Pentecost: The Holy Spirit Builds Diverse Community

 The Holy Spirit acts in diverse community.

If you were here last Sunday, you'll know that I was not.

Last November, I, in my infinite wisdom, decided that last Sunday

I was going to attempt to swim, bike, and run across almost seventy one miles

in southern Tennessee and Georgia.

Because it seemed like a fun idea.

And it was.

I completed the Chattanooga Ironman 70.3, a half Ironman triathlon

in 7 hours, 30 minutes, and 37 secs.

It was quite an achievement.

But you know what made it actually fun?

All of the family, friends, and strangers who volunteered, raced, cheered

before, during, and after the event.

The diverse community.

I met people from all over.

Connected with people so very different than I.

I was cheered on and supported by complete strangers I will never see again in my life.

I cheered on complete strangers.

Its in all the news about how divided the United States is

And it is divided in many ways

but when I go out and about

and last week Jimmy and I were in eight different states:

New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia

and some of these states have some big issues going on

I also saw lots of strangers helping strangers

people being friendly and helpful

I saw the coming together of diverse community in all sorts of places.

The Holy Spirit brings diverse community.

The reading from the Acts of the Apostles for Pentecost Sunday is one of my favorite passages.

Its dramatic, its inclusive, it includes the speaking of bad assumptions, and the sharing of truth

it highlights multiple miracles, not just the coming of the Holy Spirit

and its full of interesting names

Its one of the times when a single event shows a larger picture of what God is doing in the world

and its about the community of all people

The passage starts with a small known group of people

the disciples

we don't exactly know who was in the room, but we have a general gist:

Simon Peter Andrew

James and Brother John

Philip Thomas Matthew

James the son of Alphaeus

Thaddaeus Simon Judas

And Bartholomew

I couldn't list the twelve disciples without singing.

I also imagine some of the women we know who were a part of the group were there

Mary Magdalene, Joanna, the other Mary, maybe even Mother Mary

All these twenty so people were gathered together in a room

a small but already diverse community.

Some of them were fishermen, a tax collector, probably another carpenter

with the addition of the women, more diverse backgrounds

as Joanna was married to the chief steward of King Herod

compared to Mother Mary, the wife of a carpenter.

And then

in comes the Holy Spirit

and blows the whole thing out

out of the room they go

out into the city, into the crowds

growing the group

into a multinational conglomeration of people from everywhere the Roman empire had contact with

We know there were other places and people beyond where they had gone, but the point is made in this list, right?

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

The Holy Spirit is being inclusive, everyone is invited.

and everyone could hear the disciples in their own languages.

The Holy Spirit acts through diverse community.

Even what Peter stands and preaches

speaks to the diverse community of the Holy Spirit.

Peter quotes from the prophet Joel,

"God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams.

Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

and they shall prophesy."

Men, women, old, young, enslaved, free

everyone is included

and everyone has different gifts and will do different things.

Its not one sized fits all

or as they joke in the clothing industry,

one size fits no one.

When the Spirit comes

Oh, the Spirit comes!

And everyone is included and everyone is given a different part to play

when the Spirit comes

all are welcome

and all are needed

to bring together the whole work of God.

The Holy Spirit builds diverse community.

St. Peter's

is a moderately diverse community

though we don't always act like one

sometimes we act like multiple different communities barely tolerating the others in the vicinity

But I look around this room

we all look very different

we are all human, but we are all also unique

individually, most of us couldn't provide invaluable bags of food for children on the weekends and help house refugees and build and maintain multiple old stone buildings or teach about baptism, marriage, and perform funerals and pastoral calls and create social media advertisements, teach tango dance lessons, sing and play glorious music

together as a community

we do all this and more in a week

St. Peter's is a community,

together we have power and agency

together we have all the gifts we need

together we can receive the Holy Spirit

and together, with God, creator, redeemer, and advocate

Who creates, redeems and empowers us

we can change the world

It doesn't happen on its own.

Peter wasn't changing the world on his own.

He had his friends and family

the other disciples with him.

Even Paul didn't go it alone,

in the Acts of the Apostles we meet his traveling companions

Silas, Timothy, Luke, Barnabas, John Mark.

We need each other

we need this community

and all the wonderful diverse gifts the Holy Spirit brings to it.

Because...

The Holy Spirit brings diverse community.

"Ev’ry time I feel the Spirit

moving in my heart, I will pray."

Yes, but every time I feel the Spirit is at work in the world

I know it will include lots of different people coming together with unique gifts

that maybe on their own are small

but together

create big power

I'm a big believer in repetition.

The Holy Spirit brings diverse community.

Let's be a part of it.