The Christian in Me (Pentecost/Confirmation/Memorial Day) May 30, 2004
Genesis 11:1-9
Acts 2:1-21
How many of you read the newspaper? More and more I like to read different newspapers on the Internet. That’s one way we here in Neillsville can keep in touch with all parts of the world.
Whether or not you read the newspaper, you are all aware of Iraq. Some of you know soldiers there. I just sat next to somebody yesterday who has a son who will be sent there. We also know that Iraq is a dangerous place. Many people have died there, including soldiers from our state. Tomorrow on Memorial Day we will be remembering those soldiers and other soldiers who died in the service of our country. We will especially remember the soldiers who served during World War II because a monument is being dedicated to them in Washington, DC.
War can be very ugly and inhumane. Because of World War II 60 million people died. Sometimes in the middle of a war people do things they would never think of doing at home. The inhumanity of war dehumanizes people. But not all people. Not even most people.
This truth was brought home to me last week when I read in the newspaper about Joseph M. Darby. He was willing to report abuses and wrongs that we taking place in the prison where he was stationed as a soldier in Iraq. In reporting to the investigators about these wrongs he said:
"The Christian in me says it’s wrong."
Those words really struck me. "The Christian in me says it’s wrong." Perhaps Joseph Darby had attended Sunday School like you have. Perhaps he was confirmed like you will be today. Perhaps he learned something from a sermon he had heard when he worshipped. No matter. The Christian in Joseph Darby had taught him the difference between right and wrong and he knew he had to do something. To me that is good news.
Today we read about people who also might have had a sense of "the Christian in me." These people were "filled with the Holy Spirit." Sometimes we think this means people are acting weird. They’re falling down, speaking in strange languages, and acting emotional. I believe that the people mentioned in the Bible reading from Acts today were simply people who were not afraid to acknowledge "the Christian in me." They were not afraid to let God’s spirit guide them.
Today you are saying "yes" to the Christian in you. You are saying:
I want to follow Jesus.
I want to keep learning about Jesus.
I want to let God’s Holy Spirit guide me.
I want to know what is wrong, but I also want to know what’s right ---- and do it.
Sometimes it may be difficult to know what's wrong and what’s right. You may have doubts and questions ---- especially when something horrible happens like the sudden death of a friend like Bethany.
It’s okay to have doubts and questions. This week I was reading about President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill, the leaders of our country and Great Britain during World War II. Sometimes we think they knew exactly what to do. We remember Churchill bravely standing up to Nazi Germany. We remember Roosevelt encouraging our country and helping us keep up our spirits during a horrible economic depression and then a horrible war. What we didn’t know was that these men had tragedies in their lives and sometimes wondered what to do.
This gives me heart. Because sometimes I wonder and question myself. And sometimes I make a mistake and fail. At such times I remember:
Peter the leader of the disciples who stood up and made the speech we heard in our Scripture Lesson this morning. He was brave then, but he had failed. One time he was so afraid that he denied ever knowing Jesus.
Joseph Darby is reported to have had a bad temper when he was in high school. He would bang against all the lockers. He was poor and had trouble finding a job. But when the chips were down he found "the Christian in me.",
A man named Oskar Schindler was not a very good husband or businessman or Christian, but during World War II he saved the lives of 1300 Jewish people who worked in the factory he owned by making the Nazis believe they were essential to the war effort. Later on the nation of Israel honored him as one of the "Righteous Gentiles" and praised him for creating "an oasis of humanity in a desert of moral topor."
You may never have to make the life and death kinds of decisions that Joseph Darby or Oskar Schindler had to make. But there will come a time when "the Christian in you" will help you not to do something that is wrong. And there will come a time when "the Christian in you" will help you to do something that you know is right.
You may say no to the friend that wants you to go out drinking.
You may say no to the temptation to repeat that juicy story about the kid in gym class.
You may say yes to the opportunity to help with something like the CHANGE OF SEASONS clean up day on Saturday.
You may say yes to your mom and dad when they get in the car to attend church next Sunday.
And someday you may say no or yes when you know that the stakes are very high ----- but you know God’s Holy Spirit is in you ----- just like God’s Holy Spirit was in those disciples on that Pentecost Day so long ago.
