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THE DAY OF


P E N T E C O S T


May 19, 2002
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Story:
A man was driving down the Freeway when
he got a call on his Cell Phone from his wife:
“Fred: I just heard on the news
that someone was a driving a car the wrong way on
Interstate 280 – Fred: Please be careful !”


“There’s not just one car,” said Fred -
“Heck – There’s hundreds of them !”


And so -
As we come to Pentecost Sunday -
it is important that all be going in the same direction -
it is important that we are all going the same Way -
Christ’s Way.
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The Scriptures for today and the last week,
all leading up to Pentecost,
are all directed toward one goal
and one purpose.


And it is
Unity.


From the book of Acts:
"All these with one accord,
devoted themselves to prayer,
together with the Women and Mary,
the Mother of Jesus and His brothers."


“When the Day of Pentecost had come,
they were all together in one place
and in one accord” -


In the Gospel of John -
from Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer
In the Garden of Gethsemane -
Jesus -
Praying as it were as drops of blood -
A Prayer that He repeated and reiterated
at least three times,


"Father, that they may be One,
even as You and I are One."
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What are the Hallmarks
of a true & a faithful Church Community ?
What are the characteristics of a Church
that is alive and growing and vibrant &
serving ?


What are those things in the life of a Church
That enable it to bring forth
fruit a hundredfold
of which Jesus spoke ?


What was it about the Early Church
That made it multiply & grow so mightily
In such a pagan -
impoverished & hedonistic world ?


Is there one characteristic that must come first
Before God pours out His Spirit
On a Community of Believers -


that is -
Before they really get with the Program ?


Yes -
For in our Scripture Lessons Last Sunday & today -
there is one thing that stands out
that seems to be the common denominator
found in those Communities of Faith –


Those Communities of Faith -
that somehow catch the Fire and
the Wind of the Holy Spirit -


And it is this:


I T IS U N I T Y !


It is being in One Accord
It is being One in the Spirit.


For the Scriptures Lessons last Sunda & today –
resound with -
The declaration that
The Followers of Jesus -


That is -
those who believed -
were of One Heart & Soul -
&
were of One Mind and One Spirit.


That powerful passage in the Book of Acts:
“They were all in one accord.”


In the Gospel of John -
Jesus High Priestly Prayer:
“Father - that they may be One -
even as You and I are One.”


Yes -
It is the testimony of Holy Scriptures
that when a Community of Believers
are United and are One in the Spirit -


then
that somehow seems to set the scene for
the Holy Spirit to have His Way -
to have His Way with those -
who in Unity of Spirit -


Wait upon the Lord.
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There is no doubt that the phenomenal growth
and success of the Early Church -
was due in large part
because it was bound together
in Unity & Peace & Concord.
We know that -
The power of the Holy Spirit -
Somehow doesn’t reside -


It doesn’t fall upon
Those places
where there is strife, envy and divisions.


For without any doubt -
That is the antithesis -
That is the opposite -


Of what Jesus &
His Holy Spirit are all about.


For God’s Holy Spirit does His best work
When people are pulling together -
When people set aside their own agendas -


When People don’t argue over
whose ideas they are going to follow -


but are those who wait upon the Lord.
For the Guidance of His Holy Spirit
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It is somewhat timely -
that these Scriptures come to us before
on Pentecost Sunday -


and especially -
it is timely that these scripture come to us -
not too long before a New Rector might arrive -


Surely these scriptures are
admonishing us that when
the new Rector arrives -


to be sure -
to be absolutely sure !
That
If there ever was a time to be Together -
If there ever was a time to be United and
One in the Spirit.


If there ever was a time
to join hands and to close ranks -
If there ever was a time to be in Prayer Together -


Then it is

Now !

Then
Now is the time !
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We are fast coming to that time
That whatever is bothering us -
Or whatever is holding us back -


Whatever has happened -
Whatever are those hurts & grievances
That we continue to nurse -


Then now is the time to get over them &
Now is the time –
To get over it &


Now time -

To let them go !

For we have held on to them long enough -
In fact –
some of us have held on
to them for far too long.


So
“On this Pentecost Sunday -
May 19,
In the Year of our Lord -
2 0 0 2,
I
hereby declare that on this day,
The Statue of Limitations
has run out -
and has expired -
on all complaints,
on all –
grumblings, hurts, grievances
and grudges & divisions.”
For
A New Day will soon dawn here at
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church on
the corner of Mesa & Steck -
in Austin, Texas -


And would to God -
Would to God -
That we wipe the slate clean of
Past turmoil that holds us back -


And that -
this Parish and this Congregation be
United & Unified & Joined together
as never before !


We have been in dry dock long enough
to patch up our Ship -
And soon - very soon -
Our Ship - S.S. St. Matthews -
Will set sail again -


And to be sure -


Only -
Only -
if we are United and One in the Spirit -


Will the Wind & the Power of
the Holy Spirit propel us
to those distant places -


that our Captain & our Pilot
has charted for us.
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There is no question about it -
Things will be different -
Things may not ever be the same -


However -
Never –
never ever let these words be said –
Never let these words be heard at
St. Matthew’s Church:
“We never did it that way before ,”


For that is what is called :
“The Seven Last Words of the Church,”
“We never did it that way before”


For -
Those words are often the Death Knell -
To New Life & Vigor
and
To The embarking upon New Horizons.


To be sure -
when those words are said -
“We never did it that way before,” -
Then -
Just listen -
Just listen in the background -
and you will hear bells toll -


And as John Donne -
said in his Immortal:
“No Man Is An Island,” -


“So -
Do not send for whom the bells toll -
for they toll for Thee.”


The truth is -
that if we always,
always continue in the same rut -


then the only difference between –
a rut and a grave -
is a matter of depth.


In other words -
A grave is just a little deeper than a rut.
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We must know that ours is a
God of new beginnings -
continually making the old new.




For one of the characteristics of
the working of the Holy Spirit is found
in the Scripture which says:


“Behold - I make all things new.”


However -
When we are open to the Holy Spirit -
And when we are open to new leadership
There is no limit to what can and will be done -
in us and through us.


A good word to think about -
That might characterize the coming months -
Is the word:


“E M B R A C E.”


That is -
That we make the effort to –
Embrace the future &
that we be open to what -
God has in store for us -


and especially that -
we make every effort to –
Embrace the new Rector
and his Family -


and to be sure - that
we make every effort to –
Embrace one another -


for it won’t work -


Unless we do.
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The Story is told of a divided and separated Family -
which inherits
a Beautiful Mansion & a Grand Estate -


The Conditions of the Inheritance was this:


That the Divided & Separated Family
must live together -
The Family must live together –
in Peace & Harmony in that same House.


That is exactly the same situation in which
the Human Race finds itself today.


In this wonderful World that –
God has bequeathed to His Children


However - also -
on a more local scale:
At St. Matthew’s Church -


We are face with the same situation.
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If the Testimony of the Church is True -
that Pentecost
is still very much alive & active and –
still working today -


Then -
When we are really United and –
when we One in the Spirit -


then we are sitting ducks for
God’s Holy Spirit to
dwell in our midst.


For
that is what set the scene in the Early Church -
For the Holy Spirit to fall upon them
in such a mighty way -


and this -
is what - will set the scene


For Pentecost to do its thing -


For Pentecost to do its thing -
at St. Matthew’s Church -




This is what will set the Scene -
For Pentecost to
do its thing -


with us -


As it did -
Fifty Days after that First Easter.
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Holy & Gracious Father -
through the Love of
Your Son Jesus Christ,
and in the Power of the Holy Spirit


Make Us -


Make Us One !


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Holy God -


Make us One !


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A M E N & A M E N ! ! !

jdp+