Matthew 28: 20b  “And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Dance

God of joy, lead us in the dance you have called us to. Teach us to obey all of your commandments and let us remember that you are with us until the end of the age. And, may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you our rock and our redeemer. Amen

Today we begin our sermon series called “Dance”. Some Christ followers have fought against dancing. They said it was of the devil and led people into trouble. The psalms say different. The psalms tell that we should worship through dance. God is not a dour being sitting on a giant throne, looking down on all creation trying to catch us in sin so that we can be thrown into a lake of everlasting torment. God is not out to get us. God is not disgusted with us.

God is a God of joy. You remember that Jesus’ first miracle. His first sign of who he was. His first wonder meant to draw the people in to his embrace was to  make water into wine. We can make up all kinds of reasons that wasn’t actual wine for actual people to actually enjoy but why would we twist scripture like that. Here is God in flesh. God with us. Immanuel. Messiah. Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world and he is turning water into wine so that the people can dance a little longer.

I think this passage is like a wedding dance.

The eleven disciples followed Jesus’ directions and went to the mountain. The eleven disciples went to worship him. They might have knelt. They might have raised their arms. They might have joined hands in a circle around Jesus and danced and sang the wedding song of joy. Maybe, I don’t know. Matthew only tells us that they worshipped and we are proper mainline Christ followers who do not worship bodily. We worship in our minds and in our hearts. What if we worshipped with our whole selves? What if we abandoned our propriety and celebrated the amazing love of God?

Hosanna, Hosanna blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord we say on that one day a year when we wave our palms and if we remember our childhood, how free we were before life taught us to keep our emotions at bay because there are more intellectual than blissful days. If we remember, we almost start to tap our feet because, beloved, He who comes in the name of the Lord is bringing us salvation. Not just salvation after we die and join him in eternal glory. But salvation here today right in the pew or the couch where you are sitting because good proper folks listen to sermons very seriously. And good proper pastors explain the trinity on the Sunday dedicated to the trinity. We are not discussing the trinity. We are dancing the wedding dance.

The eleven worshipped but they doubted. They danced and rejoiced. They looked at Jesus who they had seen die and seen resurrected. That same Jesus was standing in the middle of their circle of worship. And still they doubted. Doubt is not evil. Doubt is not even sinful. Doubt is a consequence in living in a world of troubles and temptations. Doubt is our souls being honest because this story of Jesus is unlike any story we have heard.

We do not have a hero riding in on a war horse with an army to conquer an empire. We have a messiah riding into town on a donkey with a band of ragged, weary followers. We have a messiah who was tortured and killed. We have a hero who overcame not just the Roman Empire. Jesus overcame sin and death. So, yes, we sometimes doubt. We sometimes wonder if this story can be true. We sometimes wonder if Jesus really is with us until the end of the age. But, when we are done with our doubts, we can relax once more into the arms of Jesus like a newly married couple relax into one another’s arms when the ceremony is complete and the time of rejoicing is at hand.

So, Jesus makes it explicit for them. Jesus tells them all authority in heaven and in earth have been given to me. Whatever they thought the Messiah would be, Jesus was more. Jesus did not just dismantle the Roman Empire, Jesus defeated death and brought life, life abundant, life centered on the joy of the Lord. Life lived in obedience to God.

Yes, obedience is part of the joy of life.

Jesus has commissioned us to go out into the world making disciples and teaching them to obey. What is it that we are to obey? We are to love our God with all our hearts, souls, minds and strength and love our neighbor as ourselves. This is what we are commanded to do.

God is not in heaven looking down on us ready to smite us if we dance too much. God is in heaven watching us as we try to love God and love others. God is delighting in every success. Every time we love instead of judge. Every time we care for our neighbor. Every time we pray for our friends and especially when we pray for our enemies. This is what we are to teach the others.

You have heard that it is easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar. Why would we think the good news of Jesus Christ is sad? Why would we look at the end of sin and sit with our hands folded in our laps? Jesus said we must rejoice while the bridegroom is present and Jesus says he is with us always even until the end of the age.

That’s the important message today. That is why we are speaking of a wedding dance. Jesus is as close to us as our own hearts. When we put our hands to our chest and feel the beat of our hearts we know Jesus is with us. When we breath in deeply, we know that Jesus is beside us. What ever we are facing, Jesus is with us. Jesus is leading us in the dance.

And those wedding dances are declarations of love. Love that should abide. Love that should grow. Those wedding dances with Jesus will definitely bind us to him. We are loved with a love so powerful we cannot even put it into words. God’s love for us is so wide and expansive and all consuming that whatever we face is wrapped up in love. The waters of baptism have clothed us in the same baptism as Jesus. Our call to love is the same call Jesus had. We follow Christ best when we dance.

So beloved, go out into the world making disciples. We will baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and then. We will teach them to dance. We will teach them the dance of obedience to the commands of Christ. We will teach them that the steps are easy but the dance is long and we must rely on Jesus to guide us. We will teach them that doubt is not a sin but a feeling that can draw us closer to Jesus. When we doubt we are acknowledging that there is more to the world than what we can see in our limited vision. God is here and God delights in us. God is calling us to embrace Jesus and dance. And it is for this we can say, thanks be to God Amen.

Pentecost 2026

Before I pray, I want to make you aware that sermon is based largely on the pastoral reflection provided by Christian as part of the worship service. Now, if you will, pray with me

God of amazing wonders, pour out your Spirit on us today that tomorrow we may share it with the world. And may the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable to you our rock and our redeemer. Amen

The wind swept through the crowd and tongues of fire blazed above their heads. There had not been a manifestation of the Spirit quite like this before. It was not one person who was filled with the spirit. All of the people were filled with the Spirit.

The Spirit was given to all people regardless of their country of origin, regardless of their language. The Spirit fell on everyone.

We sometimes forget that everyone shares in the gifts of the spirit. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians that there are many different gifts of the Spirit. Not everyone can teach. Not everyone can lead music or play the piano or keep track of God’s money held by the church. Each person is given gifts with which to serve God. The church is the community of God, the body of Christ.

We live in a time when fiery speech usually means argument. That was not the original fiery speech. Originally this bright burning speech brought diverse people together so that they could grow into a community of faith. Each person brought their gifts to the group. We are all needed. We are all important. Together we make the world a better place.

Fire is not a stationary thing. Fire moves. Flames flicker. Multiple colors dance along the kindling. Fire represents multiplicity.

Here in Kansas, we know that fire can be part of renewal. Across the tallgrass prairie, spring burns prepare the land for new growth. Fire clears what has become dry and lifeless so the prairie can breathe again. Beneath the surface, deep roots remain alive, waiting for the right conditions to flourish. Without care and stewardship, the prairie loses the diversity and resilience that allow it to thrive.

Even the bison help tend the prairie. As they move across the grasslands, their hooves press seeds into the soil, break up the earth, and create space for new growth to emerge. Their very movement becomes part of the prairie’s renewal. Life is sustained not by one force alone, but through relationships — fire, soil, rain, roots, and living creatures all participating together in the work of renewal.

Ecologists describe animals like the bison as a keystone species — a species whose presence helps sustain and shape an entire ecosystem. A keystone species creates the conditions necessary for life around it to flourish. Without it, the balance and resilience of the ecosystem begin to weaken.

Perhaps Pentecost invites us to become something like a keystone presence within the communities and ecosystems we move through. Just as the bison help tend and renew the prairie through their movement and presence, our words, choices, relationships, and acts of care shape the world around us. Through compassion, justice, hospitality, courage, and care, we help create conditions where hope can grow, where belonging can deepen, and where new life can emerge.

This is what we are called to do as the church. We are not meant to stay huddled around a campfire singing songs to our small group. We are meant to spread the fire of faith, hope, and love to a world more accustomed to the cold, lonely, distant universe. We have felt the fire of the Spirit warming our heart. We have come together with all of our differences, all of our fears, all of our dreams. God has brought us to this time and place so that we, like the bison, may tend to the needs of our environment.

Let us then continue to burn with the fervor of the Holy Spirit which unites diversity and diversifies unity. Let us take our flame out into the world doing justice, loving mercy and walking humbly with our God for which we will say, thanks be to God. Amen

nn

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