FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF SANTA MONICA

A New Church for a New Day

Sermon preached by the Reverend Patricia Farris

May 30, 2004

Scripture: Acts 2:1-21

The recent General Conference of the United Methodist Church was something like a mini-United Nations. Working now as a global church, in order to facilitate the full participation of all the delegates, we had a bank of interpreters providing simultaneous translation in the plenary sessions from English into German, French, Portuguese, Spanish and Swahili. As exciting as that was, it was small potatoes compared to that first Pentecost day when all the peoples of the whole known world were empowered by the Holy Spirit to hear and understand the Word of God each in their own language.

But on this Sunday on which we celebrate that great gift of the Spirit and on which we formally receive these five great new folks into the life of the church through confirmation, I want you to know that there was another language heard at this General Conference. It was the language of youth and young adults. For the first time in my memory, youth and young adult delegates spoke fairly frequently on the floor and one young adult—from our great Annual Conference actually--was elected vice chair of her Legislative Committee. Youth and Young Adults led the way to the formation of a new Division of Youth and Young Adult ministry for our denomination, housed in the General Board of Discipleship, to focus and direct ministries with youth and young adults. A young adult stood at the mike on the closing day and said: “[This] has been an incredible celebration of youth and young adults as we continue to dream a church.” He then made a motion that at the next General Conference in 2008, in addition to the Episcopal address and the Laity address, there would be an address given by a youth or young adult speaker. That motion passed with an overwhelming majority.

Too bad we old folks had to wait until we were all worried about membership decline to really start paying attention. But we are paying attention. The strength of our church going forward depends on our ability to listen and learn from our youth to see how God would have us be the church of this and the next generations. Together we will dream a church.

My point in lifting this up this morning is to remind us all that it’s not enough to confirm these young folks this morning. It’s not enough to feel good this morning about how great they are (and they are!) or to compliment them and their families on getting to this point. It’s not enough to thank their teachers or to commend them for making it through Confirmation Class. It’s not enough to take pictures and memorialize this day. That’s all important, but it’s not enough.

The work they’ve all put in to arrive at this point must now become the work of the whole church. That is to say, the work of their confirmation must become our work now, the work all of us must do--to listen to them, to learn their language and to take them seriously, so that we might embrace the hopes and dreams and challenges they have for the church. In confirmation, they become the church and its future. In their confirmation, we all become a church made new, given new life by God, re-confirmed this day for the work of the Holy Spirit—if we will learn their language and embrace their energy and vision.

For the Lord is declaring: “I will pour out my Spirit on all humanity. Your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young people shall see visions, your old people dream dreams.” I am pouring out my Spirit upon you all, says our God.

May God open us this day to receive the gifts of the Spirit. May God open our ears to hear the language of youth and young adults. May the living God let that bright intoxicating energy of the first Pentecost fill us again with joy and boldness, that together, young and old, we may see visions and dream dreams, so that together we may speak good news to the world in language all may understand and in the power of the Spirit witness to God’s redeeming love for all God’s people.

Amen.

Notes: