Pentecost

Happy Pentecost

Acts 2:6b-8 - each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language?

Genesis 11:6-8 - The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.” So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 

Pentecost - The traditional birthday of the Church.  I am a Christian and I “advertise” my beliefs. I keep scripture on the back of my terminal at work, I play mostly Christian music.  However, I worry that people will get the wrong idea about what I believe. This is because the majority of Christian (at least in the US, I have never been to another country) do not preach the Good News of Jesus. Jesus said His Good News is for the poor, at least that is how it is translated into english, but the word used includes the social outcast.  Still Jesus clearly teaches against storing up personal treasures on earth, earthly wealth is to be used to elevate everyone; it is to be shared with those in need, simply because they are in need. Jesus teaches His followers to take up our own cross, nowhere in the New Testament does Jesus or any of His followers use violence to defend themselves or to further their message. Taking up our cross means we are willing to die for our neighbor/enemy but not to kill for them.  Jesus calls us to love everyone and to invite everyone to His Kingdom, no matter their past. Jesus taught in Matthew 25 that it is how you treat the least of these, actually, I think Jesus taught that throughout, but least of these is the summary.

This is not new…

Frederick Douglas- “I love the pure, peaceable, and impartial Christianity of Christ: I therefore hate the corrupt, slaveholding, women-whipping, cradle-plundering, partial and hypocritical Christianity of this land. Indeed, I can see no reason, but the most deceitful one, for calling the religion of this land Christianity. I look upon it as the climax of all misnomers, the boldest of all frauds, and the grossest of all libels. Never was there a clearer case of “stealing the livery of the court of heaven to, serve the devil in.”

Mahatma Gandhi - “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”

2 Corinthians 11: 5-7 (Paul) I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles. I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? 

Jesus even confronted the religious leaders of His day and they helped to kill Him.

Anyway, back to today.  Christianity is often used to criticize people that are different, it is used to blame the poor for their position, it is used to support personal wealth, it is used to support violence. It is used to support empire, capitalism and an us vs them mentality.

The two passages above talked about God creating a language barrier then God removing a language barrier.  As the Church; we need to unite around the community Jesus taught and lived. This community reaches across barriers, across borders, across identity and calls everyone a child of God and loved equally by God.  God wants us to unite over love that is taught by Jesus and not by humans' self interest.

I need to say there are many that do preach Jesus, but they are the vast minority.

I had a friend from work that used to talk about a come to Jesus meeting.  I had not heard that phrase before or since, but in context I knew what he meant.  It meant we needed to get on the same page about what was the purpose.  What were we working for.  Happy Birthday Church - we need a come to Jesus meeting…..