Sunday, May 31, 2009

Pentecost

Today's Link
Reverend Mommy


Today's Saying
Acts 2:4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
Today's Picture

From the Archives

Today the liturgical churches will celebrate Pentecost. The color for the day will be red. I used to encourage people to wear red to remind them of the tongues of fire that came to the disciples on this day.
It is a day of promise fulfilled and power delivered.
In some sense it is the birthday of the Church.
The Gospel for the day is Acts 2:1-21
Here the power of God is on display.
It is a different kind of power.
It crushes no one .
It destroys no one.
It breaks nothing.
It brings fire but it doesn’t burn.
But it changes people.
It redirects their lives.
It frees them to be what God intended them to be.
It empowers .
I have experienced that power.
I have seen it’s miracles.
I saw lives changed, made new.
I , who started off hating Catholics ended up best friends with a Catholic Priest who started off hating all Protestants.
It took real power to make that happen.
Today the liturgical churches celebrate the coming of that power to the Church.
It is worth celebrating.
Today I will celebrate.

News from Pigeon Falls
The little town in my basement where the trains still run, dragons fly, and life is back to normal
Over at Last Lutheran they have a problem. Pastor Joan came down with some kind of flue like illness on Friday and the Doctor has ordered her to stay in bed for a few days to protect the baby. They don’t have time to find a substitute since this was definitely not planned. Herman has been asked to preach and handle the services in her place. Herman feels that this is such an important Church holiday they should get somebody else. But He will do it. Here is an excerpt from his sermon:
“ I never went to seminary so I can’t tell you all the things that Pastor Joan might have told you about this text.
I was asked to late to do the proper research. I was told in the preaching class Lutherans don’t preach without really studying the text.
But here I am and I’ll have to do.
I look at the experience of the early Church as described in this text and I marvel.
There were tongues of fire. If that happened today I think we’d call 911 and ask them to send the fire truck.
People spoke in other languages.
Wow! They spoke real languages they didn’t know.
I’ve never done that.
But I have run into that same Holy Spirit.
That’s why I’m standing here instead of up at the bar at the Fly Inn.
I used to be a drunk. I wasn’t good for much.
If it wasn’t for God’s power I would still be a drunk or perhaps I would be dead.
God’s power changed all that.
I don’t know how.
But I know why.
He loves me.
He loves you too.
He really does.”

Wrap UP
It was one of those days you wish you could grab hold of and keep in a box. The church service was fabulous. The choir was superb. The pastor's sermon was better than great. The confirmands seemed so sincere. I got Communion. A nice lady from the Church that heard me whining at coffee the previous week that I couldn't get currants to make currant cookies brought me a box. God lead Betty and I to such a marvelous fellowship. Came home and had the fun of reliving much of what happened as I posted the Confirmation service, the choir, the sermon, and pictures from the day to the website. Betty andPennie went shoe shopping and I got to stay home ( didn't I tell you it was a wonderful day). Then I visited all the blogs that left comments yesterday. There were some great blogs today. Now I need a breathing treatment.
GBYA
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15 Comments:

Anonymous quilly said...

I love Herman's sermon!

I am doing the children's message tomorrow (We call it Young & Young at Heart. Our theme is supposed to be on Jesus as a radical. I am going to talk about Jesus as a rule breaker. I wonder how many of the parents will still think I'm marvelous after that? Hmmmm?

2:16 AM  
Blogger Shadow said...

what gratitude you show this morning. may i echo it too...

3:23 AM  
Blogger Sue said...

May God Bless you on this beautiful Sunday morning. It's 32 degrees in the UP. We'll need a jacket this morning.

4:35 AM  
Blogger Lou said...

"God loves me and He loves you too." I know several drunks that are grateful one day at a time that God lifted them up and changed their lives.

5:49 AM  
Blogger Melli said...

Red it shall be!

Both sermons were God blessed this morning!

6:00 AM  
Blogger Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Happy celebrating. May the church all over the world walk more closely to Christ through the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit and in that way be salt to the world and light for the way to God.

9:47 AM  
Blogger Baron's Life said...

Dr.John...Has the Pope heard about you at all?
or is he still enjoying some more of these Vienna rolls this morning... You are a Saint in my books.

11:52 AM  
Blogger Maude Lynn said...

Worth celebrating, indeed!

12:27 PM  
Blogger Nessa said...

I like that you preach the possibility of change.

2:00 PM  
Blogger Carver said...

So glad it was a good day.

5:21 PM  
Blogger Voegtli said...

It is like Christmas. I have not spent Pentcost with my family for years. Perhaps next year, I will. Like, perhaps, Christmas this year?

5:54 PM  
Anonymous the amoeba said...

And on this Pentecost, a few hundred miles due south of Pigeon Falls, a man who tasted one flavor of God was assassinated in the sanctuary by another man who found that flavor offensive.

The shock reminded me that red is the color of fire, the color of passion ... and when either burn out of control, the house comes down.

It reminded me that the story of Pentecost is followed, almost immediately in Acts, by the story of Ananias and Sapphira.

Of all the stories of scripture, Pentecost is the one that most nearly drives me into the way of thinking of Richard Dawkins.

8:04 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Excellent my friend. Very inspiring

11:01 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think Herman told the most important part of the message. :)

6:09 AM  
Blogger Gramps said...

Pigeon Falls is quite an interesting place. Does it have lots of pigeons?

10:29 AM  

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