Invocation
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Word
“And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this crooked generation.’” Acts 2:40
Meditation
Today’s meditation is written by Megan Roegner.
The people who know me well (and love me anyway) are rightly critical of what is probably my very worst habit—what I refer to as “rage reading” or “rage listening.” I will seek out opinions that I know I will not agree with, like toxic social media comments or certain talk radio shows, not to hear someone else’s point of view but to feel the rush of adrenaline that comes from conflict followed by the soothing comfort of self-righteousness. I am aware of the foolishness of my actions—it reminds me of “The Office,” when Dwight proudly shares his ability to raise his cholesterol at will. When Pam asks him why he would want to do that, he smugly replies, “So I can lower it.” There is something absurd and sinful inside of me that seeks out the unhealthiness of division in order to revel in the smugness of my “superior” thoughts and opinions.
I’m not just trying to make myself feel better when I say that I doubt I am the only one afflicted with this sinful behavior. In one of my doctoral classes, we talked about the “dark side” of empathy—when people identify so strongly with the feelings of those on our “team” that empathy actually can push humanity apart instead of bringing us together. This is certainly a serious problem in our current cultural climate. We witness the ugliness of division in our society every day, and have reason, like Peter in verse 40, to implore each other to “Save yourselves from this crooked generation.”
If you’ve ever taken a wrong turn into a nasty Facebook comment chain, you might believe that divine intervention is needed for people to see eye to eye. And, of course, at Pentecost, that’s exactly what happened! In many ways Pentecost is the reversal of the Tower of Babel, where humanity’s ambition and hunger for power leads God to take away their common language, dividing them in order to, one presumes, check them from great and terrible acts tainted by human sinfulness. At Pentecost, people from far and wide are once again united in language for a great purpose, but this time, it is the Holy Spirit who brings them together, not hubris. Their unity serves the glory of God, not man. At Pentecost, the followers of Christ saw that the church is not a human institution centered in shared cultural practices and opinions, but a living, breathing group of people, who are diverse in background but united by God. The way out of our human crookedness is not through strengthening the bonds with others because they are just like us, but by letting the Spirit work in us and finding our common identity in him.
Prayer: Holy Spirit, fill us with your presence. Help us turn away from crookedness and heal division. May we find unity through you and serve you through it. Amen.
For the Mission of God Through the Church
- Give us, who are your sent ones, your compassion for your lost ones.
- Keep us from becoming so preoccupied with ourselves that we lose our sense and purpose of being on your mission.
- Preserve us from the paralysis of fear. Help us glory in nothing save in the cross of Jesus Christ.
- For missionaries in hard-to-reach places around the world.
- For Christians who are living under intense persecution, who risk their lives for the name of Jesus Christ.
Benediction
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (II Cor. 13:14)