Readings

FIRST LESSON

The first lesson is from Prayers for a Thousand Years: Blessings and Expressions of Hope for the New Millennium by Rev. Alan Jones

Dear God, Your will is that we may be one. We thank you that you call us into communion with you and with each other. Your generosity and mercy are always taking us by surprise. We bless you for the vision of inclusion, solidarity, and compassion which breaks us open, widens our sympathies and enlarges our hearts.

We commend into your gracious care all those whom it would be easy for us to forget – the homeless and the hungry, the addicted and the lost, abandoned souls and hurting children.

We thank you for the imagination and generosity of those who minister in the name of love and compassion to those who are most in need.
Confront our indifference, challenge our boundaries, surprise us with joy.

Dear Christ, look upon us in this suffering and glorious world, and keep our sympathy and pity fresh and our faces heavenward lest we grow hard. Amen.

SECOND LESSON

The first lesson is from the Book of Acts, Chapter 2, verses 1 through 15

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, ‘Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.’

All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’

But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: ‘People of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning.

This Week's Sermon

Date: May 31, 2009

Title: Fanning the Flames of a Controlled Burn

Message Delivered By: Rev. Joe Mc Murray

We hear people complaining about the chickens in Key West. We’ve taken the trolley, so we know how the chickens came to roost here. I’m not sure why some people are so upset except they seem to want to get upset at everything. So I suppose that’s a reason. At least the chickens seem independent. I don’t see many people trying to adopt a chicken—that’s probably against the law anyway.

In a somewhat similar vein, it so happens little Jimmy lived with his family near a large pond in a town in northern Florida. On the pond lived a mother duck who was about to hatch her ducklings; so Jimmy kept checking on her to make sure everything would be alright. One day, he found that the ducklings had not only been hatched, but the mother duck had left the pond with all the ducklings; that is, all except one.

Now we all know the story of the ugly duckling, but this story is true. The duck she left behind had a funny, crooked neck, and Jimmy was concerned for its welfare. Much to his parents’ dismay, Jimmy brought the duck home to care for it. He pleaded with them in his own way that they should take care of the duck – that they nurse it back to health – that it would be cruel for them not to do so.

His parents advised that the duckling would be better off in the wild, learning to fend for itself, but Jimmy protested. He wanted to be sure the duckling had a good start, and that it would be healthy and well cared for in its vulnerable position since its mother had abandoned it.

The parents relented, and despite their better judgment, agreed to help nurse the duckling back to health, but only on the condition that once the duck was healthy, they would turn it over to animal control to ensure that it was returned to its natural habitat.

“Above all,” said Jimmy’s father, as the voice of experience, “don’t name the duck.” He knew that it would become easy for Jimmy to become too attached to the duckling, and that by naming him, it would be hard to give him up.

“Okay,” said Jimmy. “We’ll just call him ‘Stanley’ for now.”
The family did decide to keep Stanley. And for a long time, Stanley enjoyed regular bathtub privileges—an hour per day—which is better than most of us have time for. It’s a duck’s life, I guess.
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Will you pray with me? God, accept our sincere prayers this morning; may our troubles give way to our hearts when we are faced with weighty things; may we treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of how we are treated. And may we never forget that you are always with us to bring comfort and direction. And may my words and all of our thoughts be filled with honor and praise to you. Amen.
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The word “Pentecost” means the 50th—and in the life of the Christian church and on the Christian calendar, Pentecost celebrates the 50th day after Passover. It was one of the three pilgrimage festivals in the Jewish tradition.

This was also the time of year for the celebration called the Feast of Weeks – the yearly festival when it was the custom of the Jewish people that they renew their covenant with God. It also coincided with a celebration of the end of the harvest and the beginning of the seasonal offering of first fruits.

(Now contrary to what we might think that means, the offering of first fruits was not the first Gay Pride celebration in the world. That came many, many centuries earlier – at the dawn of humankind – because we know that as soon as humans stood upright to walk the earth, gaydar was born!)

But the Feast of Pentecost, this important day we celebrate in the Christian Church, was already a day of honor in the Jewish tradition, and in many pagan traditions, as well. And because of the Easter event and what after, an already special gathering of the faithful became even more a momentous occasion—the birth of the Christian church as we know it today.

The symbol of fire, the tongues like flames that appeared over the heads of the disciples—even as it is used as a metaphor here for the presence of or the giving of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples—is a powerful image that appears frequently in the Christian tradition.

But let’s go beyond the metaphor, and consider fire for a moment. Fire is a very powerful thing. Fire is a great help to humankind. We would struggle to live without it. Science believes that the discovery of fire propelled humankind’s advancement as nothing else ever had, which is probably true.

Fire is a tremendous source of energy. The heat from the sun enables us to sustain life here on earth, despite the great distance, which averages nearly 93 million miles. We receive heat at this great distance because the sun burns at some 11,000 degrees Fahrenheit at its surface.

The sun is massive – it would take 1.3 million earths to fill the cavity of the sun. Without it, our warm, green earth would be a frozen wasteland, a planet wandering the solar system without the sun’s gravitational pull to guide her. Nothing would grow, and indeed, humankind could not survive. Without the sun’s light and heat, life as we know it could not exist.

And yet, fire itself can be a very frightening and dangerous thing. When uncontrolled, fire can destroy everything in its path very rapidly. But even at what we might consider its worst, fire can bring something very positive, important and unexpected.

A few years ago, Eric and I spent part of our vacation touring Yosemite National Forest in California. We took a bus tour of the forest because it was so massive, we knew we’d never see everything on our own.

We learned about the value of the forest preserve and saw all the famous sites, including Half Dome, Bridal Veil Falls, El Capitan, and Glacier Point. While we were on the tour, we learned about the plant and animal life, and particularly about the life of the forest and the trees.

We discovered that many dangerous and threatening forest fires had taken place over the years—many caused because of intense lightening storms; others due to careless behavior by park visitors.

Our guide spoke of other fires in the park—fires that are called “controlled burns” or “prescribed fires.” I recall one in the late 1990s that was very controversial because many people felt much of Yosemite was being destroyed. Some portions of that fire actually got out of control and more acres were burned than had been anticipated. There was a public outcry about the actions of the National Park Service.
In previous years, Park Service and other agencies thought fire damaged precious resources and consequently suppressed all the fires that took place in the park. Through research and experience it was learned that fire was a necessary part of the healthy ecosystems within the forest preserve. Current Fire Management Policy allows some of the natural fires to burn on their own, occasionally calling for the ignition of prescribed fires in certain areas under specific conditions.

Among its benefits, fire reduces excessive amounts of dead vegetation. Without natural fire, that vegetation builds up to levels high enough that eventually a fire would burn through with unnaturally high intensity, seriously harming the forest ecosystem. Some controlled fires expose mineral soil, which many plants (including giant sequoias) need for reproductive success. Fire can open up the forest so that sunlight reaches the ground. Sunlight is necessary for many small plants for reproductive success. Fire recycles nutrients into the soil and helps control diseases and insects in both soil and plants.

And so, these controlled fires are instigated to preserve, protect, and defend the Forest’s future. Something must die in order for life to continue on.

And here’s an interesting fact about pinecones, which I’m sure many of you know. Some pinecone seeds cannot be sprung from the cone without sustained intense heat—oftentimes heat greater than what nature can provide itself on a regular basis. In order for these seeds to fall from the cone, the intense heat of a forest fire does just that—brings new life to the forest for decades, even centuries to come. A number of pine species—seratinous pines— have pine cones that open only after a fire.

One species called Jack pines have cones that are held closed within by a powerful resin that becomes sensitive only when exposed to high temperatures. These cones will not open to release their seeds until the critical temperature is reached.

The Lodgepole Pine produces “free-opening” cones. These usually grow in areas where fire is less frequent, and the cones open more frequently on their own. When these same trees grow in areas subject to more frequent fire, they transform themselves and actually become seratinous. Okay, you may consider this your horticultural lesson of the week.

The point is this: nature knows how to care of itself. Indeed, most of the time, we just get in nature’s way. For a time after Jesus’ death, the disciples got in their own way, as well. They kept tripping over themselves in fear, awe and grief at the events that took place in Jerusalem. Theirs was a very human reaction to something they did not understand and could not comprehend.

But that did not deter them. The disciples acted bravely and boldly, somehow planning and continuing the work of Jesus even without him: Jesus, the one who taught them everything they considered important; the one who held the answers they needed to continue the ministry.

Earlier in chapter one of the Book of Acts, the disciples chose Matthias to be one of them to fill the void of Judas so that they could continue on as the 12 who would eventually form the foundation of the ministry; the good news; the message of God’s unconditional love for a very troubled world.

Some believe they gathered in the same upper room where they had shared the last supper with Jesus; where Jesus had appeared and reappeared to them to assure them that there was life beyond death and that he was still with them and would always be with them.

The latter part of today’s reading is a revised section from the Book of the Prophet Joel, who wrote of the apocalypse – the end times – and spoke of portents from the heavens – tumultuous and catastrophic atmospheric phenomena that would announce the advance of the coming of God’s glory.

Joel’s words are mirrored in the experience of the disciples—the great sound of a rush of violent wind filling the house, and tongues, like flames, appearing above them. Their ability to speak languages unknown to them, but languages that others could understand. The Spirit of God and the message of Jesus, through this event, could now be brought to all people across the land. Not just the few, but the many.

This was a blessing upon what would become the Christian church—the expansion of the early Christian movement in an unexpected, provocative and transgressive way. Some in the crowd, true to form, were not ready to accept this new-found blessing from above. “They are filled with new wine”—wine that was despoiled because it had not yet properly fermented.
And Peter responded, saying, “No, we are not drunk, for it is only morning.” I guess the disciples had never been to Key West.

But they knew this was God’s handiwork—a sign that God will remain faithful to us as we carry forth the message of Jesus for all to see and hear.

A controlled burn or a prescribed fire may originate by human hands, yet it still burns hot. It has the potential to get out of control, to cause damage and destroy life.

It is a difficult for us to witness devastation or dramatic, sudden, unbelievable change and imagine that it could ever bring good. But like the fires of Yosemite, it can happen—outside and inside.

Do we allow our souls to catch fire? Do we yearn for the Holy Spirit to light a fire within that will motivate us beyond what we think possible? Or do remain in a perpetual state of flux—waiting for something to be done for us rather than allowing ourselves take a risk—a risk that a controlled burn in our souls might just give us what we need.

A controlled burn may be frightening to consider, but it might also be the necessary thing to unleash that something within us just waiting to break out and be free. But it cannot do so on its own. Our fear keeps us from allowing the opportunity of its release—the opportunity for it to purge what is unhealthy and grow anew in hope.

How would our souls respond to a controlled burn? Sometimes the fire of the Holy Spirit means the death of some certain behaviors or systems we perpetuate—systems that we want to believe serve us, but knowing truthfully that they hold us back from growth.

Too often, we take our chances with fate—allowing nature to take its course, doing nothing out of fear, and letting the fires burn out of control. Thus, we fail to chance letting go of the things that hold us back; the things we’re unwilling to part with.

Or we choose to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit in our lives; allowing the Spirit to catch fire within; to let the wind take us initially so that the tiny flame within our us can burn in indeterminable directions at its own will.

And then we take control. We allow new life to spring forth. The heat and the passion within us create a fierceness of Spirit that guides us, a Spirit that is in control; a Spirit whose fire burns hot, yet we do not fear. What are the seeds inside of us that seek to be released, to germinate and produce the legacies we will leave behind?

God grant us courage on this Feast of the Pentecost to let the fires of the Spirit consume us; to allow the heat of the Spirit to transform us so that we may fulfill our calling in the world.

May it be so. Amen.