The Conversation

Two weeks ago we began to work on this idea of the life of God as conversation within Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, a conversation into which we are being invited to participate.

And today we continue and expand upon that wonder.

The conversation got started long before our time.

And God said...and it was so...and it was very good.

The Genesis stories make it clear that God wanted more interaction than just with sun, moon, and stars.

And God said...and so we are, and it is very good.

And God said...and thus we are, and we may respond, and this is conversation, the holy conversation of life.

And God said...and we did not respond; that is, we ran away from conversation.

Where are you? God called, and we hide ourselves.

And this is sin: that God wants to have conversation and we think that we can do better on our own.

Our God speaks;

God initiates conversation,

God calls us by name.

It is part of the very nature of our God to be addressing us and desiring to be addressed by us.

We could call it crazy, or we can call it love, but that is the Lord God of Abraham, Moses, Mary, and Paul,...the one who desires conversation.

One sure sign that two people are in love is that they want to talk...for hours...face to face, and by telephone, email, longhand, and whatever new ways of communication are invented.

Talk is so important because our speech is a primary way of expressing ourselves, of both giving and receiving.

And God's love for us is so profound that he is not willing to abandon us when we stop talking with him and hide ourselves away.

God is not willing for our hiding to be the final word and action on the subject.

God does everything to change the situation, to break into our little self-centered world, to talk again and again, and even to give us the words with which to respond!

And God said...and it was as uncontrollable as the wind.

And God said, and it was as all-consuming and powerful as fire.

On that Pentecost day, God said, and some stopped running away and listened, and responded.

And it wasn't their little private love-fest with God.

This powerful conversation initiated by God with that roomful of disciples became the model for another conversation, this time with...

Parthians, Medes and Elamites from the east;

Pontus, Phrygia, and Pamphillia from the north;

Egypt, Libya, and Arabia from the south;

Rome and Crete from the west,

as well as from right there in Judea.

All during the Easter season, we have had a summary of that conversation – we know it well: one person says “Christ is risen” and others respond with He is risen indeed.

That is the shorthand version...and then we go on with “What does this mean for you and me today?”

Some will be puzzled by this unexpected conversation.

Some will scoff and label us crazy or drunk.

Some may respond in conversation... and a new future is opened for both persons.

This Pentecost day is a very big deal.

It is the windy and fiery persistence of God, reaching out not only to a few leaders long ago,

but also to us here and now.

And giving us the model and content of what to say and do.

The first part is prayer with the Father.

--We try to step away with “I can't get started” and Jesus says Pray this way, “Our Father....”

--We hide behind inconsequential things and Jesus says to pray for the really big things: Thy will be done.

--We are tempted to despair: “I don't know what to say in prayer,” and Paul reminds us that the Holy Spirit will carry us in the dark times, interceding for us with sighs too deep for words.[Romans 8]

That is the first part, God's conversation with us in prayer.

Now on to the second part of the continuing Pentecost story – our conversation with our Parthians, Medes, and Elamites!

It is not optional.

Disciples became apostles, that is, followers became the sent-out ones.

We cannot push this off to another person, committee, or pastor.

Whoever receives Good News is commissioned to share it.

Yes, we truly have bigger things to discuss that only sports and the weather.

The Spirit will help us when we get stuck,

and encourage us when we are reluctant,

and comfort us when we despair.

The Psalmist says today, You send forth your Spirit...and so you renew the face of the earth.

And another place: I have called you by name; you are mine.

So now, if we are going to take up the dare of Pentecost, enlivened by the Holy Spirit, then we had better do some practicing in order to get ready.

For quite some time, we have been suggesting that at the time of the Sharing of the Peace, it might be a useful thing to offer your name to others and use their names in the greeting.

Try it out with a person or two, especially with someone not well-known to you.

This may make the Sharing of Peace a bit longer, but that will be OK too; remember, we are practicing here for the more difficult greetings that we need to give outside of these walls.

There are of course problems:

--some of us can't move very well and others need to come to them,

--some of us have painful arthritis and perhaps merely touching the back of the hand is the appropriate thing,

--some of us are by nature very quiet people and find the whole idea of the greeting a very difficult thing to do,

--some of us will be ill and for everyone's benefit should use only words without a handshake, and acknowledge one another with a bow in greeting.

It is a very special kind of work, this greeting in the name of Jesus, a greeting that can at a later time blossom into conversation.

Better to greet a few persons warmly than to greet many mechanically; it is not a numbers contest!

All this will be chaotic, noisy, and take time, but today is Pentecost, and the Spirit is trying to reach us who keep trying to turn away... and is also intending to reach someone else through us.

Dear people on The Way, members of the congregation, Council members and other leaders, visiting members of the body of Christ... let us all know it clearly that

--none of us have graduated from this work, and we are all beginners,

--we all need each others help and encouragement,

--and we all need the backing and guidance of the Spirit who moves as God wills, as powerfully and uncontrollably as wind and fire...

because God said...and it is so...and it will be very good, indeed! Amen.

Please note: The preceding sermon is provided as a resource for the thought, prayer, and meditation of the members and friends of St. Mark's. It is the residue of a verbal event, and thus it does not have academic footnotes and other details that would be expected in a written document. The writer gladly acknowledges the prior thought and work of many Christians before him.