All Together Now

The Rev. Dr. Whitworth Ferguson III

Manassas Presbyterian Church

Manassas, Virginia

June 12, 2011

Pentecost

All Together Now

Acts 2:1

On that first Pentecost, “they were all together in one place.”

In our hurry to get to the more colorful part of the story –

those tongues as of fire atop the heads of the disciples

as they were filled with the rush of the Holy Spirit –

we slide right past this curious statement,

“they were all together in one place.”

Why were they all together in one place?

It had been almost two months since those awful days,

of Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, and crucifixion;

almost two months from those days

when they all lived in fear,

lived without hope,

banded together because they felt safer that way.

Matthew tells us that after Jesus’ resurrection,

the disciples all went back north,

trekking some 90 miles back up to Galilee,

to await the resurrected Jesus’ return,

that powerful scene culminating in

Jesus giving them the “Great Commission”:

        

Luke tells us that they were all still in Jerusalem,

all together,

bound together no longer by fear,

no longer hiding from the Roman soldiers,

but “constantly devoting themselves to prayer.”

(Acts 1:14)

All together: they were the first prayer group;

the community of followers of Jesus Christ.

They didn’t know it,

but they were the first church,

that little body of Christ.

And it wasn’t just the twelve disciples –

the original eleven and their newest brother Matthias –

Luke tells us that the women were with them,

“including Mary, the mother of Jesus,

as well as his brothers.”

Even before the Spirit filled them and empowered them,

they were devoted to prayer,

devoted to community, devoted to one another.

Then, of course, the Holy Spirit did come,

just as Jesus promised it would,

and graced them with gifts,

including the gifts of speaking

and understanding different languages,

all as part of God’s plan,

so the gospel could be taken out

to all people, all nations,

all the world.

And, as we continue reading through Acts,

that’s just what happened:

The group shared the gospel

and every day more and more people

responded to the good news

and became part of the group of followers

of Jesus Christ.

                                            

Before long there were thousands of followers of Jesus Christ.

Thousands of followers who

“devoted themselves to fellowship,

to the breaking of bread,

and to prayers.

…All [in the community]… were together

and had all things in common..

(Acts 2:42ff)

Fellowship, friendship,

eating together,

praying together,

sharing all things together,

“with glad and generous hearts.”

[as] day-by-day the Lord added to their number…”

This is what God created the church to be,

the community,

the body of Christ – this is what we should look like,

all of us in community living, working,

eating and praying with one another,

with “glad and generous hearts.”

As that early church grew,

they began to realize they needed to have some organization,

a little structure to make sure everything would get done.

They hadn’t scaled the heights of Presbyterianism

and discovered the awesome power of the committee,

but they did decide that they needed to have

one group charged with looking after the needs of the people:

to assure the hungry were fed,

the sick were tended to,

the stranger welcomed.

The twelve addressed the larger group and charged them:

“Select from among yourselves seven men of good standing,

full of the Spirit and of wisdom”

These men would become the first Deacons of the church.

The office of Deacon as we now define it

hasn’t changed over two thousand years.

It is still one of “compassion, witness, and service

after the example of Jesus Christ.”

Those called to serve as Deacons

are chosen for their

“… love and sincere compassion [for all].”

(Book of Order, G-6.0401)

The first person to be chosen as a Deacon

was a man named Stephen.

The 18 women and men in our church

who currently serve as Deacons

are part of an unbroken line of the ministry of service

that goes back two thousand years to Stephen.

Our 18 Deacons do as that original group did:

look after the entire community.

For us, that’s more than 400 members,

and even more

when we include family members and children.

There are times, though, when individuals in the congregation

need more care than Deacons have the ability to provide,

and that is why we have Stephen Ministers.

The person who has suffered the death of a loved one;

who has lost a job,

who is caring for someone with a chronic illness,

who has gone through the breakup of a relationship –

these are people who may need someone to walk with them

as they journey through grief, anger,

frustration, loneliness,

worry, even hopelessness.

        

Stephen Ministers walk with their care receivers

to help them find their way back to peace.

Theirs is a ministry of compassion,

a ministry of sympathy,

a ministry of reassurance.

Theirs is a ministry of presence

as they walk with their care receiver,

to remind them that God is with them

even in the depths of anguish, grief, and suffering.

Stephen Ministers help their care receiver

to trust in the promise God speaks through Isaiah,

“…Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.”

(Isaiah 43)

Stephen Ministers help their care receiver

to hear the hope in the Psalmist’s words:

“I lift up my eyes to the hills—
from where will my help come?

My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121)

Stephen Ministers remind us that no child of God

is ever alone,

that there is community all around,

community to offer support,

encouragement,

prayers

and love.

Our Stephen Ministers, along with our Deacons,

are a visible reminder

of the second the two Great Commandments

Jesus has given us:

that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves.

And loving our neighbors means reaching out to them

with compassion and empathy,

especially in times of need and struggle,

to help them find their way through the darkness.

We are all called to minister to one another,

to help one another find shalom,

that peace that is wholeness and completeness.

That’s what we do in community with one another.

Our Stephen Ministers may do that in the context of brokenness,

but we are all called to reach out to one another

to help one another find hope.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you,

says the Lord,

plans for your welfare and not for harm,

to give you a future with hope.”

(Jeremiah 29:11)

The Spirit empowers us all with the faith

the love,

the gifts we need to build community

here within this church,

and out in the world that is so often

cold, callous, uncaring,

often utterly lacking in compassion.

We rejoice with our new Stephen Ministers

as they begin their service.

But even as we make our promises to support them

with our encouragement and our prayers,

their commissioning on this Pentecost Sunday

reminds us that we are all filled with the Holy Spirit,

and that we are all called by the Spirit

to the ministry of compassion and love,

for that is that is the life we are called to

every one of us,

as disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ.

                                                       

AMEN