**sermon art: Pentecost Dance by Glenda Dietrich
Caitlin Trussell with Augustana Lutheran Church on June 8, 2025
[sermon begins after two Bible readings; the other two are at the end of the sermon]
Genesis 11:1-6 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as they migrated from the east, they came upon a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks and fire them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.” 5 The Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which mortals had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Look, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do; nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore it was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth, and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.
Acts 2:1-21 When the day of Pentecost had come, [the apostles] were all together in one place. 2 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. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5 Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Fellow Jews and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit,
and they shall prophesy.
19 And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20 The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood,
before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.
21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ ”
[sermon begins]
“What’s the thing that’s not in the world that should be in the world?” [1] Ooof, that sounds like a big question. But new things happen all the time. Babies are brand new in the world. YOU were once new in the world. Every word we speak is new in that moment in the world. When we sing together, from our newest visitor to our longest time member, that is a new sound combination never heard in the world before today. And that’s DEFINITELY something that wasn’t in the world an hour ago and, oh, I’m so glad that it is!
Here’s another one. One year ago today, June 8th, I was installed as your Senior Pastor…something new in the world of Augustana. We scheduled the installation worship service on the Bishop’s calendar waaaay before anyone remembered that our Greek neighbors put on a huge festival every year on this weekend that affects parking. Another ooof. Nonetheless, there we were, immersed in green, the color of the day. Some of you were able to be there along with my family and friends. It was a day of joy and hope and newness even after the 11 years I’d been with you. While my learning curve continues, so does the fun I have with you.
We do this weird thing called church and it’s fun! Fun getting to know each other. Fun laughing about the silly stuff. Fun celebrating the big stuff. Fun in the nitty gritty details of ministry work when we’re all so different. And maybe not fun, but deeply meaningful, is being in life’s heartbreaking moments together, too. When we mess things up and forgiveness is asked for and given. Or when someone we love dies and we make room for their grief. Through life’s vicissitudes, the inevitable highs and lows, we figure out how our gifts fit together for the sake of the good news of Jesus, and we put something new in the world that should be in the world because that’s what God calls us to do.
When we ask what that new thing should be, sometimes our reaction is fear which leads to poor planning. The Genesis reading this morning about the Tower of Babel is a case in point. The people were afraid to be “scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”[2] Their plan involves available materials – “brick for stone and bitumen for mortar.”[3] To build themselves “a city and a tower with a top in the heavens.” Their plan doesn’t work out as their language is confused and they’re “scattered abroad from there over all the earth, and they left off building the city.” Their fearful schemes didn’t prevent a thing. In fact, their Babel-ing plan made things worse.
Paul speaks directly about fear in his letter to the Roman church:
‘For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God…’
Not a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but a spirit of adoption as children of God. As creatures made in the image of God, we ponder the past and imagine the future.[4] As church folks, we imagine God’s future and encourage each other towards it. Sometimes we’ll imagine God’s future correctly. Sometimes we won’t. This is why the question is so enlivening. “What’s the thing that’s not in the world that should be in the world?” Notice that the question is NOT, “What’s the thing in the world that I most need to protect myself from?” It’s also NOT, “What’s the thing in the world that I most need to be anxious about?” These can be roadblocks to creativity. When fearful or anxious about an outcome, it’s tough for the imagination to kick in.
Thinking about creativity often brings to mind the arts of painting, poetry, dance, photography, and more. Pentecost inspires this artistry—vibrant reds symbolize the Holy Spirit and the “divided tongues, as of fire” that appeared among the people. Pentecost art abounds with flames and swirling images of people.
Pentecost itself is a slippery church festival day. It’s hard to imagine much less explain. The sight of flames and people from all over the known 1st century world. The sound of rushing wind and all those languages spoken at once. The Bible verses in Acts practically scream to be rendered artistically because the intellect is insufficient to capture it. That’s the beauty of art and the wonder of a creating God. How does God answer the question, “What’s the thing that’s not in the world that should be in the world?” God’s answer? The church. Really? Us? Yup.
Oh sure, there are many examples of the church regressing into “a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear.”[5] The church has done more than its share of injury to the world by crusading around sowing blame and reaping death. There is much to confess, repair, and reconcile in the past and up through today.
Did you also know that the church raced into towns during pandemics throughout the centuries?[6] Christians nursed the sick into health and consoled the dying. While some died themselves, others developed immunity to the deadly diseases and continued their work. Could this be a little of what Jesus means in the Gospel of John when he tells his disciples that they “will do greater works” than even Jesus?![7]
Most of what happens in the world is quieter, especially the good and the kind. The church will occasionally take actions that have huge impact. This congregation has a few of those under its belt. However, it’s too easy to minimize the impact of our individual, faithful actions. Most of what happens in the world – especially the good and the kind – doesn’t make the front page or go viral on YouTube or get nominated for awards. More often the church moves through the world less visibly through people of faith like you and me as we go about our daily lives.
The creativity of that church looks a million different ways, adding things that are not yet in the world but should be in the world. Creativity looks like speaking a kind word at the risk of appearing weak, de-escalating a tense scene, or sitting with someone in pain. Creativity looks like company owners paying a living wage to their employees. Creativity looks like hiring someone with a criminal record and not knowing if redemption is possible. Creativity looks like advocating for and with people who are trying to feed their families down the street and across the world in war-torn countries. I know you can add to this list with experiences you’ve had on the receiving end of someone else’s creative interaction with you. The good news is that we have a companion in creating what should be in the world for the sake of the world.
Jesus says in the Gospel of John:
“I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”
Here’s the good news. We are baptized and sent by the Holy Spirit as people of faith in the world to bring new things into the world in obedience to God our Father. Our companion is the Spirit of dreams and visions.[8] The prayer we pray over the newly baptized is a good prayer for us today as we have received a Spirit of adoption and are given peace by the same Spirit.[9] It’s an even better prayer as God opens our eyes to see what is not in the world that should be.
Let us pray.
We give you thanks, O God, that through water and the Holy Spirit you give your children new birth, cleanse us from sin, and raise us to eternal life.
Sustain us with the gift of your Holy Spirit: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord, the spirit of joy in your presence, both now and forever. Amen.
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[1] Time. The 100 Most Influential People: Lin-Manuel Miranda. Combined issue for May 2 and May 9, 2016. http://time.com/4299633/lin-manuel-miranda-2016-time-100/
[2] Genesis 11:4
[3] Genesis 11:3
[4] Pastor Deb Coté, Pastors’ Text Study conversation on May 10, 2016. Genesis 1:27
[5] Romans 8:14-17
[6] Charles E. Moore. Pandemic Love: http://www.plough.com/en/topics/faith/discipleship/pandemic-love. Rev. Moore is an educator and lives in the Bruderhof, an intentional community based on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
[7] John 4:12
[8] Acts 2:17
[9] Romans 8:15 and John 14:27
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John 14:8-17, 25-27 Philip said to [Jesus,] “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, but if you do not, then believe because of the works themselves. 12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 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. [
25 “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.”]
Romans 8:14-17 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs: heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if we in fact suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.