The Spirit Falls Equally
Last Sunday, it was reported that thousands gathered on the National Mall in Washington, DC, for a day-long prayer rally. The purpose of this event was to “rededicate” the United States to God—as a Christian Nation, as “one nation, under God.” It was a gathering organized by right-wing political figures and leaders in evangelical Christianity in the United States as a means of galvanizing support for an ideology that unites American identity, and American supremacy, with white, Christian identities, and white, Christian supremacy. It was not a one-off event, nor was it a manifestation of a new ideology in this country. It was simply another event held by a growing movement of those who see any American who does not confess the Christian faith as not truly being American, and anyone who is not American as somehow less human. The gathering last Sunday proclaimed a gospel that sees humanity as conditional, God’s grace as limited, and the Holy Spirit as being bound to a particular nation and identity. It proclaimed God’s preference for those in power, those who wage wars, and those who make public statements of faith with their mouths, while allowing the poor to starve day after day. If only the prophets had something to say about that.
Perhaps instead of lifting up lamentations concerning the supposed lack of faith in this country, the leaders of this movement should have considered the words of Micah. What offerings should we bring to God? How should we worship the Lord and show our faith? By doing justice, loving mercy, and walking humbly. Or the words of Isaiah, who insists that the offering that is acceptable to God, the act of piety that God would have us perform, the fast that God chooses for us, is to seek justice for our neighbors. And if that isn’t clear enough, maybe the words of Amos, who declares that God despises our festivals and our pageantry, our rallies and our public insisting that our faith is right, that we love God the most and everyone else is wrong. Amos, who tells us to quiet our performative worship, and let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a flowing stream. But I digress.
This morning, our confirmands will be (have been) asked the following question: “Do you confess Jesus Christ as your saviour, put your whole trust in his grace, and promise to serve him as your Lord in union with the Church, which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations, and races?” This is a line from our United Methodist baptismal vows. For those who were baptized as infants in the United Methodist Church, this statement was affirmed on your behalf. For those who have been confirmed in the United Methodist Church, this is one of the statements that we affirmed for ourselves. It packs a lot into a single question that we expect parents, sponsors, and later those pursuing confirmation to agree to. In the midst of all the unpacking that we can do, there is a vitally important claim that we make regarding the nature of the Church—that it is opened, by Christ, to people of all ages, nations, and races. In joining the Church, both the Church universal and the United Methodist Church, we affirm the claim that the body of Christ does not belong to any one people. It isn’t America’s. It isn’t the property or the birthright of any one group or tribe. The Church that was birthed at Pentecost is one in which the Spirit transcends the human borders that we put in place.
The Church birthed at Pentecost is one in which the Spirit transcends the human borders that we put in place. Not one that erases our identities, just the hierarchies we create—those that place male above female, white above Black, straight above queer, American above everyone else. The Church birthed at Pentecost unites those of different cultures, different languages, different genders, and different class status, allowing each person present to hear what was being said in their own language. Not one language to rule them all, not one language privileged over all others, but each language honored and uplifted and engaged—not erased. This is the creation of the Church, not as a new nation or an identity that replaces who we are and where we come from, but as a community called by the Spirit to become disciples—to pray and eat and learn and grow and trust one another. This is the Church, born at Pentecost, which witnesses the Spirit falling equally. Why, then, do we insist that the Spirit falls unequally? Why do we insist that the Spirit would fall on America more than Brazil, Belize, Haiti, Columbia, Zimbabwe, Congo, Russia, China, or any other place?
Why would we believe that the Spirit would fall any less on women, on those in the LGBTQ+ community, on immigrants and refugees? What makes us the Church, what unites us with the disorganized band of pilgrims gathered and confused on Pentecost, is not an ethnicity. It’s not a language. It’s not anything that we have created. What makes us the Church is the Spirit, calling us together, making us a people united in love. A people from many nations, from many backgrounds, of many different beliefs. A people of difference, who see God in one another. So, as we remember this day our baptismal vows, as we welcome these new members into the United Methodist Church and the Church universal, may we remember what it means to be the Church. May we learn from our newest members and our oldest. May we embrace one another as having been touched by the Spirit, as having been called by the same grace, and as sharing in the same divine image. May this called and gathered community not be distracted by threats of war and ideologies of supremacy. Instead, may we be the Church—bound in the love that transcends and embraces all difference. May this be the Church we build together. Amen.