I.  INTRODUCTION: 

Some years ago a pastor was called in to help arbitrate some severe difficulties and conflicts that had emerged among inner-city workers for a large Christian organization.  The arguments were intense.  Voices were raised.  The issues were complex and very heated.  After hours of vented anger and frustration, some—but not all—of the issues began to be resolved.  By the time they were finished for the day, feelings needed to be eased. A young woman, who had only hours before been right in the middle of the hottest arguing, was asked to close the day’s meeting in prayer.  She said, with her voice cracking, “Lord, I want to thank you for putting each person in this room in my life…so that I can be more like your Son.”

That’s the prayer of the church.  That’s the prayer of St. Stephen UMC.  That through all the good and rough times, the lean and affluent years, the mundane and the brilliant sermons, the people and the pastors, the past and the future, youth and adult, modern and traditional, liberal and conservative…we can all pray at the end of the day, “Lord, I want to thank you for putting each person in this church in my life…so that I can be more like your Son.”

That’s unity.  That’s comm-unity.

II.  SCRIPTURE:

Our scripture today comes at the end of Acts 2 where the Jewish people have gathered for worship on the historic Jewish holiday of Pentecost, commemorating the day in which God gave the Law to the people.  Devout Jews had come from every nation, every sect, every splinter group for this day. Although these different groups often clashed, they found themselves together in one place, to worship the one God.  Like us today, this was one place that united them all. 

Suddenly, a crack sounded throughout the room, and the Holy Spirit descended.  Strange figures formed above the heads of each person resembling tongues of fire.  People who spoke different languages, could now be understood. They were confused and afraid until Peter stood up and spoke.   He calmly explained to them the amazing thing that God was doing:  this day of Pentecost will now be remembered as the day the Holy Spirit of God had come to unite the people in one voice and with one purpose.  The Messiah had come to redeem the people, was mercilessly killed for our sins, is resurrected with the promise of new life, and now the Holy Spirit has come to continue the work of Christ in all who believe.

The people were filled with awe and responded to this good news by being baptized in Christ and claiming Jesus as Lord. Despite all that separated these people from one another—language, beliefs, nationalities, theologies, etc.—today, they became brothers and sisters.  From that day on, anyone who believed and claimed Jesus Christ as Lord were united together as one family—our family.  This story is the birth of the church.  This is our story.  This is our heritage.  These are our brothers and sisters.  Their story is our story.   

A)  Baptism marks the beginning of our united story.

Those who welcomed Peter’s message that day, and really ever since, responded by being baptized. In fact 3000 people were baptized that day, and then devoted themselves to studying the apostle’s teaching, regular fellowship, praying together, and eating together (this is where covered-dish dinners come from-v.42) so that they could become a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ—becoming more and more like the Son of God.   Ever since, every Christian from every background agrees that baptism is a special sign of God’s grace, changing us from mere spectators to active brothers and sisters united in the family of Christ who need each other’s help to also become more like Christ. 

I think it is an awesome opportunity for us to combine our 11am worship services every now and then to remind us that we are indeed one family.  I hope each one of us can come together to experience, celebrate, and appreciate the amazing diversity of our family.  That we not just tolerate the differences, as many unfortunately do, but truly value and support these differences in how they make us better equipped for ministry, more joyful for worship, and more like the Kingdom of God.  In fact, we should be striving to be more diverse, seeking out and welcoming people of all ages, races, gifts, sexual orientations, economic background, and yes, even political and religious beliefs.  It doesn’t matter if you like choral music or praise music, ASP or Room in the Inn, the youth minister or the preacher, who is sitting in the pew next to you or in the room down the hall:  our common baptism and faith in Jesus Christ unites us all, and makes us one.  It is time we start acting like it. 

Therefore, we plan to come together several times each year to honor and celebrate our unity through our diversity during special moments in the life of our St. Stephen family.  In just a few weeks on May 20, we will unite again to confirm 26 young people, and welcome them into the family.  Our founding pastor, Rev. Jim Armstrong, will be here that day to help us claim our new brothers and sisters through Confirmation.  A few weeks later on June 3, we will unite together again in the Fellowship Hall to bless and send forth our high school graduates as our church’s ambassadors into the world.  When we can come together from time to time and value these special moments, we are reminded how much we really need each other, with all our differences, to help us become more like Christ.  This is what it means to be family.

B)  Service is our united mission

While baptism is our united family story, service to those in need is our united mission.  For centuries, the church has lived out and even expanded on the commitment to serving others that the early Christians after Pentecost were so devoted.  Verse 45 explains they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.

This concern for taking care of others hasn’t changed, especially in the United Methodist Church.  In fact, concern for the poor was of prime importance to John Wesley, the founder of Methodism.  President Woodrow Wilson once spoke of how Wesley renewed the church’s concern for the poor, “The church was dead and Wesley awakened it; the poor were neglected and Wesley sought them out.”  Wesley fought to reform the prisons, abolish slavery, and establish missionary societies that would have compassion for those who suffer. John Wesley did not invent a heart for the poor, no, that was born in the heart of Jesus who nurtured it in the early church… and it continues to beat today.

I cannot begin to tell you of all the stories that describe all the ways, the money, the meals, the materials, and the people who reach out to any in need, but I can tell you of one.

In March, the parents of the St. Stephen preschool hold a family fun fest to raise money for the preschool.  In years past, the parents were overwhelmed with chasing their own toddlers around while trying to run booths, games, activities, silent auction, and serving meals.  They asked if the youth ministry would help.  In one of the busiest times of the year, over 30 youth volunteered on a Friday evening to help run games and activities and play with the kids.  One preschool parent, who is not a member of our church, commented:  “I cannot believe that so many of the youth from this church would care enough about my family to give up a Friday night and work so hard for something that they receive no benefit. It’s just amazing.”  The way we serve others in the name of Jesus Christ has a long history in our Christian heritage, and I am proud to say that it continues today.

C)  Worship is our united voice

Since baptism is our united story, and service is our united mission, then worship must be our united voice.  From verse 46, we learn that the early church met together often for worship in the temple, praising God. Even today, we continue to value worship as the central way we come together and unite our voices to boldly and often proclaim, “Jesus Christ is Lord!”  Sure we may worship in different places, sing different songs, use different instruments, or wear different clothes—but our voices still ring out in unison in praise of the same God. 

Do you ever wonder why we are never completely satisfied with our worship?  Oh, we point fingers at others for how ‘they’ do worship, how the modern worship service is too loud, or the traditional worship is too boring.  The truth is, we are not satisfied because deep down, we long to worship God in perfect harmony with all the company of heaven.  But in our broken world, we cannot possibly find any one way to worship God that can fully imitate the indescribably magnificent, perfect worship that we will find in the kingdom of God.  In fact, it is only when we express all our voices, all our expressions, all our styles—all at the same time--that we begin to get a glimpse of what worship in heaven will be like.  So, we must continually encourage a diversity of worship so that we can better express our unity of voice.

One day I received an email from a church member who severely disagreed with my theology in one of my sermons, spending several paragraphs outlining where I had gone wrong, that I was unfit to preach in a United Methodist pulpit, and even went so far as to say that I was leading people down a road that took them further from God.

I must admit, I probably didn’t respond, as I should.  I quickly became defensive and wrote maybe two sermons worth of words that defended my position quoting the Bible, my experience, a few hymns, and even John Wesley himself. 

The result was days of back and forth emails that showed no signs of agreement. In fact, I am embarrassed to say, the tone of the emails started taking a harsh and hostile tone, leading into personal attacks.  I had allowed the problem to become more important than the person. I realized a painful truth:  this conflict was harming my relationship with my brother in Christ.

My last email was short, honest, penitent AND…freeing….“Even though we disagree, I want to thank you for challenging and respecting me.  I am sorry that I did not convey the same sense of respect that you have shown me.  Although we disagree, is there anyway that we can still at least worship together?”

He replied simply, and succinctly, “Absolutely!”

No matter if we disagree on theology, on styles of music for worship, how much money we give to this ministry or that, no matter if we like this preacher or that, no matter if we come from Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, or no religious background at all, it is our differences that end up uniting us.  We are the body of Christ.  We need hands, feet, arms, eyes, and ears…but we also need hair, toenails, armpits, and all the parts to make us whole.  Jesus Christ alone is our unity.  Dietrich Bonhoeffer once wrote, “Through (Jesus Christ) alone do we have access to one another, joy in one another, and fellowship with one another.”  You see, without Jesus Christ, there is no “we.”

Suppose at the end of my life, the Enemy were to hold me up in front of God, waggle me a little, and with a sneer on his face, say, “This ol’ Dirks character proves your plan doesn’t work.  Look at the lousy job he did of living out the Christian life.”  And then suppose he spends hours listing my sins.  After three volumes full, he takes a breath and sneers, “and that was only for last November.” 

But God intervenes.  Shaking his mighty head, he says, “No you don’t understand my plan. That’s not my purpose.  The purpose was not for Brandon Dirks to live out the whole Christian faith by himself.  If you want to play this little game, then you have to hold up the entire body of Christ.  And when you see the entire body of Christians, you will see that every temptation was withstood and every accomplishment has been completed and everything I ever planned has been fulfilled—through the whole body of Christ, not through any single individual!”

We must realize that only together do we accomplish the mission of Jesus Christ in this world, and in the world to come.  We need each other, and each is needed to make this happen.  Imagine what we can do for God as we are united together in baptism, serve others selflessly, and worship the God who makes us one.

III.  CONCLUSION

I thank God everyday for the gift of this church.  You people sitting in the pews today, the people who were unable to come today, and yes, even the people who chose not to come today for whatever reason.  I thank God for the people who no longer are with us, who served God faithfully and kept his commandments to make this church available to me.  I thank God for generation after generation of believers that gave their very lives because of the difference that Jesus Christ made in their lives.  And I thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, and that the Holy Spirit continues to find a home right here among us.