Holy Spirit and Holy UMC Next

Scripture: Numbers 11: 24-30
So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.

Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.’ And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them!’ But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!’ And Moses and the elders of Israel returned to the camp.

Sermon
Dear Abbey Friends,

This Sunday we celebrated Pentecost. It is a borrowed holiday, like most things in our tradition. It has roots in an ancient harvest celebration, a reminder that the seed you planted is not wheat by your hands alone. While you may have planted the seed, the sun, the earth, and the rain all tended to it as well. This is why folks were gathered from far reaches of the Jewish tradition, and this is why the early followers of Jesus were surrounded by such a diversity of voices. But they were completely unprepared to connect with them. They were unsure and closed off, sticking close together, not quite brave enough for what was next. They had witnessed Jesus crucified and resurrected. He spent weeks inviting them to stay the course when they wanted to go fishing, which is not saying they wanted to relax but rather saying they wanted everything to be how it was before Jesus turned everything upside down. Jesus promised them the Spirit. That must have been a terrifying promise because they knew their tradition, and no one ever wanted the spirit; no one really wanted to be a prophet. Not only would you lose every popularity contest, prophetic work was dangerous work because it was for the good of vulnerable people.

The Holy Spirit is the most mysterious member of the Trinity. Trying to describe Her nature is as tricky as trying to manage Her and will likely lead you to heresy. She is historically feminine, perhaps a part of why we struggle to name her and know her. She is sometimes seen as a dove, but I imagine her much more a dragon or at the very least a hawk. She blows where she will, gets shit done, lights fires, soothes weary spirits; She Is. She is breath of life and you probably know her most in those moments when you can breathe again; like when everything seemed undone and suddenly you exhaled in gratitude for the new space, new moment, new safety, new revolution or perhaps not new at all but the one long beloved right there by your side in the essential moment.

On Pentecost, She shows up and the Disciples experience the moment as a rush of wind, a thundering force and describe it as tongues of fire resting on them. These are the words they use to convey the story to us. Can you imagine such a moment? The vibrant, trembling terror of it all. The energy and excitement. Suddenly these unsure, closed off folks are clear, crystal clear. They are ignited with purpose and they are communicating God’s presence in words they didn’t know they could muster. The whole scene attracts the attention of the community, and folks start to talk, whisper, wonder and doubt. We can imagined them saying, “Aren’t these folks from Galilee, how are they speaking my language… they don’t have dual language schools in Galilee.” It is such a wild scene that the only way people can make sense of it is to say, “Well, they must be drunk.” But here in this moment, Peter picked up where Jesus left off, quoting their own scripture back to them: “Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” The disciples start right there inviting people into a way of justice and compassion.

The thing about the spirit is she just can’t be managed. Wouldn’t it have been nice if the Spirit was poured out on The Chief Priest or better yet on the Roman Emperor himself. It would have been so easy, he could have just righted all the unjust structures from the top down, invested in the widow and made space for the orphan, released the captives, said no more state violence, turned his army into engineers and given pony rides to every child on the war horses, turned his palace into a public library and returned the taxes until he lived with a modest salary like everyone else. But the spirit poured out on these unlikely peasants who followed Jesus.

It is not the first time the spirit has gone out of bounds. This story in Numbers is a delightfully weird story. Moses was not doing great leading alone, and both he and God are frustrated. I’m not sure if it rises to the level of Noah and an ark, but there is tension. And so it is clear that Moses needs help, and he chooses 70 elders - I assume all fine upstanding dudes. And they register and go to a special place to have a bit of a commissioning, a blessing into this work of being an elder and God’s spirit that rests on Moses is shared with the others. The only trouble is, two guys didn’t register. They didn’t get their payment in, complete the prerequisites, fill out the right forms, and they didn’t go to the right place. And yet the spirit pours out on them. And what happens next is someone tattles. Joshua, Moses’ right hand man (his Hamilton if you will), comes to Moses and says make them stop. I get it. I have been an associate pastor, he probably thought, if anyone gets extra spirit it should be me! But the Spirit doesn’t work that way and Moses responds in wisdom rather than ego. “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord’s people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit on them!” Moses knows the spirit doesn’t follow the rules.

If we are watching the spirit is pouring out among us today. We see it when it troubles people, particularly “good, old fashioned religious people.” Because she pours out on people who don’t look like Mike Pence or sound like Mike Pence or have power like Mike Pence. She pours out on women and queer people and people of every shape and color and size and ability and nation. She pours out on aid workers risking solidarity in the desert and on truth tellers naming the violence of concentration camps along our southern border. She pours out in resistance to white supremacy and overcoming white fragility. She pours out in a rainbow of color and delight, courage and resilience.

I've seen her these past few weeks at work in our church. Many of you know last February, our General Conference made a regressive move by selecting the Traditionalist Plan. We are a global church and we are the only global church organized as a democracy. Everyone gets to vote, even countries that have a radically different context around Queer Rights. It was heartbreaking. Two weeks ago, I participated in UMC Next, as one of 10 delegates from our conference (Kansas and Nebraska). I met people from across the country longing for justice. I heard stories that reminded me of how different we are. The inclusive churches in Georgia resist by not leaving when the Bishop asks, while churches on the coasts have been actively performing weddings for everyone for 25 years. We are different and yet we are connected. We not only actively named sin and brokenness around inclusion of queer people, but around racism and sexism and ableism and more. There was authentic and deep conversation. The largest churches in the denomination are a part of this moment for justice. It is a part of Wesleyan heritage to include people, to reach people, to connect with people - and they know there is no future in exclusion. We imagined resisting together, planning, dreaming and not relying on the structures that exist to move us into the future.

During Annual Conference, UMC Next folks gathered. It was a quick plan, and the only time to gather was at 8:40 pm after a day of meetings that started at 7:00 am. I was nervous people wouldn’t come so late, people would be too tired to stay. But we had such a full house that we had to move to a bigger room, the sanctuary. Rev. Lora Andrews invited us to dream and the room filled with energy. We sang and the UMC Next delegation, some of whom are the smartest Methodist nerds around, and one of whom is a church growth all-star, answered questions. Rev. Nanette Roberts drove home the call to resistance with laughter and tears and there was still a room bursting with energy when I made final invitations and sent folks out late into the night. It was a great start, and by Saturday our conference of little Midwestern states passed every resolution for inclusion, and not by a slim margin. We even committed $20,000 from reserve funds for Queer leadership development. We named our resistance to the Traditionalist Plan in no uncertain terms. Our clergy delegation of seven to General Conference is for inclusion and diversity: three African Americans, one African clergy member whom you have heard preach, Rev. Kalaba Chali, and three women. And it’s not just us. Iowa elected an inclusive slate of delegates, Missouri and the Dakotas did too. The North Texas Conference elected for inclusion and the Bishop ordained an openly gay woman right there in front of God and everybody… in Texas. The Rio Texas conference and the Florida conference all elected for inclusion. And my most favorite change of all is the Texas Conference, a Conference that had shifted conservative in the last 10/15 years, wounding some people I love, flipped back with all but one clergy delegate for inclusion. Two outspoken leaders of the conservative movements, who organized for the Traditionalist Plan were not elected, which is a stunning rejection of the destructive plan they hatched. I am excited by this community awakening. I am watching as other conferences gather, passing resolutions of inclusion and building a church worthy of our children.

We had been a church that, a decade and a half before the ERA, voted for women’s ordination. We had been a church that split over slavery four decades before the Civil War. We have fallen behind. But not for long. We have a chance to create something new and lively. Something worthy of our justice-seeking heritage and our children’s future. A church that repents of its sins and celebrates the gifts of every sacred child. We are called to be a part of this and to lead. On Wednesday night, our Launch Team, the leaders of our board and ministry teams, all voted for the UMC Next commitments. We are in. We are marching. This year we will march in Pride Parade, and it won’t be like it was my first year in 2008: a few folks from one Methodist church. This year we will march with six other Methodist churches and two more are considering joining in.

We are in place to lead, to claim the space of inclusion and invite others to explore with us. There is a lot of work to do, and it won’t always be a parade, but it’s not a bad way to start. Please join in the march. Please invite people to Pride Sunday. Please join us as we explore the Social Principles and work to right other wrongs that fracture our community.

Blessings from your Friendly Local Abbot!
Rev. Debra McKnight


UMC Next: Four Commitments
Approved and adopted by our church on Wednesday the 5th of June, 2019.

“We believe these commitments are essential to a hope-filled future for the global Methodist movement as we make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world:

1. We long to be passionate followers of Jesus Christ, committed to a Wesleyan vision of Christianity, anchored in scripture and informed by tradition, experience and reason as we live a life of personal piety and social holiness.

2. We commit to resist evil, injustice and oppression in all forms and toward all people and build a church which affirms the full participation of all ages, nations, races, classes, cultures, gender identities, sexual orientations, and abilities.

3. We reject the Traditional Plan approved at General Conference 2019 as inconsistent with the gospel of Jesus Christ and will resist its implementation.

4.  We will work to eliminate discriminatory language and the restrictions and penalties in the Discipline regarding LGBTQ persons. We affirm the sacred worth of LGBTQ persons, celebrate their gifts, and commit to being in ministry together.”