May 28, 2023
St. John’s United Church of Christ, Union, Illinois
Acts 2:1-21[1]
E Pluribus Unum is Latin
for “Out of many, one.” You’re familiar with the phrase, of course, from the
Great Seal of the United States, which appears on the back of the One-Dollar
Bill, among other places. It was considered a de-facto motto of the U.S. until
1956 when the United States Congress passed an act, adopting “In God We Trust”
as the official motto.
At the time of the American
Revolution, the phrase appeared prominently on the title page of a popular
periodical, The Gentleman’s Magazine,[2]
which collected articles from many sources into one “magazine,” an
old-fashioned news aggregate website, if you will.
The meaning of the phrase was that
out of many states (or colonies) emerged a single nation. It has also come to
mean that out of many peoples, races, religions, languages, and ancestries has
emerged a single people and nation—the “melting pot.”
Now, I think the melting pot
concept has a flaw, in that it suggests that, when we come together, we turn
into a uniform material, that we all conform to one common culture. While this
sounds nice, it’s not what really happens. I suggest that we – as a nation made
of many different peoples – are more like a stew. The chunks of beef, carrots,
potatoes, and other ingredients remain distinct while making one dish.
Most people adopt English as the
language of interaction, while retaining their first language at home and in
gatherings such as churches. For example, several years ago my wife, Felicia,
led worship in Spanish at the First Presbyterian Church of Marengo. This church,
like many of our sister congregations in the United Church of Christ, was
formed by German immigrants, and worship services were, until the 1940’s,
conducted in German.
In 2001, following the September
11 attacks, the Ad Council launched a public service announcement in which
ethnically diverse people say “I am an American.”[3]
Near the end, the phrase E Pluribus Unum is seen with the English
translation underneath. This is who we are today, a people made of many
peoples, yet one nation. As the musician David Wilcox wrote, “We are children
of slavery, children of immigrants, remnants of tribes and of tired refugees. As
the walls tumble down, we are stronger together.”[4]
As Christians, this concept of
many becoming one takes us back to that moment, Pentecost, fifty days after the
resurrection of Jesus when God’s Holy Spirit came like the rush of the wind.
The church was born as the Holy Spirit entered in and rested like a tongue of
fire on each of them. Though they, the disciples at least, were all Galilean
Jews, the crowd that gathered were from every nation. The people heard them
speaking in many languages, and each person understood, no matter where they
were from.
Jerusalem is a crossroads of the
ancient near-east. Travelers, merchants, and armies have long crossed through
this region. And Jerusalem bears the scars of many invasions, as empire after
empire conquered the land and ruled over the people. So, the crowd that
gathered probably represented much of the region around Jerusalem, at least,
and possibly from much further away. And within just a few generations, the
Holy Spirit would be poured out, if not on all flesh, at least in nearly every
nation in the Eastern Hemisphere.
The rush of wind, tongues of fire,
and humble Galileans speaking persuasively in many tongues were dramatic signs
that God was doing something new, something that would transform the lives of
all those present, and far beyond, in time and place. Though the disciples, I’m
sure, had no idea what was to come, in hindsight we can see that the church was
destined from the beginning to circle the globe.
Now, it makes me sad that Sunday
morning at 10:00 a.m. is the most segregated hour in this nation. Though we
Christians share the same bible, are baptized, and share The Lord’s Supper, we
have fractured into thousands of pieces. It is estimated that there are some
43,000 different denominations of Christians.
Now, it depends on how you count,
of course. These “denominations” are defined in terms of being separate
organizations, not necessarily separate belief systems. The largest component
(something like two thirds to three quarters) are “independent” churches,
mostly in Africa, which are not necessarily different in doctrine, but are
simply independent. The estimate includes national branches of the same
denomination, such as the Lutheran Church of Germany and the Lutheran Church of
Australia, as separate organizations. And there are many so-called
“non-Denominational” churches which have effectively the same teachings, just
different locations, different leaders, etc.
Some sources suggest Christian
denominations can be divided into 6 major groups: Roman Catholics, Orthodox,
Anglicans, Protestants, Independents, and “Marginals”. Wikipedia[5]
lists about 40 major divisions, each of whom have some variation in belief. And
there are serious disagreements between our various churches. Is this a bad
thing? Not necessarily.
The differences among us, just as
the differences among the members of the crowd that heard Peter preach that
Pentecost morning, reveal the diversity of humanity united as followers of
Jesus. Instead of dividing us, that diversity can provide a startling
illustration of just how great the power of God is. Rather than dressing us
each in a white robe and erasing our individual identities, God enters into relationship
with us just as we are, wherever we have come from, no matter the languages we
speak, and despite all that might cause us to turn away from one another.
Today, on the birthday of a church
called to spread to the ends of the earth, the love of God is given for
everyone. Not just the disciples, gathered in a room, trying to figure out what
to do now that Jesus has gone. Not just the holiest or the most faithful or the
most learned, not just the believers, not just those who were with Jesus on the
road or who witnessed him resurrected. No, at this moment, “all flesh,” male
and female, old and young, slave and free, all are invited and included—all of
us members of one body, indispensable.
The same Spirit of God that
inspired the tongues of those gathered in Jerusalem is looking to inspire a
rebirth within us. It is the same Spirit that led Isaiah to envision a holy
mountain for all people, and gave the vision to John of Patmos of a city with
no walls and no temple, where God dwells among us. It is the same Spirit that
is breaking in to our cloudy consciousness renewing us.
The differences between us don’t
matter to God. You’ve heard it said: “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is
no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are
one in Christ Jesus.”[6]
The rules that are designed to keep us apart have been broken by this God who
loves all people. God is bigger than one group or another. There is no longer
Catholic or Protestant, there is no longer Presbyterian or Methodist, there is
no longer Congregational or Evangelical. God is bigger than any denomination.
God is the Creator of the entire universe and all that is within it. God’s love
is not limited to this people or that; God’s love is for all people, no
exceptions.
Though this day marks an end to my
time with you, this can be a time of renewal for this church, an opportunity to
re-examine the essential question of how to be the church, a United Church in a
town named for our Union as a nation. This is a time to re-commit to the idea
that “If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is
honored, all rejoice together with it”[7].
This is a time for our children to prophesy, for young people to dream dreams
and older folk to see visions, a time to welcome the outpouring of Spirit that
calls us into tomorrow.
Today’s story is not an ending,
but a beginning. The celebration of Pentecost, which began as a remembrance of
God giving the Law to Moses at Sinai, now marks the giving of new life and the
gift of the church, a new way of living for those who would follow Jesus in
every land and in every age. Not just some kinds of people, but all different
kinds of people, in all different places, different languages and customs,
different cultures and backgrounds and experiences, different abilities and
genders and races and orientations. All different kinds of people, no matter
where they are on life’s journey, are welcome here, loved by God, and filled
with God’s Spirit, a new creation just as it could and ought to be.
May you experience the fire of
God’s Holy Spirit, give in to it with love, and let it sustain you in the days
to come and in all that comes your way. Out of many, may we be one in living
the gospel, bringing good news to the world that God loves. Amen.
[1] The
scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version
Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[4]
David Wilcox, “City of Dreams” on Into the Mystery © 2003.
[6] Galatians
3:28.
[7] 1
Corinthians 12:26.
