Preparation for Worship. For today’s worship, you will need 2 candles. This Sunday add red to your worship area with flowers, red paper, or red fabric. Red is the liturgical color for Pentecost. If you want to celebrate communion, have some food and drink to share. The type of food and drink does not matter for they are merely symbols which help us celebrate the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The Worship of God
Light two candles in recognition of Christ’s presence. In our practice, one candle represents Jesus’ divinity and the other Jesus’ humanity.
Gathering for Worship
Passing the Peace
Before passing the peace of Christ, receive the blessing of Christ’s peace spoken in a variety of languages by our church family and their friends.
“And also with you.”
Call to Worship
No great flowing fabrics of red
adorning the sanctuary today,
yet this is still the day we celebrate
Grace’s breath shattering the shutters of our hearts.
On this day, clad in our pajamas, sitting at home
we continue to let the Spirit
of new life breathe upon us!
On this day, we would touch (virtually) all
who remain sheltered in place, safe in God’s grace.
And in the days to come, we will continue to speak
of God’s love and the Spirit’s peace for all.
Opening Prayer
Imaginative God, a spark is all we need on this day
to light our quarantined alone-ness
so we can burst into bonfires
which signal to all those around us
that you are bringing life and grace to us, and to the whole world.
Amen.
Songs and Psalms of Praise and Prayer
Song of Praise
All Things Bright and Beautiful by Cecil Francis Alexander
Refrain:
All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful,
the Lord God made them all.
1 Each little flow’r that opens,
each little bird that sings,
God made their glowing colors,
God made their tiny wings.
2 The purple-headed mountain,
the river running by,
the sunset, and the morning
that brightens up the sky. [Refrain]
3 The cold wind in the winter,
the pleasant summer sun,
the ripe fruits in the garden,
God made them, ev’ry one.
4 The tall trees in the greenwood,
the meadows where we play,
the flowers by the water
we gather ev’ry day. [Refrain]
5 God gave us eyes to see them,
and lips that we might tell
how great is God Almighty,
who has made all things well. [Refrain]
A Reading from the Psalms
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
24 Lord, you have done so many things!
You made them all so wisely!
The earth is full of your creations!
25 And then there’s the sea, wide and deep,
with its countless creatures—
living things both small and large.
26 There go the ships on it,
and Leviathan, which you made, plays in it!
27 All your creations wait for you
to give them their food on time.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled completely full!
29 But when you hide your face, they are terrified;
when you take away their breath,
they die and return to dust.
30 When you let loose your breath, they are created,
and you make the surface of the ground brand-new again.
31 Let the Lord’s glory last forever!
Let the Lord rejoice in all he has made!
32 He has only to look at the earth, and it shakes.
God just touches the mountains, and they erupt in smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I’m still alive.
34 Let my praise be pleasing to him;
I’m rejoicing in the Lord!
Prayers for Others. As we did last week,
pause after each line to give voice to prayers as prompted.
Merciful God, who shelters us and guides us,
we give you thanks for…
God who comforts, receive those who are fearful and lonely…
God whose love is steadfast,
be refuge for the ill, the dying, and those who care about them…
God of righteousness,
we ask for your wisdom and ways of justice to prevail
in our community, this nation, your world…
God who seeks our trust,
grow us and guide us in your ways that are life-giving in your world. Amen.
Song of Prayer
A Pentecost Prayer
O God, who on this day taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:
Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things,
and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort, through Jesus Christ our Lord: Amen.
Celebrating Communion
Communion. (Bread and wine were common foods during Jesus’ day. As we celebrate communion at home, use common food and drinks you have. The type of food and drink is not what matters, but it matters that you remember Christ as you share, eat, and drink.)
A Reading from the Gospels, Mark 14:22-24. While [the disciples and Jesus] were eating, [Jesus] took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
Share what you have to eat. Before everyone eats, have someone say,
“This food represents the body of Christ. As we eat, we remember Jesus.”
Share what you have to drink. Before everyone drinks, have someone say,
“This drink represents the covenant Christ made with us that our sins will be forgiven. As we drink, we remember Jesus.”
Prayer of Thanksgiving. Dear God, thank you for your abounding compassionate love. Thank you for guiding and leading us through these difficult times. Thank you for always being with us. Amen.
Song. End communion by singing a hymn. You may want to sing Amazing Grace.
Amazing grace how sweet the sound
that saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost, but now I am found,
was blind but now I see.
The New Testament for Pentecost
Song of Adoration
Come Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, into our hearts;
With wind and flame, holy you came,
That the nations might praise your Name.
Come, Holy Spirit, into our hearts;
And thy sevenfold gifts impart.
Come Spirit bright, and with thy light,
Thy people unite,
Forth from the Father, merciful thou art.
Come, Holy Spirit, truth divine;
Come, fill our lives and make them thine,
Come with thy blessings,
Come within our hearts to shine.
A Reading from Acts 2:1-21
Listen to the New Testament lesson and/or read below.
When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. 4 They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
5 There were pious Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered. They were mystified because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages. 7 They were surprised and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all the people who are speaking Galileans, every one of them? 8 How then can each of us hear them speaking in our native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; as well as residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya bordering Cyrene; and visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the mighty works of God in our own languages!” 12 They were all surprised and bewildered. Some asked each other, “What does this mean?” 13 Others jeered at them, saying, “They’re full of new wine!”
14 Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his voice and declared, “Judeans and everyone living in Jerusalem! Know this! Listen carefully to my words! 15 These people aren’t drunk, as you suspect; after all, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! 16 Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young will see visions.
Your elders will dream dreams.
18 Even upon my servants, men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
19 I will cause wonders to occur in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.
20 The sun will be changed into darkness,
and the moon will be changed into blood,
before the great and spectacular day of the Lord comes.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Reflection “Pentecost” from Tonya
Listen to Tonya’s reflection and/or read below. (Due to the high quality of the church’s recorder, the sermon is graced with the sounds of birds, the neighbor’s child gleefully playing, and Jeffrey talking on the phone two floors below on the opposite side of the house. Oh well…..)
Last Sunday we read in Acts 1, Jesus’s directive to his followers. He was going to leave them, but they were to stay put in Jerusalem and wait. God was going to baptize them with the Holy Spirit, but first Jesus had to leave the scene. That Spirit baptism was going to endow them with a power which would enable them to give testimony to Jesus Christ. Jesus was taken up into heaven and the apostles did what they were told to do. They returned to Jerusalem and together they waited. While they waited they prayed.
In addition to the 11 disciples, there were another 120 people among them, men and women who had followed and believed in Jesus. Peter seems to be a little antsy while he waits. It was his nature to always be “doing” something. So noting that with Judas’ passing they were down to 11 disciples, Peter proposes they tidy things up and fill the vacancy. From their Jewish religious background, the number twelve represents totality and wholeness. The number eleven has no meaning at all. It just communicates incompleteness. Overlooking the women who were with them and who had seen and talked with the risen Christ, the group entertains nominations of men who can give personal testimony to the resurrection of Jesus. When it is all said and done, two men make the final list. Then everyone prays asking that God’s will be done. To determine God’s choice, they cast lots and the lot falls on Matthias. You probably don’t even remember the name of the other man even though the Bible provides three names for him. He was Joseph who also went by Barsabbas and was also known as Justus.
Okay, manpower is complete, now what to do. Wait and pray and wait some more while praying always. By Day 9 of waiting and praying, the Jewish festival of Pentecost had arrived as well as the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit’s entrance in Luke’s story is anything but discreet. This holy visitation enters the room unannounced, unexpected, and with an echoing roar that overfills the room. Accompanying the audible drama was the sight of something like flames of fire. Whereas the thought of flames of fire hovering over your head may scare you and me, no other sight could be more symbolic of the presence of God. Fire had always been a symbol of the Divine presence–purifying, refining, and energizing. Think back to Moses and the burning bush that was never consumed or the pillar of fire shining at night leading the people through the wilderness.
The Spirit’s coming may not have been seen by all, but the sound of the Spirit’s arrival could not be overlooked. The loud ruckus created by the God’s presence draws a crowd. The Galileans are speaking different languages, so well that everyone present can understand what was being said. Of course, the crowd is amazed, astonished, perplexed. So much is happening that Peter has to raise his voice to be heard. In Acts the coming of the Holy Spirit is not associated with whispers, murmurs of a dove’s song, white gloves, or dainty manners. The coming of the Holy Spirit is noisy, loud, interrupting and full of power. Not a power that crushes and destroys, or knocks sense into another. No, the Spirit comes with a power that enables, a power that creates, a power that makes it possible to give verbal witness to the resurrected Christ and a power that makes it possible for others to heard and know. The gift of fluency in other languages and the gift of understanding.
The ability or rather the non-ability to speak in different languages proved to be a huge barrier in giving witness to the love of God. Jesus expected that his followers would give witness to his love all the way to the ends of the earth. But if you cannot speak another’s language, how can they understand what you are saying? On the day of Pentecost God removed the language barrier providing the abilities to speak and understand. What was said and heard that day? The TED Talk was all about the magnificent mighty works of God.
Can you imagine being empowered by the Spirit so that your life speaks all about the magnificent mighty works of God? That’s the goal, that our lives “talk” about the wonderful works of God. Way back in the day, one of our Bible study teachers, Polly Rice, had a quote posted in her classroom. It read, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” The Spirit enables our lives to proclaim, to preach the wonderful, works of God. We do so by the way we live and sometimes with our words.
Now can you imagine being empowered by the Spirit so that we can “hear” about the magnificent mighty works of God? If we don’t “listen” to God, we won’t have worth saying. If we don’t receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’s understanding, then we won’t hear and we will run the risk of sharing something less than the good news of God’s love. The Spirit’s coming enables us to not only share, but to also understand.
Well, Google translate has rid the world of the barriers of language. But there are a lot of other divisive barriers still standing in the way. Can you imagine those divisive barriers built by our fear and greed, can you imagine them being replaced with understanding so that the marvelous mighty works of God might be proclaimed? The Spirit of God is willing, but are we?
The gift of diversity which God endowed upon creation whether it be skin color, country of origin, gender, even sexual orientation has been turned into a curse. And the most divisive barrier from this past week’s experience here in the United States has been race. Whether consciously or unconsciously, whichever way you need to see it to hear it, we continue to define people’s worth by the color of their skin instead of by the love of God.
Our church family, Cullowhee Baptist, is a group of white people. We have never felt powerless, vulnerable, unloved, or even hated because of the color of our skin. We don’t bear the burdens of grief and anxiety that people of color bear every day and have born for generations. We don’t have to wade through the waves of vicarious trauma when a person of color is murdered. We have never been afraid to go to church because the color of our skin gives cause for another to dehumanize us and our house of worship so much so that they may bomb the building while we are in it or join us in praise and prayer and then turn a gun on us. We can test the limits of speed while driving because our skin is white and the only fear we have from getting caught is a ticket and facing an angry parent or spouse. We can wear a mask during a pandemic to stop the spread of COVID and people are grateful. But people of color wear a mask and they are immediately suspect or accused of trying to deceive or do wrong.
We white people need the Holy Spirit. We need the Spirit to empower us with the ability to understand. The problem does not belong to those whose skin the Almighty Creator God has blessed with color. The problem belongs to those of us who have always checked the “white” box. Christians pray and live lives in such a way that the will of God is done here on earth as it is in heaven. Christians empowered by the Holy Spirit proclaim the mighty works of God. Christians faith in God through Jesus Christ is colored with hope, love, and abundant life. However, the world as people of color experience it, is not the world as it should be, as God wants it to be. When a person is treated as less than human, less than a child of God, for whatever reason, then the mighty works of God are not being proclaimed. But if the world is going to change for people of color, it will require us white folk to shut up, listen, and understand. And our ability to hush, listen, and comprehend will require the Spirit of God.
God has already shown us what can happen, if we would but humble ourselves and listen. May the Spirit of God work in us so that we might understand how to resist the evil of white supremacy, the evil of criminalizing someone based on skin color, the evil of apathy, and the evil of turning God’s creative diversity into a curse.
May the Spirit come and replace the divisive barriers we have created with understanding.
Questions for Reflection
How do (or can) our differences enrich our experience of unity?
What is the greatest obstacle to good communication?
How does the Spirit renew and refine us?
Prayer of Thanksgiving. Offer a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s love and ask God to help our church family grow deeper and deeper in love.
Song of Response
God, Our Author and Creator
God, our Author and Creator, in whose life we find our own,
Make our daily witness greater, by our lives make your love known.
Help us show how love embraces those whom fear and greed down-trod.
In all yearning hearts and faces, let us see a child of God.
Like those first apostles, Savior, give us strength to love and serve;
When our fainting spirits waver, fire our hearts and steel our nerve.
Teach us wisdom and compassion, bid our restless thoughts be still;
By Your guidance help us fashion lives conformed unto Your will.
Keep us faithful, Holy Spirit, help us bear the message true;
That at last all lands may hear it; “God is love; Christ died for you.”
Join our lives in mighty chorus till we come from ev’ry place;
With all those who went before us, to the fullness of God’s grace.
Sending
The shutters of our hearts have been flung open
by the fresh breath of God!
We will go to offer God’s love to everyone around us
even if only from our living room or porch.
Our souls have been set on fire
by the justice of the Brother of the poor.
We will go to share visions of hope,
to listen to the dreams of the oppressed,
even if only through social media,
a text, or a phone conversation.
Our loneliness and fears will be set aside
by the Spirit of inclusion creating community.
We will speak words of peace to all we meet
even while maintaining a safe distance,
we will open ourselves to the gifts of others
even as we cocoon in place because we love them.
Closing Song. In our tradition, we close worship by singing the first verse of Blest Be the Tie. Mindy starts us each week, and so she does today as well.
Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love.
The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. Amen.
Credits: The image, slideshow, and video were created by Elizabeth. The Call to Worship, Opening Prayer, and Sending were written by Thom Shuman. Used by permission. The Peace of Christ is shared by Moses (English), Joyce (French & Italian), Sarah (Czech & German), Justin (Spanish), Landon (Latin), Tracy’s friend, Fabian (Portuguese & Argentinian Spanish) and Connor’s friend (Hindi). Scripture readings are from the Common English Bible. The Psalm was read by Connor, Onifer, Tracy, Kelly, Jeffrey and the New Testament was read by Ray. All Things Bright and Beautiful was written by Cecil Francis Alexander and sung to the tune, Royal Oak, a 17th century English melody. God, Our Author and Creator was written by Carl P. Daw, Jr. and sung to the tune, Holy Manna, attributed to William Moore. Amazing Grace was written by John Newton (1807) and played by Aidan on the piano. The tune New Britain was a folk tune. The words for A Pentecost Prayer come from the Book of Common Prayer (Collect for Pentecost) and arranged by Carson P. Cooman. Tracy accompanies Mindy singing. The words for Come, Holy Spirit, Into Our Hearts were written by Mark Schweizer and set to G.F. Handel’s Come, ever smiling liberty from “Judas Macabeus.” The organ is played by Tracy and the violin by Connor. Mindy mixed the music. Blest be the Tie was written by John Fawcett (1782) and sung by Mindy. Permission to podcast / stream the music in this service obtained from ONE LICENSE with license #A-724755. All rights reserved. All writings have been used by permission from the posting sites or authors.
Cullowhee Baptist Church 
Beautiful service. Thank you to all.