Good morning!
Let us begin worship this morning with Psalm 104, verses 31 through 35:
May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works— who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke. I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!
Let us pray:
Dear Loving and All Knowing God, Today is Pentecost, and we celebrate the birth of the church. May we open our ears to all languages and prophesies, may we understand Your desire for us to be together in community, together as a church. As I preach Your word this morning, speak through me, so Your words will be heard and so Your message may be understood in all the hearts listening today. In Christ’s name we pray, Amen.
Mwasuze mutya! Good morning to all!
My name is Reverend Kathy Johnson. I live in the city of Saratoga Springs, the state of New York, the country of the United States, the continent of North America, in the Northern Hemisphere, on planet Earth, in the Solar System, in the Milky Way Galaxy, in the Universe.
That is my name and where I live, but not who I am. Because I am a child of God. And so are you, and you and you… And all of us!
For all of us, our home is here on planet Earth, even though we reside very far from each other. There are many differences between us. For example, I am very different from most of you. You may have noticed it when you first saw me, because yes, I am very… SHORT!
And of course there are other things, like my skin color, age, hair color, eye color, and the language I speak. I am actually unique in many ways. And so are you. Think of one way in which you are different from other people. Have you had an experience that no one else has? You certainly are of a different age than everyone else, unless you share a birthday. Your home is located in a different place than everyone else besides whoever you live with. This is how we are unique and have unique gifts to share with the world.
So, how are we similar? How are we all children of God?
Let us begin with scripture about how our home, the earth, was created. This comes from Genesis, chapter 1, and I have shortened it so we can explore it.
1In the beginning … God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness … the first day.
6And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and … 8God called the dome Sky…, the second day.
9And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” … 12The earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. … the third day.
14And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky … to give light upon the earth, 18to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness … 1the fourth day.
20And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky … 22God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” the fifth day.
24And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” …
26Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image … and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth … 31God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. … the sixth day.
…And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested.
According to scripture, in the beginning there was nothing except God. Nothing. Then God suddenly created the Universe – all of the stars, planets, and all that is on this earth. In science, that event is called the Big Bang. In science, in the beginning, there was nothing except particles of energy, which then exploded and became stars, planets, and everything that is here on earth. It seems that God created humans, who then created science.
For those of you who love science, and who studied biology and chemistry, you have learned that our bodies are made up of cells, and that within those cells are various molecules, like the water molecule, made up of hydrogen and oxygen. One water molecule is made of 2 oxygen atoms and one hydrogen atom. And all atoms are only organized particles of energy and space.
In the world of God’s language, we call that energy God, or Love. In this place of worship, we can now understand that our body, although it looks so different from the one next to us, is actually made up of the same thing, just the energy of God, the energy of Love.
Let’s take a minute to prove that we are energy. It takes energy to light a light bulb or charge our cell phone. We receive that energy through wires or from a solar panel and the sun. What if we could create useful energy using our bodies?
Experiment
We can share God’s light together! We are the energy of Light and Love!
Let’s all take a deep breath in, and hold it a second before releasing it.
In science, we understand that the air we breathe in contains oxygen, that we keep in our bodies, and when we exhale, we breathe out carbon dioxide, both of which are parts of the air we continuously breathe.
Now imagine if we could actually see the air we breathe in and out. We would then see that the air we exhale gets combined in this room with the air that everyone is breathing, in and out. We would see that we are sharing this air and that we retain some of it in our bodies. So, when I breathe in, I am breathing in something YOU gave me. Thank you! Webale ngo! Our bodies become one in this room because we are sharing the air.
This air circulates around the world. I wonder how long it would take for my breath to reach back home? I assume that after a period of time, and with enough wind, some of these molecules will arrive in New York.
This air also has been around for millions of years. So, well before Jesus walked the earth, God had created this world. So, the air that Jesus breathed is also the air that you now breath.
If we really think about it, this means that we are One. We are One with our creator, we are with the air, we are one with each other, no matter where on earth we are, and we are one with all people of all time. Katonda webale ngo!
This makes me feel very humble and very special at the same time. How about you?
This process is similar with water as well. Water is carried around the earth in clouds, rivers, and oceans. We drink water and eliminate it, sending it back into the earth to be reused. Water unites us with everyone else. Katonda webale ngo!
And the air and water unite us with all of the creatures on the earth – “birds of the air, and fish of the sea, and every living thing that moves upon the earth.” We are given the responsibility by God to take care of them all, which also means that we are taking care of ourselves and each other. When we care for others, we are being the hands of God. Katonda webale ngo!
God created plants, which require sunlight – made by God – in combination with air and water. The plants give us oxygen which we need to breathe and survive. And the plants are our food as well as food for the animals which become our food. The plants unite us and make us One with God through the air and water that are absorbed by them, and then eaten by us. Thank you God for the plants! Katonda webale ngo!
Take a quick look at your hands. Notice the details of your hands – the hairs, the colors, the wrinkles. If you could have eyes like microscopes, you could see the cells of your hands, which are made up of molecules, made up of atoms, made up of particles of energy and space. And that energy? Nothing but God’s Love, since the Big Bang, since the dawn of Creation. These are the hands of God, gifts from God, to serve the world, God’s world. A world where, if we could see deep enough, that underneath any fear, any anxiety, any hate, any worries – that underneath it all is nothing except Love.
So, today, as you go on with your day, remember your breath. This breath is the breath of God, which makes you One with all of Creation, now, and all of the past, and all of the future. When you sip water, think of how it unites you with all of the plants, animals and earth; and how it unites you with God.
As you go through your day, remember that you are not only the hands of God, serving all of creation, but you are also the energy of God’s Love. Nothing but Love. And so, in this way, we are all children of God.
Today is Pentecost, the day we celebrate the beginning of church. Listen to this scripture, from Acts 2, verses 1 through 15:
“When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.
“There were many Jews staying in Jerusalem just then, devout pilgrims from all over the world. When they heard the sound, they came on the run. Then when they heard, one after another, their own mother tongues being spoken, they were blown away. They couldn’t for the life of them figure out what was going on, and kept saying, “Aren’t these all Galileans? How come we’re hearing them talk in our various mother tongues?
“They’re speaking our languages, describing God’s mighty works!”
“Their heads were spinning; they couldn’t make head or tail of any of it. They talked back and forth, confused: “What’s going on here?”
“Others joked, “They’re drunk on cheap wine.”
“That’s when Peter stood up and, backed by the other eleven, spoke out with bold urgency: “Fellow Jews, all of you who are visiting Jerusalem, listen carefully and get this story straight. These people aren’t drunk as some of you suspect. They haven’t had time to get drunk—it’s only nine o’clock in the morning.”
In this scripture reading, the Holy Spirit visited the Apostles and gave them the gift of the ability to speak in different languages. Here, right now, between David and myself, you are listening to this sermon in two different languages. Thank you, David, for translating!
At the time, according to scripture, this was how the Christian church was able to be spread throughout the region, no matter what language was spoken. The people could understand God’s word, as spoken through the Apostles. It was the Holy Spirit working through them. Today, here and now, although we may need a translator between English and Luganda, the Holy Spirit is still here among us, bringing us together as one congregation and one church. We may be from different parts of the world, we may have different physical features, we may speak different languages, but we hear God’s word. Today God is telling us that we are all One.
May it be so, Katonda akuwe omukisa. God bless you. Amen.
Commentaires