June 25th

Some Days You're the Pigeon; Some Days You're the Statue

1 Peter 2:11-17



There is an old saying that maybe some of you here have heard. It goes something like this: “To succeed in life, we must accept the fact that some days we are the pigeon, and some days we are the statue.”

You know what I mean, right? There are those times when we are flying high. Our friends affirm some profound theological insight we share at a Bible study. If we pastors believe our own press, it seems that our sermons are touching almost everyone in our congregations—at least that is what folks are telling us as they shake our hands on Sunday mornings. Our employers praise our work to no end. If we have partners, they seem to worship the ground we walk on. If we are single, everyone wants to date us. It seems that whatever we touch turns to gold. Oh, yeah! Life is good!

Then there are those other times when we are the statues. We try to get a new and creative program off the ground at work, and SPLAT! The pigeon named “Status Quo” drops his “gift” on us. We pastors work hard to make our sermons educational, relevant, and entertaining, and SPLAT! Both the red and blue pigeons of partisan politics splatter us with “helpful corrections” as they leave the church. When we share our views at Bible study, people give us this look that says, “What planet are you from?” If we have partners, it seems we can’t even go to the bathroom in a way that satisfies them. If we are single, it feels like our phone hasn’t rung in months! It seems that everything we touch turns to, well, something other than gold. Life stinks.

Yep! Some days we’re the pigeons, and some days we’re the statues.

Our passage in 1 Peter this morning may be seen as a bit like a lesson in “pigeon and statue” living for Christians—only on a far more serious level than my examples. After all, as far as I know, none of us here have experienced the same level of persecution due to our faith as was faced by some of the earliest members of the Church. But then again, persecution does come in many different disguises. Amen?

This passage is most likely part of a letter that was written to groups of exiles or resident aliens in different cities that were part of the Roman Empire. It is important to note that these folks were not members of the dominant cultures in the areas in which they lived—in other words, they were in the minority---and as Christians, they faced possible persecution from a variety of sources.

Christian wives could face abusive treatment from non-believing husbands. Non-believing family members could make life unbearable for Christian family members. Government-sanctioned mistreatment by other non-believing members of the community at large was always a possibility. There were possible economic consequences for being “out” as a Christian, as well. So, at first glance, this passage may seem like more of a “statue” passage than anything else. In other words, “Yeah, life may stink; but as Christians, this is how you are to behave.”

But here’s a thought: What happens when you are no longer the exile? Do the rules change? You see, I think if we were all honest with ourselves, we would admit that, while we have different genders, races, sexual orientations, and gender identities represented here today, as Christians we are no longer the exiles—at least not in our churches, communities, and the United States at large. So, what happens when the minority becomes the majority?

Well, if the information we have from Church history is reliable, Christians didn’t get off to such a great start. Popes ex-communicating everyone who disagreed with them—including each other at one point in history; the burning of so-called “heretics;” the Crusades; the Inquisitions; the 30 Years’ War; the burning of alleged “witches;” the forced removal of Native Americans from their lands; slavery. I am sure some of you Church history buffs could name more of Christianity’s more “pigeon” moments—moments where some of our ancestors in the faith dumped a lot of “stuff” on various “exiles” and “resident aliens”—all in the name of God.

Now some of you are probably thinking, “But that was then, and this is now. We don’t do that stuff anymore! So, what’s your point, preacher?” My point here is that there is still a lot of “dumping” going on today—whether we care to admit it, or not.

For example, some folks seem to be trying to protect marriage from what it is supposed to encourage—loving, stable, committed relationships. Racial minorities and women still face discrimination in employment—both inside the church and out. Immigrants who want to be legal residents of the United States face a government system that tends to work against them rather than for them.

And guess who is responsible for shaping a lot of these institutions and policies? Surprise! Many of the folks who are responsible for writing and enacting the policies that shape our society today identify as Christians! And some of these folks actually invoke the name of God as justification for some of these oppressive policies!

So, what do we do about this situation? Is there even anything we can do about this situation? The good news is I believe there is something we can do, and I believe we can find at least one possible course of action in our passage from 1 Peter.

Much of 1 Peter is full of instructions for how Christians are to conduct themselves. So, what I am proposing this morning is that it does not matter whether we are “exiles” or “Gentiles,” whether we are in the minority or in the majority,—whether we are the pigeons or the statues---if we call ourselves Christians, that identity requires us to embrace the practices of appropriate love and respect for all people and human institutions. Sounds like a nice idea, right? But, what does that look like?

At the most basic level of community interaction, we are called to do our best to work within the guidelines of our established institutions. Note I did not say that we have to like these guidelines. We may not particularly care for our elected officials, or the laws they pass. We may not care for our employers and their hiring and promotion practices. We may not even particularly care for our denominational and local church leadership as well as the laws they enforce. But as strange as it sounds, at first glance, this passage seems to tells us, “Oh, well. Too bad, so sad. Today is your day to be the statue. Pray for pigeons with bad aim.”

But is there more behind this passage? I think so. You see, while we are called to accept the authority of all human institutions, and to respect all people, as servants of God, we are also free. Fortunately for us, we are free to question what we see as unfair government laws. What we are not free to do is commit acts of terrorism against our government institutions. We are free to respectfully contest the questionable ethics of the leaders of human institutions, as well. What we are not free to do is slander and physically attack these people.

We are free to question our denominational and local church leadership, as well. What we are not free to do is unfairly attack them and unjustly malign the character and integrity of that leadership. We are free to protest what we see as unjust treatment of various groups of people, animals, and the environment. What we are not free to do is use violence and unjust treatment of others to make our points.

Maybe we could all take a lesson from the civil rights movement here. It may help us to remember that the civil rights movement made some of its biggest strides through the use of non-violent protest. So, is it possible that by respectfully, yet consistently challenging the unfair practices of various societal structures, we can begin to silence the ignorance surrounding issues like immigration policy, poverty, racism, sexism, and homophobia? Is it possible that our examples of positive Christian social action can actually cause folks to eventually glorify God by truly respecting the rights and dignity of every human being?

You see folks, to me, the question isn’t whether we are the statue or the pigeon. To be perfectly blunt, there are probably days when we feel like both. Amen? The question for us is, “If we call ourselves Christian, how do we respond to the challenges of life?”

Maybe in the end, the best we can do is to be in awe of God’s unending love for, and patience with, us—God’s imperfect, but good creations—to honor God by loving one another, and respecting all of God’s creation—including those institutions and people we don’t always like.

Can we do it? Sure we can! For it is through Jesus Christ that we claim our identities as Christians, and it is through that same Jesus Christ that we can do all things.

Maybe even get along, eventually. Amen?

God bless you, and amen.

June 11th

I See Your Lips Moving, But All I Hear Is, Blah, Blah, Blah!

Acts 2:1-21



There is an old story told of a revival in Tennessee where a barber was ‘saved.’ The preacher told him that since he was a barber and got to meet a lot of people, he could do a great work for the Lord if he would talk to them about religion and salvation. When the barber asked how he could get into a conversation like that with his customers, the preacher said, ‘Just do it casually. Talk to them about their souls, ask if their houses are in order, if they are prepared to die, and so on.’

So, full of excitement, the barber headed to work the next day. The first man to come in wanted a shave, so the barber put a hot towel over him, while making small talk. Then, after lathering the man up good, the barber figured it was time to get down to the religion part. He grabbed up his razor, strapped it a few times, pointed it at the man, and said bluntly, ‘Brother, are you prepared to die? The man jumped up and ran out of the barbershop with the lather still on his face!

Ahhhh, communication! Its use—or misuse—can make all the difference in the world.

Communication is a very big part of our reading in Acts. Today’s passage marks what many Christians think of as the birthday of the Christian Church. It is marked by an amazing display of the Holy Spirit through rushing, mighty winds, and the appearance of divided tongues of fire. But, as amazing as that manifestation of the Holy Spirit must have been, it would have all been for nothing without effective communication—communication in different forms from a diverse group of people.

The first forms of communication take place just before our reading for today. The risen Christ has already communicated with the disciples what they are to do—go to Jerusalem, and wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit that would empower them to be witnesses to Jesus’ life and teachings to the ends of the earth.

The disciples didn’t just go hang out in Jerusalem, though. Scripture tells us that while they were waiting in one place for the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit, they devoted themselves to another critical form of communication—prayer. So while they were not uniform—they were still individuals with their own views and personality quirks—but by being in one place, they were unified in their prayers and their purpose of obeying the instructions of Jesus.

It is also important to point out that the 12 apostles were not the only folks that were part of this prayer group, either. Mary, the mother of Jesus, other women, and Jesus’ brothers were also part of this group—about 120 people in all, according to Scripture. So, over against a patriarchal culture that tended to oppress women, the poor, and other outcasts, we can already see the stirrings of the “new thing” that God is doing, even before the Holy Spirit makes its dramatic appearance on the Day of Pentecost.

Today, as people of the Christian faith, it is critical that we, too, be unified in prayer and in our purpose of following the teachings of Jesus Christ. And the ways in which we pray, and the positive, life-affirming methods we use to follow Jesus will be just as diverse as that first group of believers on the Day of Pentecost. And when we are unified in prayer and in purpose, we can rest assured that the Holy Spirit will blow in.

In our lesson today, the Holy Spirit arrives on the scene with some major special effects, too! Sounds like the rush of a mighty wind, divided tongues, as of fire appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. Change was definitely happening—and in a big way.

Note, too, that the Scripture tells us that, “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” In other words, it wasn’t just the male apostles who were speaking out here. Men, women, younger, older, people from different walks of life—all of them—were filled with the Holy Spirit, and all of them began to speak in other languages as the Holy Spirit gave them ability.

Now the Bible doesn’t tell us exactly how these Spirit-filled folks responded to all this commotion; but I can imagine they were somewhat afraid at first. After all, this event was something totally different from anything they had experienced in their lives before. God was moving in a new and amazing way among them! What did it all mean?

But check it out! As confusing as all this change was at first, we don’t read anything about anyone saying, “Wait! We can’t do this!” They didn’t say, “This isn’t orthodox!” “This isn’t in our Book of Worship!” “This isn’t covered in our denomination’s bylaws!” No, these earliest members of what could be called the first Church were open to the movement of the Holy Spirit among them—regardless of the form that movement took!

The Holy Spirit communicated with these first believers in a new and powerful way, and they listened. But not only did this diverse group of people internalize the message of the Holy Spirit, they also shared it with everyone around them!

The Holy Spirit is still communicating in new and powerful ways, folks. The question for us is, “Are we listening?” Today, we face the challenge of opening ourselves to a renewal of the Holy Spirit’s work in our own lives, and in our communities of faith. This renewal means that the rushing, mighty winds of life-affirming change may very well have to intrude upon our lives to get our attention, too.

As a diverse people of God, we are challenged to allow those divided tongues of fire of the Holy Spirit to rest upon each of us—women and men, straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, all nationalities, from every walk of life. We are challenged not only to internalize the life-saving message of God’s love for all people; but we are also to share that message with everyone around us. We are challenged to use those tongues of fire in positive ways—to challenge racism, sexism, homophobia, and unjust government policies that keep some people imprisoned in life-threatening poverty, while the rich keep building larger barns to store their ever-accumulating wealth.

How do we meet these challenges? The key is in verse 8 of today’s reading. The huge diversity of people that witnessed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit heard the message of God’s mighty deeds in their own language. To communicate effectively, we have to know the language. That is why it is so important we have a plurality of voices witnessing to the availability of God’s life-changing love for all people.

But the issue of effective communication is a faith community issue, as well. For if we do not learn to speak the language of God’s love, peace, and justice for all people to oppressive structures of all types—including oppressive church structures—and speak to those structures in language they will understand, all they will hear is, “Blah, blah, blah.”

Of course, just like on the Day of Pentecost, there will be those people who will not accept the truth of the message that God’s love, peace, and justice is meant for all people. They will not accept the message that diversity in creation has been part of God’s plan all along. They will be unable or unwilling to accept the “new things” that God does throughout the course of human history.

There will be people who will accuse those of us who proclaim this liberating message of being drunk with the “new wine” of a liberal or even heretical theology. And at times, those of us who proclaim this so-called heretical message of liberation may doubt that we are capable of meeting the challenges of the unjust social structures of our time, for these structures can be quite powerful.

But the good news is this: the Holy Spirit that empowered Peter to preach on the Day of Pentecost—Peter who nearly drowned due to his lack of faith; Peter, who Jesus at one point sharply rebuked; Peter, who denied Jesus three times on the night of Jesus’ betrayal and arrest—this Holy Spirit empowered this very same man to stand strong in the face of adversity. It was this Holy Spirit that empowered Peter to share the great news of the gospel of Jesus Christ—even when it took him to places and put in situations he could never have imagined.

And the even better news for us today is this: the power of that same Holy Spirit is available to each one of us today. It is available to empower us to live in unity with one another, to promote a better understanding of one another, and to work together to promote peace, equality, and justice for all people.

So, let’s take up the challenge of the Holy Spirit to improving our communication skills by learning a new “language” or two. Let’s jump into new and exciting ways of living our faith. Let’s ride with the winds of Holy Spirit change, and carry the message of God’s life-changing love for all people to all people.

God bless you and amen.