The beautiful rainbow reign of God

In the Christian calendar, June 5 is Pentecost and recalls a story from the Acts of the Apostles (see above) in which a group of people who followed the Way of Jesus have been devoting themselves to prayer and contemplation for days. On their Jewish feast day of Pentecost, they experienced the Spirit of God alive in them in powerful ways. And this Spirit empowered them to move out from the place of “thoughts and prayer” to engage the world around them as Jesus had taught them to do. A reminder that authentic, dedicated, listening prayer transforms us. People who say, “thoughts and prayers,” but then just keep doing what they have always done have likely not been engaging much deep thinking or sincere praying.

Acts describes a community who followed Jesus, who had in ways felt lost and afraid, who had been scattered and fragmented, but as they continue seeking God together, they are, in essence, “resurrected.” They had experienced on Easter the resurrection of Jesus. And now the Body of Christ, the community of his followers, is resurrected by the same Spirit.

What is this resurrected Body of Christ meant to be and do? The next part of the story points us in the direction of a beautiful diverse rainbow of humanity receiving the Spirit of God and living in ways that transform us and the world. In the story, the Spirit gives the disciples of Jesus the power to “speak the language” of people from every tribe and tongue in their known world. They are not called to impose their language or culture or morals on other people, rather they are listening deeply, meeting people where they are, and then speaking the language of the people. And then people from diverse backgrounds, languages and experiences choose to become part of the community of the Spirit bringing what is loving, just and transforming to the world.

This is a reminder for modern Christians that the Reign of God is not about a small group of people conquering the world with their version of morality and codifying their world view in the laws of the land. The reign of God is not a theocracy, not the Christian nationalism on the rise in our nation. The reign of God is alive when and where people open to the Spirit of God who heals, creates, loves, forgives, and brings justice — transforming us from the inside-out. This Spirit meets us where we are (speaks to us in our “own language”), enlivens our unique gifts and experiences, and equips us to meet other people where they are, to offer what is healing, hopeful and just in a hurting world.

As we move forward in this Pentecost season, let us follow the way of Christ and the earliest disciples who listened in prayer, who lived open to and immersed in the Spirit, who experienced new life and hope, and who, in the rainbow of their diverse gifts and backgrounds, invited all others, no matter who they were or where they were on life’s journey, to be part of a movement of love, healing and justice in the world. Couldn’t we all use some more of that?

Tucson faith leaders, we would like to include your original sermon or scriptures of encouragement. Sermons must be written by the person submitting them, not borrowed from another source or writer. If you are a faith leader from any religion or denomination, please contact Sara Brown at sbbrown@tucson.com.