- Gospel: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 - Advocate of Truth
- Second Reading: Acts 2:1-21 - Fiery Spirit
- Quickfire: Romans 8:22-28 - God works all things together for good.
- Psalm: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
image: photo by Lawrence OP
A Call to Worship
One: O Holy One, how amazing are your works
Many: In wisdom, you made them all.
One: The earth is full of your creatures
Many: The sea, great and wide, living things both small and great.
One: These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
Many: When you send forth your spirit, they have life;
One: Let us sing to the Holy One as long as we have breath;
Many: Sing praise to our God while we have being.
One: O Holy One, how amazing are your works
Many: In wisdom, you made them all.
Adapted from Psalm 104 by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Worldmaking.net
Sponsors: Audible and you!
Hello and welcome to the Pulpit Fiction Podcast, the lectionary podcast for preachers, seekers and Bible geeks. This is episode 114 for Sunday May 10, Easter 7B.
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Gospel: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 - Advocate of Truth
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Second Reading: Acts 2:1-21 - Fiery Spirit
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Quickfire: Romans 8:22-28 - God works all things together for good.
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Psalm: Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
- Festival of Homiletics
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- Roundtables coming up this week
- David Lose too!
- Roundtables coming up this week
- Pentecost falls on Memorial Day weekend
- Luke Powery gave an amazing presentation on the groaning Spirit of God
- Reclamation on lament in the groaning Spirit of God- what a great new take on Pentecost
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- Creation groans in ecological crisis, our nation groans in racial and socio-economic injustice, our world groans under extremism and growing inequity between the haves and have-nots and we ourselves groan inwardly because we are inextricably connected to the world.
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- “The Groaning of the world and its suffering stalks us like the paparazzi”- LP
- “The Groaning of the world and its suffering stalks us like the paparazzi”- LP
- Creation groans in ecological crisis, our nation groans in racial and socio-economic injustice, our world groans under extremism and growing inequity between the haves and have-nots and we ourselves groan inwardly because we are inextricably connected to the world.
- We cannot get to glory without groaning
- Lament, pain and grief are indescribable, inarticulate- it is a groan of pain and agony that God expresses with us
- “Groaning leads us to hope...our tears create the pillow for the Gospel of Hope...hope is tear stained”
- Invite people to express their grief, their pain, the flames of Pentecost can burn sometimes
Featured Musician - Bryan Sirchio, “The Perfect Church” from his new album, Fully Alive. Find more about Bryan and his music at sirchio.com. Follow Bryan on Facebook or twitter @bryanjsirchio
Primary Scripture - John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 - Advocate of Truth
Initial Thoughts
- Lectionary cuts out v 1-3, which is about the coming persecution of the Church. This seems to change the meaning of the passage.
- Advocate or Companion?
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- NRSV = Advocate
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- Illluminates the trial metaphor, and seems to work better with testify language in the rest of the passage. The Advocate is the one who testifies on behalf of.
- Later, it says that the Spirit will “prove”
- Illluminates the trial metaphor, and seems to work better with testify language in the rest of the passage. The Advocate is the one who testifies on behalf of.
- CEB = Companion
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- Illuminates the idea that the disciples will not be left alone. A companion is literally “one with whom to break bread.” com=with. pan=bread. This seems to fit more with the pastoral claim that the disciples (and thus the John community) will not be left alone despite their apparent ‘aloneness.’
- Later, is says that the Spirit will “show”
- Illuminates the idea that the disciples will not be left alone. A companion is literally “one with whom to break bread.” com=with. pan=bread. This seems to fit more with the pastoral claim that the disciples (and thus the John community) will not be left alone despite their apparent ‘aloneness.’
- The choice to focus on Advocate, one who testifies on behalf of someone in the time of trial; or Companion, the one who walks with you through all of life, could inform the rest of the sermon. Lifting up both of these aspects and revealing how neither explanation of the Spirit is complete, could be powerful too.
- NRSV = Advocate
- As always John is working on two levels. Jesus is speaking to:
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- His disciples.
- A persecuted faith community
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- Deleted part of the passage refers to the struggle that is to come to the John community. All dichotomous language in John needs to be read through this lens, but the lectionary removes it.
- Deleted part of the passage refers to the struggle that is to come to the John community. All dichotomous language in John needs to be read through this lens, but the lectionary removes it.
- His disciples.
- What is the Spirit to do?
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- Fill the void of the soon-to-be Jesus (or long absent Jesus when heard from the perspective of the John community - or us)
- Testify to the truth of Jesus
- Testify to the wrong-ness of the world about
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- Sin because they don’t believe in me.
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- Sin connected to belief. Belief in the right relationship between Jesus and God is a key component of belonging to the John community.
- More than belief, but faith. Faith is a radical trust in the relationship between Jesus and the Father. Faith is an orientation of life, not just a casual nod to a set of facts.
- Sin connected to belief. Belief in the right relationship between Jesus and God is a key component of belonging to the John community.
- Righteousness because I’m going to the Father and you won’t see me anymore.
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- Jesus ascent with the Father is further proof of his relationship.
- Jesus ascent with the Father is further proof of his relationship.
- Judgment because this world’s rulers stands condemned.
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- The world’s rulers have already proclaimed their misunderstanding of Jesus’ role in the world. Their judgment, or separation, has already been accomplished by their own actions.
- Sin because they don’t believe in me.
- Fill the void of the soon-to-be Jesus (or long absent Jesus when heard from the perspective of the John community - or us)
- The opposite of sin, as far as this passage is concerned, is not virtue. It is faith. Sin is missing the mark. It is be mis-aligned to God’s will. Faith however, reorients a life toward God. Faith in Jesus as The Way, the Truth, and the Life, gives the one with faith a new aim, a new orientation. Faith is what draws someone toward eternal life, which is more appropriately understood to be authentic life. Authentic life is the life which is lived for the sake of others. Authentic life is one lived in faith, and acted out in love.
- The role of the Spirit is to testify not only to the Church, but to the world. The Spirit will continue to speak through the believers to a world which refuses to recognize the truth. It is the role of the Spirit to continue to work through the people. First, the words were for the disciples, as a warning and commissioning as they moved forward without Jesus. Then, it was a reminder to the John community that their work was right. It was a word of comfort and encouragement to a community under duress. Now, we may read it in the same way. The same Spirit that guided the disciples to step out of the Upper Room is the same Spirit that encouraged the John community in its trial. It is the same Spirit which walks alongside us today.
Psalm Nugget - Psalm 104:24-34, 35b by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan (psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist)
A Call to Worship
One: O Holy One, how amazing are your works
Many: In wisdom, you made them all.
One: The earth is full of your creatures
Many: The sea, great and wide, living things both small and great.
One: These all look to you to give them their food in due season;
Many: When you send forth your spirit, they have life;
One: Let us sing to the Holy One as long as we have breath;
Many: Sing praise to our God while we have being.
One: O Holy One, how amazing are your works
Many: In wisdom, you made them all.
Adapted from Psalm 104 by Richard Bruxvoort Colligan, Worldmaking.net
The Pulpit Fiction Podcast is brought to you in part by audible. You can sign up for a free 30-day trial on audible and get a free book download. Audible has over 150,000 titles to choose from, including some great works by friends of the show Peter Rollins, Rachel Held Evans, Adam Hamilton and Nadia Bolz-Weber. Go to audibleTRIAL.com/PulpitFiction. Again, that’s audibletrial.com/PulpitFiction to start your free 30-Day trial and get a free audio book download.
Second Scripture - Acts 2:1-21 - Pentecost
Initial Thoughts
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Discussion of Acts 2:1-21 from 2013
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Acts 2 according to The Twible, by Jana Riess: “Product launch: Holy Ghost language course. Better than Berlitz! [Warning: User may seem inebriated. Tongue may catch fire.]
- Every year- same passage- make it new!
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Memorize this passage at Faithandwonder.com
- Pentecost - fifty days or seven weeks after Passover (Lev. 23:15-22)
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- Not a Christian invention
- Giving of law at Mount Sinai
- End of the Spring Harvest
- Not a Christian invention
- Who is they? (David Bender, Feasting on the Word)
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- The 11 (Acts 1:13)?
- Has Matthias been added (Acts 1:26)?
- Have the women been added (Acts 1:14)?
- Do we allow the gift of the Spirit to flow through our congregations or only our seminaries and adjudicatories?
- The 11 (Acts 1:13)?
- Baptism of the Spirit- see Luke 3:16, Acts 1:5
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- Images of the Spirit
- Rush of wind, tongues of fire, community gathered
- Images of the Spirit
- Freedom of the Spirit
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- Not limited by language
- Reversal of Babel- once commanded to be fruitful, multiply and fill the Earth- now commanded to love one another
- Perhaps the semi-collapse of Enlightenment orthodoxy, with its elevation of reason and science as the only paths to true knowledge of the world, has opened the door to a recovery of a kind of pre-/post-Enlightenment religiosity in which once again people are open to, and therefore experience, "signs and wonders." - David Gushee
- Not limited by different languages or even needing to be explained - “What does this mean?” They cannot explain it and still today we try and answer this question
- Not limited by language
- Spirit of Liberation
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- Liberation from Chaos - Genesis 1-2
- Liberation from Babylon - Isaiah 11:2
- Liberation from Rome - Luke 3:16, Acts 1:5
- What do we need to be liberated from?
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- The church?
- Consumerism?
- Sustainability and survivalism
- Self-importance? Self-delusion? Self-disregard?
- The church?
- Liberation from Chaos - Genesis 1-2
- Joel 2:28-29
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- Spirit of inclusivity
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- Age, gender, ethnically (all persons)
- Age, gender, ethnically (all persons)
- What might this passage mean in light of Memorial day?
- Spirit of inclusivity
- Signs and Wonders - theme throughout the first half of Acts - performed by Jesus, the Spirit, Stephen, (Moses), Philip, Paul and Barnabas
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- The word of the Spirit is something which has happened, did happen (on Pentecost) and continues
- The word of the Spirit is something which has happened, did happen (on Pentecost) and continues
- Is the current church as flexible as the ancient church to adapt to where the spirit is calling or do we insist on the Spirit working within our institutional and/or traditional methods?
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- Do we truly allow the spirit to guide us or is the Spirit in the backseat?
- Do we truly allow the spirit to guide us or is the Spirit in the backseat?
- Are we willing to be led by the spirit without knowing the destination?
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- Local churches struggling week to week
- Denominations struggling year to year
- Pastors struggling with calls
- Can we be led out of the temple and into the wilderness?
- Local churches struggling week to week
- What do we need to be liberated from?
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- The church?
- Consumerism?
- Self-importance? Self-delusion? Self-disregard?
- The church?
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“Without Pentecost, we’d just be people who tell Jesus’ story. With Pentecost, we’re people who live into Jesus’ story” (Danielle Shroyer, The Hardest Question blog)
Tasty Wafer of the Week:
- Whole host of Pulpit Fiction you may have missed including:
CLOSING
TY listeners
Shout Out:
Everyone at the Festival of Homiletics- especially from Ontario: Donna and David, from Saskatoon Saskatchewan: Dave and Deb, and Cheryl, Heather from Massachusetts, and Erica from CT, Brady from Arizona, Dee and Sharon from Missouri for all their help with Round Table.
Comment:
John Bryant @revjbryant, who thanked us for the Rachel Held Evans interview, and even blogged about it here.
Laurel Masse - The problem with Pentecost is not that it's a busy time of the year, but that it so unambiguously requires of us that we carry the gospel out into the world, and blow our own covers. It is one thing to adore the infant Jesus, another to mourn the death of Jesus in our insular communities. It is something else, VERY else, and to many, VERY scary, to proclaim the gospel in every action we take, and to publicly proclaim ourselves to be THOSE people, those [insert negative adjective here] Christians. Pentecost gives us marching orders. Christmas is so much easier...
Featured Musician - Bryan Sirchio, “The Perfect Church” from his new album, Fully Alive. Find more about Bryan and his music at sirchio.com. Follow Bryan on Facebook or twitter @bryanjsirchio
Thanks to our Psalms correspondent, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan (psalmimmersion.com, @pomopsalmist). Thank you to Scott Fletcher for our voice bumpers, Dick Dale and the Del Tones for our Theme music (“Misirlou”), Nicolai Heidlas (“Summertime”) and The Steel Wheels for our transition music(“Nola’s First Dance” from their album Lay Down, Lay Low) and Paul and Storm for our closing music (“Oh No”).
The Lion and Lamb Festival is seeking musicians and speakers. Already featuring friends of the show Heatherlyn and Sarah Renfro. Other participants can apply now. The Festival’s vision is to bring people together to inspire and be inspired by stories of peace, mercy, justice, and love. It is August 8, 2015 in the Quad Cities, Illinois.
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