Sunday, May 24, 2026
United Church of Santa Fe
Santa Fe, NM
INTRODUCTION TO THE READING
TODAY IS MANY CELEBRATIONS!
(1) Last Thursday evening began the Jewish Holiday of SHAVUOT שָׁבוּעוֹת, precisely 50 days after Passover. SHAVUOT is the “feast of Weeks” originally marking the end of the grain harvest. There is a prayer for each of the 49 days from Passover to Shavuot; and reciting the prayer is called “counting the omer.”
Shavuot also remembers of the giving of the Law (Torah) to Moses on Sinai. And last Thursday evening, Beverly and I joined our Jewish brothers and sisters at Temple Beth Shalom for Tikkun Leil Shavuot, “the long night of Study” led by Rab. Neil Amswych; a study of some aspect of Judaism or the Torah which begins at Sundown and traditionally lasts all night.
This year the Study was about Healing and the Prayers for Healing and (by local tradition) included not just several hours of study with questions and answers, but a potluck dinner, and a cheesecake contest (this year’s winner was a chocolate cheesecake). It lasted until about 1.30 am.
(2) Last Thursday was also the Feast of the Ascension in the Orthodox Church, marking 40 days after Easter. Easter in the Orthodox calendar was April 12th this year (for us in the Western Church it was as you remember April 5th ).
Beverly and I had the privilege and honour of attending the Baptism and Chrism of the adult daughter of friends that morning at Holy Trinity Orthodox Church on Cordova Road. It all began with a Service of Preparation at 8.45 that morning, but we entered the beautiful church for the Baptism at 9.45 and the liturgy proceeded from there with the Holy Eucharist and concluding prayers ending about noon or thereafter. I
t was magnificent, holy, and in the truest sense of the Greek word μυστηριον (mystery — but mystery with the sense of the overwhelming presence of the Holy One).
(3) Two Thursdays ago (May 14th) was the Feast of the Ascension in the Western Church (that is our calendar) — 40 days after Easter. Which means that today is for us the Feast of Pentecost. Πεντηκοστή in Greek means “50th”, this is the 50th day after Easter. All about this we will read in a few moments from the Acts of the Apostles.
(4) Tomorrow in our nation’s calendar is Memorial Day which began after the Civil War as an effort toward reconciliation between the families of veterans in the North and the South.
Following the War there was already a tradition in the North of decorating soldiers’ graves. It was called “Decoration Day.”
But in 1868 an organization of Northern war veterans decreed it ought to be a national holiday. May 30 was carefully chosen as the date because it was not the anniversary of a specific battle, and therefore would be a neutral date for both sides. As time went on, Memorial Day really did become a time to remember all veterans, a time to visit the graves of family and friends, and to remember their lives.
In 1968, the Uniform Holidays Bill moved three holidays off of their specific dates and onto Mondays, in order to create three-day weekends. Memorial Day came to be associated with the beginning of summer, as well as the Indianapolis 500.
Today (and especially tomorrow) Let us remember the spirit in which the day was conceived, as a way to bring together those who had once been bitter enemies. After fighting is over, loss and heartbreak are shared throughout the human family. God’s mercy pours out over all God’s children from the perspective of eternity, with no care for the borders of nation states.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, you are our strength and our shield. We give you thanks for the men and women of our armed forces, past and present, and especially for those who have died while serving. May their sacrifices serve the cause of peace, and may our nation be ever grateful for their service. With your wisdom and strength guide our military’s leaders, and give to all people a desire for justice and peace. We pray that the peace of Christ, which passes all human understanding, will knit together this weary and war-torn world. And let us all say: AMEN.
(5) Finally, but not ultimately, tomorrow is also our congregation’s Birthday! God has blessed us with 46 years of mission and ministry as the United Church of Santa Fe. We are a remembering people, and it is good we remember God has chosen us, baptized us, and brought us together as the Church of Christ in this place. As we remember, we look back at all the saving acts of God: the Creation, the Flood, the Covenant, the Exodus, the Incarnation, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Church.
We look back and remember, but we are also a people of this day, brought together by God to be a holy communion of believers: the Body of Christ, sharing, caring, working in the world, and living in the hope of the world to come.
Our eyes look back with thanksgiving. Our eyes look forward in hope. Therefore, with thanksgiving for the past and hope for the future, let us dedicate ourselves and our lives to the mission which God gives us as the Church of Jesus Christ in this place.
Let us pray.
Everliving God, instill in us, we pray, the trust and self-giving that your Word imparts to us. Teach us again during this time together that you are always with us. Remind us that all that we have is a gift from you and is meant to be shared. The Holy Spirit calls and empowers us to live beyond our own desires. So, send your Holy Spirit, we pray, that we might be overcome with its liberating courage and sustenance; now and forever. AMEN.
(6) All of this now brings us to today’s celebration: The Feast of Pentecost — the gift of God’s Spirit coming to the early church. The writer of the story is the same author who composed the Gospel According to Luke. In fact, if you spend time in New Testament study you will find the two books called Luke – Acts. Volume I: the Gospel is the story of the Life of Jesus; Volume II: the Acts of the Apostles is about the Life of the Followers of Jesus, the Church.
The event which we will soon hear about takes place in Jerusalem. It is now 50 days since the Resurrection.
This morning some parts of the story will read in different languages, keeping with the meaning of the event: which is, in a few words, the spreading of the Good News to every place and every people beyond just Jerusalem. The Good News of God’s Love and Forgiveness and Hope in Jesus Christ is for everyone.
You also will have a small part in the story; watch for the bold type.
And now —
NARRATOR:
The Story of the First Pentecost as told in the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 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.
Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
NARRATOR.:
Now there were devout people from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
[Pastor Ben]French
Ils étaient tous dans l’étonnement et la surprise, et ils se disaient les uns aux autres: Voici, ces gens qui parlent ne sont-ils pas tous Galiléens?
Et comment les entendons-nous dans notre propre langue à chacun, dans notre langue maternelle?
Parthes, Mèdes, Élamites, ceux qui habitent la Mésopotamie, la Judée, la Cappadoce, le Pont, l’Asie,
la Phrygie, la Pamphylie, l’Égypte, le territoire de la Libye voisine de Cyrène, et ceux qui sont venus de Rome, Juifs et prosélytes,
Crétois et Arabes, comment les entendons-nous parler dans nos langues des merveilles de Dieu?
NARRATOR:
Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages, we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.”
NARRATOR:
All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
[READER] Spanish
Entonces Pedro, poniéndose en pie con los once, alzó la voz y les habló diciendo: «Judíos y todos los que habitáis en Jerusalén, esto os sea notorio, y oíd mis palabras, pues estos no están borrachos, como vosotros suponéis, puesto que es la hora tercera del día. Pero esto es lo dicho por el profeta Joel:
NARRATOR:
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them: “People of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
[READER] German
“Und es soll geschehen in den letzten Tagen, spricht Gott, ich will ausgießen von meinem Geist auf alles Fleisch; und eure Söhne und eure Töchter sollen weissagen, und eure Jünglinge sollen Gesichte sehen, und eure Ältesten sollen Träume haben; und auf meine Knechte und auf meine Mägde will ich in denselben Tagen von meinem Geist ausgießen, und sie sollen weissagen.
NARRATOR:
‘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 ones shall dream dreams.
Even upon those enslaved, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;
and they shall prophesy.’ ”
[READER] Latin
Fiebat autem omni animae timor: multa quoque prodigia et signa per Apostolos in Jerusalem fiebant, et metus erat magnus in universis. Omnes etiam qui credebant, erant pariter, et habebant omnia communia. Possessiones et substantias vendebant, et dividebant illa omnibus, prout cuique opus erat.
NARRATOR:
Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.
[Pastor Ben] Koiné Greek
καθʼ ἡμέραν τε προσκαρτεροῦντες ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, κλῶντές τε κατʼ οἶκον ἄρτον, μετελάμβανον τροφῆς ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει καὶ ἀφελότητι καρδίας,
αἰνοῦντες τὸν θεὸν καὶ ἔχοντες χάριν πρὸς ὅλον τὸν λαόν. ὁ δὲ κύριος προσετίθει τοὺς σῳζομένους καθʼ ἡμέραν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό.
NARRATOR:
Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number.
Word of God. Word of Life.
What Does This Mean?
(Τίθέλειτοῦτοεἶναι;)
+ In nomine Domini. Amen.
The Season of Easter comes to an end today, and (after this Sunday) we enter into what we sometimes in the Church call “The Long Green Season” — green because that is the color of the pastor’s stole. It is the Season after Pentecost and it will last this year until November 22nd which is the end of the Church Year, the Feast of Christ the King. And then the following Sunday we begin the Season of Advent and then comes Christmas and Epiphany (and about now you are thinking, “Pastor Ben, stop! We haven’t had our first outdoor barbecue, we haven’t planted our summer flowers — don’t do this to us!”
And you’re right, but that’s the way the calendar of the church goes, Season to Season. The calendar itself guides us along the way, it teaches us: we learn and grow season by season.
However, right now, these days, we seem to be in a competing season — what I call the Season of Dis —.
It’s a season of:
dis — trust
dis — unity
dis — cord
dis — may
We wake up in the morning and instead of the pleasant dreams we may have had of laughter and joy and love and peace and understanding and hope —
we are met (from the moment we turn on the morning news, read the morning paper, skim over the morning podcast) we are met with:
dis — appointment (in the false promises we hear)
dis — advantage (for many people as their living costs exceed income)
dis — comfort (over the never-ending war and conflict that has been placed into our laps like a dead frog)
And when we walk outside, we become aware that the very air we breathe, the soil upon which we walk, the water that we drink and in which we bathe, the trees, the grass, the land, the sky, the sea — are all under attack by an evil presence which in narcissistic fervor wishes only to dis — assemble the carefully put together plans and processes which were in place to heal the only planet we inhabit.
Shall we go on?
Dis — ease, dis — crimination, dis — dain, dis — order, dis — placement, dis — pute, dis — regard, dis — respect, dis — satisfaction, dis — sent.
We are not calmed, we are dis — turbed, to the core.
Where is the God of relief and solace?
Where is the Holy One whose power we sing about in the Psalms, and hear in the words of the Prophets, the One who before Elijah caused the earth to shake the rocks to split asunder the field to burn with increasing brightness but then approaches with sacred gentleness the cave where Elijah is hiding and whispers a “still small voice” — a voice that calls forth Elijah not to give up, not to despair, but to continue to speak the word of truth and healing?
We need to remind ourselves, as we read the ancient story from the Acts of the Apostles this morning that the Spirit of God is unrelenting — the Spirit of God will not be quiet — the Spirit of God does not vanish when we wonder about its power.
Like Elijah we often wonder whether it’s worth it. We say to ourselves, “I’m not able to do the work, spread the love, preach the sermon(!), end the hate, heal the wounds, stop the anger, feed the hungry. I cannot do it myself.”
And you’re right. You (individual you) cannot.
I want to tell you a personal story. This past Thursday, May 21st was the 54th anniversary of my Ordination as a Pastor of the Church, a Minister of the Word and Sacraments it says on the document.
It all took place on a hot and humid Pentecost Sunday afternoon in 1972, at Augustus Lutheran Church in Trappe, Pennsylvania. It happened to be the church which Henry Melchior Muhlenberg began ind and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean the 1700s when we came to the “new world” from Halle, Germany with the mission to bring together and unite the wandering Lutherans who need help and especially congregations in which to live and worship.
He did that, and so much more, and when he died in 1787 he was buried outside the church. While the Bishops and Pastors and Ordinands and choirs and family members and my wife were gathering inside the church, before the Service began I took a walk and went to visit Muhlenberg’s grave.
You see, I wasn’t sure just what I was going to do — become a Pastor or not. So I went to see Henry. I read the words on the stone which extolled his ministry and life and such and at the very bottom were the words in Latin: “Ecclesia Plantanda” — “the
church must be planted.” Those were the words he wrote back to Germany.
I stood there quite a while and finally said aloud, “Well Henry, you planted the Church and they planted you. I guess that’s the way it goes.”
And then I walked back to the church, took my place in the procession and up we went from the basement of the church where we were gathered, up like newborns going through the birth-canal into the Nave where everyone was standing and singing.
We took our seats. There were 13 of us. The Rev. John Cochran of blessed memory was the preacher and he told us about getting power as pastors, he said, making a fist, “you can come to ministry like this — seeking power and recognition — and yes, there’s still a little power and recognition left in this holy office, but that’s not the way to come to it.” And then he opened his arms and said, “this is how you must come to ministry, with arms wide open, to see what God will place into your arms.”
And then he made the deaf-sign for “Jesus” touching the palm of each hand with the finger of the other — it symbolizes the “print of the nails.” He said, “But remember what happened to the One whom we follow; remember this is very serious business, this ministry, this call to be a Pastor.”
My fledgling doubts began to multiply. What am I going to do? I kept asking myself.
We were called to rise and make our way to the aisle and turn to walk to the altar and take our vows, the 13 of us. I stood up and walked really slowly, “God,” I said, now would be a good time for a sign. Show me a sign. Tell me what to do!”
In that moment God of course was taking care of the dying and helping those in distress — there are some things which God lets us decide for ourselves.
The person behind me, kept hitting me in the back, “come on Larzelere! Move it!” I walked to the end of the pew and thought, if this is not what I am to do, then I will turn right and walk out of the church, embarrassing myself and my family I’m sure, but it will be true to myself.
I stopped at the aisle.
I turned left.
Now, I want to say that I have never regretted that decision (turning left, taking my vows, receiving my stole, becoming a Pastor) — I wonder about it all the time, for all these years, I still do, I’m trying to understand it, what it is, ministry.
But I want to tell you that the decision was not made in solitude, it was made in the community, the community of faith, the Church. And in that decision came the Spirit of God.
That’s the story of Pentecost. It is not one person, Peter (or James or John or Thaddeus or Martha or Mary or Naomi) who individually get the Spirit — oh, no — hear the words again, “when they were all gathered in one place” the Spirit came upon each of them, all of them.
There is not individual ministry in the Church, it is what we do together. That’s how the Spirit works.
I can translate Greek, read Hebrew slowly, build a bicycle and sometimes preach a Sermon, but anything I do, any act of mercy, caring, love, comfort, hope — comes because I am in the community (in the old days we called it fellowship of faith — I prefer the “communion of the faithful.”
What we celebrate this morning is that the Spirit comes over all of us as we are gathered and not just this one Sunday, but ever time we gather. And the Spirit touches down on everyone, simultaneously — not the choir at 10.05 and the ushers at 10.15 and the caretaker of children at 10.30 — but everyone, all at once, everywhere.
And if that does not give us the courage and fortitude to make our way out of the door of the church and turn (either right or left) but always turn into the world with the words of love in our hearts and on our lips to be the followers of Jesus to heal the world, and those who live in the world, to bring solace and peace in the name of Jesus where solace is missing and peace is failing, to make our way into the NEEDS of others —
well there is no if not, because together as one body, the Body of Christ, we live and act for the world and all who live in the world, no excuses, no exceptions — because we have the gift of God’s Spirit.
AMEN.
Deo Gratias (+)
The Rev. Benjamin Larzelere III
Retired
Nota(ble) Be(n)e 