Hear the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is just like it: You should love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. These words begin our rite 1 worship, and they remind us of our call as Christians.
Jesus ascended to heaven, leaving us filled with joy, but if we are honest, a bit unsure of what will happen next. We hear in today’s gospel that he will not leave us comfortless. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” But this advocate, this spirit of truth; what will it look like and how will we know it when we see it?
“And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.” Jesus has gone, but the Advocate, the Holy Spirit has come.
Pentecost is the beginning, some would say the birthday, of the church. Through the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to live into the commandments to love God and love our neighbor. We don’t have the power to do this on our own, but through the power of the Spirit all things are possible.
But how exactly are we to be the church, here and now? What do we need to do, in relation to one another and to the world, to accomplish our mission? I know that sermons can sometimes get esoteric, which is a fancy word for boring, and can leave you wanting some practical advice. So here are eight hands-on things that each one of us can do (and to save you time we have printed them in the announcements).
- People of Epiphany welcome everyone who comes through our doors. We greet visitors, welcome them, answer questions and assist them with any special needs. Jesus welcomed everyone, without exception. He welcomed the poor, the brokenhearted, the lepers, even the
pharisees who disagreed with him. In the name of Christ, we are called to practice this same radical welcome. - People of Epiphany care for each other, displaying respect for all and working towards mutual understanding on common ground. We listen, even though we may disagree. We have diverse backgrounds and ideas on how the world should work. In our faith matters class, we have two folks who are about as far apart politically as you can get. They disagree on many areas and sometimes have very spirited discussions. Yet at the end of each class, they hug and tell each
other they look forward to seeing them next week. That is caring for one another and showing respectful love, even amongst disagreement. - People of Epiphany pray regularly, in whatever form or forms fit our spiritual needs, seeking a sustaining relationship with God. Prayer is essential to the human spirit. Taking time to turn our focus away from ourselves and onto the God who made us, is a humbling yet strengthening experience. Whether our prayers are of thanks, or intercession, or adoration, our prayers shape our beliefs.
- People of Epiphany work for a better world, whether through a ministry of the church, a broader mission to the community, or individual acts. You may bring food for the food bank or you may volunteer with Nevadans for the Common Good. You may be a scout leader or volunteer at your kid’s school. Perhaps you are looking for a way to get involved. If so, I can heartily recommend Family Promise which, coincidently, will be taking place in our church this
summer. But whatever you do, we live into our call to love our neighbor by being in relationship with them through our efforts to make the world a better place. - People of Epiphany worship with others on a regular basis. We honor the worship service as part of our membership in the Kingdom of God. Christianity is a team sport. We come together as the body of Christ to worship, to hear the gospel, to share communion, and to recharge ourselves so that we may go out into the world; refreshed, renewed, and reinvigorated to share the good news.
- People of Epiphany are evangelists, talking about our church’s ministries and people and seeking ways that the church may serve the community at large. Yes, I did say evangelism in an Episcopal church. For while we tend to be quiet about our faith, evangelism is explicit in our mandate to love one another. Jesus calls us to share the good news with the world, and the Spirit empowers us to do just that. But take heart, this doesn’t mean you need to take your bullhorn down to Fremont Street. It does mean that we look for opportunities to share the gospel with others, by listening to them, by praying for them, and perhaps even by inviting them to come and worship with us.
- People of Epiphany give their time, talent and treasure to further the work of the church. We discern which ministries need our gifts and offer them freely. We pledge what we can to help the church spread its’ ministry. On Easter Sunday, the committee on gratitude gave each of us a small gift, this blue wristband. On it is written the amazing phrase, Transforming Generosity. That beautifully sums up the idea of giving. Whether we are talking about giving of our time, or using our talent, or yes, putting our money in, it all equates to transforming generosity. We transform the lives of others when we give, and we are in turn transformed by the act of giving. There is a mutuality about it which is, well, transformational.
- People of Epiphany study and learn about the Christian faith, whether individually or in groups, seeking to explore and deepen our faith. As we learned in last week’s sermon, we are all theologians. There are many ways to do this, both in the parish and outside. Study of the
scriptures is a lifelong journey as we seek the bible’s wisdom on how we are to live our life at each new phase.
You should love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is just like it: You should love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, these tangible steps are
ways that each of us can live into the great commandment.