“A Butterfly's Breath”

Acts 2:1-4,14,16-21:
This story takes place shortly after Jesus’ ascension to heaven and fulfills the promise Jesus made to his disciples that when he leaves, God will send another, a counselor, the Holy Spirit to be with them. In this passage we will see that the Spirit comes in a very dramatic fashion, with the sound of a rushing wind, and as flames of fire. The account is the basis for our own United Methodist symbol of the “Cross and Flame.” A reminder that we are a people dependent upon God’s forgiving grace, yet empowered by the Holy Spirit to do God’s work of kingdom building. This Pentecost story is seen as the birth of the church which now becomes the presence of Christ in the world. Jesus understood that he had to leave if the church, his followers, you and me today, were ever to rise to their calling and potential. As long as Jesus was with them, they would simply wait on him to do the work of God. Now, Jesus is gone and the Spirit has come to help the church fulfill the prophecy we are about to hear of who we are to be in this God’s world.

Read Acts 2:1-4,14,16-21

Gospel of John
I, too, want to wish you all a happy birthday. I had Nancy spend a lot of time setting the biblical context and meaning of this day, for it is the reminder that the presence of God in the world has transitioned to the church. It is why my favorite thought about the church is by Biblical Scholar Walter Brueggemann. “What God does best is trust us with our moment in history.” I want to contrast the two biblical stories of the Spirit’s coming, as I believe that as we seek to understand our role and calling as the church, we often look to the dramatic impact of the Spirit in Acts and think this is what it means to be the church. In reality, I believe the way we, as the church, experience the empowerment of the Spirit is more like the story we read from John. The Spirit comes in the small breaths, the everyday moments of life but with an incredible potential. I would like to reflect on this thought today, as we look at how we remain faithful to our moment in God’s story.

Read John 20:19-23

Sermon:

A couple of years ago I read a book on Chaos theory.  One may wonder why?  Sometimes, as I read it, I wondered why also as I may have understood about a tenth of what I read.  I came across a thought that fascinated me.  It is called the “Butterfly Effect.”  The insight of the “Butterfly Effect” is that even the slightest, most imperceptible influence upon a system can bring about great change and fluctuation in that system.  The example, hence the name the author uses, says that even the movement of the air caused by the flapping of a butterfly’s wings can bring a change to weather patterns on the other side of the globe.  As hard as that is to believe, at least for me, they have designed experiments and simulations that have shown this to be true.  The point being, the littlest change sets about a whole chain reaction of events that create greater and greater changes the further away you get from this core event. As I thought about this premise, especially in my life as a disciple of Jesus Christ, I began to see how true it really is as a matter of faith. It is why I have renamed the premise to Butterfly’s Breath as a way of suggesting how the Spirit works within the church.

Let me share just one life example.  Arizona is a very hard Conference to transfer into from another Conference.  So many pastors want to move here, there is a huge list hoping they will be one of the lucky few.  I moved to Arizona in hopes that being present and getting to know people would open a doorway for me to transfer into the Conference.  When I arrived I went to the District Superintendent, a man named Buzz Stevens and introduced myself and said I would be available for an appointment. I arrived after the usual appointment season and there were no churches open, so I found a job doing what I did to put myself through college.  I worked in a print shop running offset presses.  I did this for about a year, as I also became active in a church.  Spring, as many of you know, is when the Bishop begins to make new appointments to churches.  As Spring approached I became very hoping and dreaming that I would receive a call. But as the Spring kept passing away I became even more anxious because it was becoming evident I would not be called.  Finally, it was almost May, and my spirit was low, for I knew that by now, most of the appointments had been made, and I had not been called.  Finally, I called the District Superintendent, Buzz Stevens, and asked him if he thought there was still a chance I might receive a church this year.  My worst fears were confirmed when he said there was only one appointment still pending and so it did not look hopeful.  I dejectedly thanked him for his time, and was already to hang up, when out of nowhere Buzz says, “You know the Bishop likes to transfer people into the Conference that will move where ever they are needed.”  I was taken back a little, but finally recovered and said, “But I am willing to move anywhere.”  A surprised, “You are!” was the response I heard.  Then I hear Buzz say, “I thought you wanted to stay in Tucson and were only willing to serve a church there.”  Again, I assured him that I was willing to move wherever the Bishop needed me.  All of a sudden everything changed.  Buzz then said, “Hang on, I need to make a couple of phone calls. I’ll get back to you.”  Now I was a mess, for nothing had changed, and yet, it seemed like there was the possibility that everything could change.

It was a couple of days before I heard anything but it was not from Buzz, it was from Don Sapp who was the District Superintendent of Central West District.   In the mean time I had continued doing what I always did every day until that call.  As I said, nothing had really changed in my day to day living.  I just had a renewed hope it would.  Don said, “I would like to meet you and discuss the possibility of an appointment.”  Not to drag out the story, but life began to move differently for me.  From that almost imperceptible afterthought, things were beginning to change.  Let me now put the story in overdrive.   As we move farther and farther from the words, look at the deeper and deeper changes these words bring.  I did get appointed to Blythe, California.  So where I lived and what I did changed.  It is where I went through a divorce, but it is also where I met Nancy, and we were married.  It was there Rachel was born.  At my encouragement, Nancy pursued her own call to ministry.  From that little afterthought, the whole course of history is being changed. Today, it has changed your lives, and the life of the conference.  If I had not received that appointment, I probably would have received a different one someday, but I would not have met Nancy, and there would be no Sarah and Rachel.  I would probably not be here as your pastor, but somewhere else and for sure Nancy and I would not be here serving as a clergy couple.  And what really strikes me, is I am sure I would have experienced my divorce and I would have remarried, but not Nancy.  So there is some poor woman walking around today who may not even know me, who does not even realize if Buzz Stevens had not made his simple little afterthought statement, she would be privileged to be Mrs. George Cushman at this very moment.  She has no idea how Buzz’s statement completely altered her life. How true, the Butterfly’s Breath is when we live our lives.

We can all think of those moments, the thousands of moments when we have made a decision that took us in one direction over another.  Some of you may even wonder where you would be today, or what your life may be like today, if you chose differently.  If you became an engineer instead of an accountant.  If you pursued business instead of music or music instead of business.  The list goes on.  And it is true, the further you live away from the decision, the bigger and bigger the impact it makes on your life, and interestingly on the many lives you come in contact with in your everyday living.

God is in the everyday moments.  Those moments may not seem like big, dynamic, life changing moments at the time, but as the distance from those decisions grows the consequences of those butterfly breath times, have tremendous impact as we live from those moments into our future. I believe it is how the Holy Spirit continues to work within our lives and our relationships, and our faithfulness.

It is here I become a little confessional with you. Sometimes sermons become for us who write them more than anyone else. This sermon has caused me to understand there are no small decisions when it comes to living my faith. Every decision I make will impact in some way the direction of my life, the ability of God to utilize my life, and to make a difference in the transformation of this God’s world. Scripture tells us that the Holy Spirit works in the world by bestowing each of us with gifts and vocations. My spiritual gift and passion in ministry is the call to be prophetic. I wish it were not, because a prophet is asked to always call into question those places where they see injustice taking place. Where they believe the reign of God is not being realized. The reason this is important is expressed well by Rabbi Abraham Heschel. He says, “The reason God is concerned about injustice is not because a law or a rule is being broken, but because the life of a child of God is being diminished.” Sometimes I want to walk away from an issue, I do not want to extend myself into the realm of challenging one more concern and challenging one more person or group. But, today reminds me that all decisions are a part of the Butterfly Breath. What kind of effect does the decision not to do something have on the extended effects of life around me. If I choose not to act, do I impede the Spirit of God from starting that chain of events that mat transform the lives of many? Will a chance to lift a child of God out of their need go unmet.

But it is the decision we all face is it not. We are all called to be kingdom builders, to bring the reign of God to earth as it is in heaven. We pray this hope each week. The kingdom of God is the image and understanding of what life would look like and be like if God were fully in charge and not those who are today. We are all called to bring the good news, to tell the story of the gospel of Jesus Christ so the world may know and experience the presence of God.

The illustrations are many, but let me share quickly some this church has been a part of. A simple cry for help by a former pastor because so many people were coming by the office seeking assistance. He asked several people if they could do something to meet this growing need. From this cry, Open Door was started. From here CCJ began and now Home Repair and Circles of Support have started. Who knows where the Spirit will lead this church.

When Nancy and I decided to go on the Kenya mission last year, we also said we needed to go to Ethiopia and see the ministry Hope For The Hopeless which we have been supporting for almost 6 years. In that simple decision, another 7 people decided they would like to join us. After we experienced this ministry and saw the great need in Addis Ababa and the incredible work of the one man who had a vision and a dream, that dream passed onto all of us. We returned and told you the story. Over 30 more orphans were adopted by people in this church and in our community. Money was donated that allowed the ministry to buy land that doubled the amount they had and allow them to build more dorms and support more orphans. We just met this past week and another trip is now on the calendar for next March. Some who went last time are prepared to go again, and many more want to go as well. From a few decisions of people to take an extra stop on a mission, the world has changed for them  and for those around the world, the other side of the globe.

What I have discovered about Pentecost is the mighty wind of the church is really the result of the breaths of many being faithful to the Holy Spirit which seeks to lead us all. There are no small decisions, but all choices when they are faithfully made allow the Holy Spirit to do amazing things. The decisions we make that challenge what Paul calls the principalities and powers of this world allow the reign of God to more fully come to earth as it is in heaven. The decision to live compassionately can meet the needs of the poor and powerless, the people Jesus tells us are his brothers and sisters. The decision to be a force to transform lives can lead to an orphanage being built on the other side of the world. And one can only imagine how a country, itself, may be transformed because its future was changed by giving hope where none existed before.

Breath deep, receive the breathe of God, and be ready to see some amazing things take place.

Sermon delived by Rev. George Cushman on May 27, 2007.