meeting with the other disciples, said they needed to choose someone to replace Judas who had been with them the whole time Jesus was with them beginning with John the Baptist clear up to the time of his ascension…” For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

          A witness, according to the dictionary, is… “one who can give a firsthand account of something seen, heard, or experienced.” So, this one the disciples chose was one who had travelled with them from the very beginning. Someone who had seen the miracles Jesus did, heard the parables he told, and listened as he told them about his death and resurrection. This one they chose was there on the beach at Galilee when he prepared a meal of fish for them. He was there when he appeared to them in the upper room and showed them his hands and his side. This one witnessed his ascension into the clouds. And why was this so important?

          Think about it for a minute. Who would you believe someone who had witnessed every event in Jesus’ life firsthand or someone who’d heard about Jesus from someone who may have also heard about him from someone else who may have heard about him from one of the disciples? I’d be more apt to believe the one who had actually been there, wouldn’t you? That may have been the reason the church grew so rapidly in the beginning. Because everyone who spoke experienced Jesus’ life firsthand and they were believable.

          But, you’re saying, the disciples didn’t live forever and we don’t have any of the original disciples to corroborate the words read and preached to us today.  And you’d be absolutely right. So, how can we be certain that the testimony we hear every Sunday is true? Who is the credible witness we can rely now that the disciples aren’t with us anymore?

          What do you think? Who do we listen to today? John says in his epistle, the passage we heard read today, that…“God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony.”  If we willingly accept human testimony doesn’t it make sense that God’s words are even more credible, even more believable? So, I would tell you that the witness we listen to today is God.

          Now you may ask how can God be a witness, how can he testify that Jesus is His Son, the Christ? I believe that God witnesses to Jesus through the Bible, His word to us. John said that he wrote his epistle…“to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” He knew that the original witnesses wouldn’t be here for everyone to hear so the only way they would come to know Jesus and his gospel was through the spoken and written word of God.

          So, even though we who read and proclaim the word of God and give our testimony are imperfect and sinful people, God witnesses to those who listen through the Holy Spirit who is at work in those giving their testimony.  

          Now it’s up to us who aren’t firsthand witnesses of Jesus and his life to tell the story of God’s love for the world and to keep his commandment to love one another. The question we have to ask ourselves is…how are we doing?

          Today we are called to be witnesses for Jesus Christ to the world, to our sisters and brothers who haven’t heard the testimony of Jesus’ disciples. And we can’t use the excuse that we’ve done our part and now others should take over. Nope, there is no early retirement for those who are called to be witnesses.

          My challenge for all of us is to focus this week on being witnesses for Jesus as we live our lives this week at work and at our leisure.  Every person we meet is an opportunity for us to tell the story of Jesus, to witness to them about what He means in our lives. And if you need help know that everyone here today would be glad to back you up and tell their story along side yours. Remember none of us are in this alone.

          Good friends, we are all called to be ministers to God’s children and witnesses to our faith in Jesus Christ.  Go out into the world this week filled with the power of the Holy Spirit and tell your story.

          Thanks be to God for his loving, empowering grace. Amen.

Conquering the World

          Do you believe everything you that people say?  When someone swears that what they are about to speak is the truth do you believe it?

          Everything you’ve ever heard about Jesus, is it true? What do you believe about Jesus? God says that Jesus is his Son. Do we believe it?

          In John’s epistle he says that if we take human testimony at its face value then how much more reassured we should be when God gives testimony that Jesus is his Son. Surely we’re more apt to trust what God says than in what any person would say, even if they swore on everything that’s holy.

          God’s testimony is that he gave us eternal life, life in his Son. So, whoever has the Son has life; whoever rejects the Son, rejects life.

          If we believe that Jesus is God’s Son John says we can conquer the world and have eternal life. That would make us champions, right? Whoever is born of God conquers the world! Those who are conquerors are champions, right? How can we become conquerors? How can we be champions? How do we defeat the world?

          John doesn’t give specific details so that means we have to look to the One who came to be an example for us, Jesus. What did he do?

          If we go to the gospels and read what Jesus did we discover that he wasn’t concerned with what the world had to say about status or reputations or prejudices. He rose about the words and thoughts of the world. Jesus was concerned with only one thing and that was to do the right thing no matter the consequences.

          Friends, does that look like a champion? Maybe not in the world’s eyes but that kind of behavior is capable of conquering the world by helping one person at a time.

          Granted we aren’t Jesus, but friends, God created us in his image a little lower than the angels. I believe if God made us in his image and if we are just a little lower than the angels then we should have the ability to make a real difference in this world.

          I can already hear the “buts”. But I’m too old. But I don’t have the money to help. But I’m not physically able to help anymore. But I’m not smart enough. But I’m afraid. But they’ll make fun of me.

          Friends, Jesus, even though he was divine, helped many folks by doing ordinary things. He sat and listened to people talk. He invited the community to come and listen as he taught. He fed the crowd fishes and loaves, with a little help from his friends. Yes, he made blind people see, crippled people walk, cleansed lepers, and forgave those others wanted to stone to death. It was surely with God’s help but remember Paul and Peter did some of these things too. Jesus wasn’t physically with them when they did them. It was God who provided the power to heal.

          Jesus told his disciples that they would do even greater things than what they had seen him do. And they did. So, what makes us think that we can’t heal illnesses, cure diseases, help crippled people walk or forgive those the world has discarded as unworthy?

          What did Jesus say? He said something about faith as small as a mustard seed being able to accomplish great things. Look back at what Schweitzer did; look at what Mother Teresa accomplished in India. Neither one of these people were super humans. They were plain ordinary people like you and me and yet they worked tirelessly to make the world a better place. And they didn’t pay any attention to what was printed about them in the press or said on the radio or the television. They trusted in God and His Son and the power of the Holy Spirit.

          So, good friends, what I’m trying to say is we can be conquerors too. We can be champions who defeat the world. And when we do we too can be filled with the joy Jesus talked about in John’s gospel God’s joy will be our joy.

          One of the secrets to being able to do all this is to do it by loving people in the same way we wish to be loved.

          Now, we all know it’s not easy to do any of this. In fact it’s a struggle to try to live and love like Jesus. But as a community of sisters and brothers working together, supporting each other the world can be conquered. The unloved, discarded people in our communities can be saved and made whole.

          Friends, remember we aren’t in this work alone. God is beside us and within us as we do this work he has blessed us with. Thanks be to God for his grace. Amen.

New Lives

          Seniors, you have come to a milestone in your journey of life, that of graduation from high school. Most of you have made plans for what you will do with the rest of your lives. Some of you have made the choice to continue with your education and will go on to college or university; some of you have made the decision to go to schools that will teach you a trade; and some of you have decided to do other things such as serving our country in the military or finding a job or one of the many other options that have been presented to you by counselors, friends, mentors, or family.

          Most of us like to think we’ve got it all figured out. We know where we’re going and what we’re going to do. And, we don’t need anyone to tell us what to do.

          The people of Israel weren’t any different. They thought they had it all figured out and didn’t need God. It just so happened they didn’t have it figured out.  The Babylonians attacked and defeated their nation. They deported quite a few of the leaders to the city of Babylonia where they were in exile for 70 years.

          Along comes Jeremiah prophesying to them that God has a plan for them, “…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” 

          Friends, God has plans for you too. The plans He has for you may not be immediately evident to you but at some point in your life you will discover that he indeed has plans for you.

This evening I’m not going to tell you how to make a living but I do want to share with you what I believe God has called all of us to do. That is to service to others. After Jesus had risen from the grave he appeared to Peter and the disciples at the beach along the Sea of Galilee. And this is what the poet Ann Weems wrote in ‘Searching for Shalom’ that he told Peter…

‘He said, “Feed my sheep.” There were no conditions: Least of all, Feed my sheep if they deserve it. Feed my sheep if you feel like it. Feed my sheep if you have any leftovers. Feed my sheep if the mood strikes you…if the economy’s okay…if you’re not too busy…

No conditions…just, “Feed my sheep.” Could it be that God’s Kingdom will come when each lamb is fed? We who have agreed to keep covenant are called to feed sheep even when it means the grazing will be done on our own front lawns.’

Now you’re saying that’s not what I’ve planned for my life. No, this might not be on your list of things that you need to accomplish but friends, it’s on God’s list. You’ve all just completed the first step in God’s plan. And now you’re beginning a new adventure. It’s a blank slate, a clean sheet of paper, a blank computer screen, a new day that awaits you.

‘Born in the light of the Bright and Morning Star, we are new. Not patched, not mended…but new, like a newborn…like the morning…the guilt-blotched yesterdays are gone; there is no looking back; there are no regrets. In our newness, we are free. In the power of God’s continuing creation we are: new shoots from the root of Jesse, new branches from the one true Vine, new songs breaking through the world’s deafness. This then is a new day. New shoots, new branches, new songs, new day…Bathed in the promise of God’s New Creation, we begin!’ Searching for Shalom-Ann Weems

As your take the first steps on this new path you probably have thought about what it is that you’d like to do, what are your gifts, skills, talents. Maybe you’ve been thinking you’d like to do something to make a difference in this world you live in.

The gifts we’ve been blessed with are gifts of hope. ‘Our yearning after God, our hope for a better way creates infinite possibilities to touch the lives of the untouched, to reach the hearts of the unreached, to heal the wounds of the unhealed, to feed the bodies of the unfed, to accept the personhood of the unaccepted, to love the being of the unloved.

Our gifts are gifts of hope; O God, touch, reach, heal, feed, accept, and love us  that we might love one another.’ Searching for Shalom-Ann Weems

Now some of you are dreaming of the day when you’ll be wealthy with all the trappings that the world says make us successful. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is…” “…some of us have mites and some of us have millions and most of us fall somewhere in between. We know it’s our responsibility to give from what we’ve been given, and Jesus made it very clear that it was not the size of the gift, but the size of the giver’s heart that matters. You, O Lord, know our treasures and our hearts. May our hearts swell to the occasion!” Searching for Shalom-Ann Weems

So, are all your plans set in stone? “Is it all sewn up—your life? Is it at this point so predictable, so orderly, so neat, so arranged, so right, that you don’t have time or space for listening for the rustle of angels’ wings or running to stables to see a baby? Could this be what he meant when he said, “Listen, those who have ears to hear…Look, those who have eyes to see?” May we pray that God will give us the humbleness to see into the darkness that surrounds to see the Coming of the Light.”

“Too often our answer to the darkness is not running toward the light but running away. We ought to know by now that we can’t see where we’re going in the dark. But, running away is rampant…separation is stylish: separation from mates, from friends, from self.

Run and tranquilize, don’t talk about it, avoid. Run away and join the army of those who have already run away. When are we going to learn that Peace comes only when we turn and face the darkness? Only then will we be able to see the Light of the world.” Kneeling in Bethlehem-Ann Weems

Good friends, tomorrow is indeed a new day. How are you going to greet it? What are you going to do with the gifts you’ve been blessed with? Who are you going to turn to for advice? Who are you going to trust to talk to about your deepest desires and your worst fears?

My friends, I pray that you will go to the One who has…”plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back …”

Seniors, we all wish you the best there is for your lives. We pray that you will listen to God’s Spirit who lives within you.

I would leave you with one last thought. Know that God loves you and is with you every day, every step that you take. And everyone here loves you and will be holding you in their prayers as you go into this new day.

Sacrificial Living

We’ve just listened to one part of John’s gospel that talks about sacrificial living. I would like us to think about our own life experiences of meeting needs in ways that were costly. Let’s think of a time when we put aside our own agenda, our own choices, maybe even our own material comfort in order to provide a necessity that someone else needed.


We may have given up time with our family or maybe we sacrificed a good night’s sleep so that we could sit with a friend, or we might have given up buying the latest electronic gizmo so we could help a friend with their rent or a car payment. Or maybe we gave up going to the bakery for a month and used the money we’d have spent there to provide meals for those who are homeless. What was that experience like? What was our emotional state? What were our expectations when we gave up our time or money or sleep? Did we expect any payback?

Now, what would our world look like if more people lived sacrificially? Do you think our political parties would be bickering so much about who was at fault for the latest economic problems. What would our community look like? What would the Council Bluffs/Omaha area look like? What would our churches look like?

In John’s gospel Jesus says that he would make himself a sacrifice for his sheep. In his epistle he says again Jesus laid down his life for us to show us what love is really like.

John certainly doesn’t cut anyone one bit of slack in his epistle (letter) when he says, “Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” Our actions show what we believe. If we believe in God’s truth then we will live lives of love caring for our fellow human beings. Right?

So, what kind of sacrifices are we willing to make? What are we willing to give up so we can help someone else? And what would our world look like if more people lived like that?

Is it possible that we could influence change in the world by beginning right here in Walnut? I believe we could.

My challenge to all of you gathered here this morning is this. Give up or sacrifice something to make a difference in someone’s life this week. And don’t take anything in return for the favor or help. Just ask them to pass it on as they are able.

Let’s try it and see what happens. May God bless those who step outside their comfort zones and try it. Thanks be to God. Amen.