May 24, 2026 – The Day of Pentecost
The Rev. Mark Colbert
I remember this one activity that my youth director made us do at
this church camp one summer. I can’t remember why we did this
activity, maybe because we weren’t getting along or we were getting on
my youth director nervous, or both. During this activity one person sat in
front of the room while the rest of us went around and saying what we
love or what gifts this person brought to our youth group. At the end of
this activity my youth director asked us why do you think I had you all
do that? The majority of the answers were like so we know what we love
about each other. Yes, technically that’s right, but the point of this
activity is to show you how each of you all have different gifts that you
all bring here and that each one of you is special and unique in your own
ways. And all your unique gifts make up this youth group.
I tell you all that story because I think it helps us understand what
today is. And today is what? Pentecost. And what is Pentecost? A day
we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. Pentecost is
often called the birthday of the Church. But it is more than the Church’s
birthday. It is the day we remember that the Church was not created by
human strength, human talent, or human agreement. The Church was
born by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And that is exactly where Saint Paul takes us in today’s reading
from 1 Corinthians. But why is Paul writing this letter to this church in
Corinth? Well the church in Corinth was having all these huge problems.
They were starting to create division amongst themselves especially
within the church about how they should worship. This is where our
lectionary takes place in Paul’s writing. Paul writes, “No one can say
‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” And then he goes on to say
something just as important: there are many gifts, many forms of
service, many kinds of working—but the same Spirit, the same Lord, the
same God. That is Pentecost is all about. The Spirit does not make us all
the same. The Spirit makes us one.
We live in a world that is deeply divided. People divide themselves
by politics, race, class, education, culture, generation, and ideology.
Even in the Church, we can be tempted to rank people: whose voice
matters most, whose ministry is more important, whose gifts are more
visible, whose background is more acceptable. But Paul tells the
Corinthians and tells us that the Holy Spirit does not create a community
where everyone is identical. The Spirit creates a Body in which every
member matters. The church in Corinth struggled with comparison,
competition, and spiritual pride. Some people thought certain gifts were
more important than others. Some likely believed that dramatic or public
gifts made a person more spiritual. But Paul states all that is wrong. He
says, in effect: Stop measuring worth the way the world does. Look at
the Church through the eyes of the Spirit. “There are varieties of gifts,
but the same Spirit.”
That means the gift of preaching and the gift of listening both
matter. The gift of teaching and the gift of serving both matter. The gift
of leadership and the gift of compassion both matter. The gift of public
witness and the quiet gift of prayer both matter. Some people are called
to stand in front. Others are called to work behind the scenes. Some
encourage. Some organize. Some sing. Some visit the sick. Some teach
children. Some balance budgets. Some prepare food. Some write notes.
Some build relationships. Some offer wisdom. Some simply know how
to show up when someone is hurting. And all of it matters.
Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit is not poured out only on
the strong, the polished, or the important. The Spirit came upon ordinary
disciples—people who had known fear, failure, confusion, and doubt.
Just a short time before Pentecost, many of them had been hiding behind
locked doors. But when the Spirit came, they were changed. Not because
they suddenly became perfect, but because God’s power met them in
their weakness. That is good news for us. Some of us think we have little
to offer. Some of us feel too broken to be useful. Some of us assume that
ministry belongs to someone holier, smarter, younger, older, more
educated, or more confident. But Pentecost says otherwise.
Paul says, “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the
common good.” I want you all to key in on the word, each. Not just
clergy. Not just the outgoing. Not just the talented. Not just the people
with titles. Each. And notice the purpose: for the common good. The
gifts of the Spirit are not trophies for private admiration. They are tools
for love. They are given so that the whole body may be strengthened,
and so that the world may see Christ alive in us. That means your gift is
not just about you. And my gift is not just about me. The Spirit equips
each of us so that together we may become something none of us could
become alone. Paul uses the image of the body: “For just as the body is
one and has many members… so it is with Christ.” A body has many
parts. Hands are not feet. Eyes are not ears. Hearts are not lungs. Each
part is different, but each part belongs. In fact, difference is not a
problem in the body—it is the very thing that makes the body live. And
this is one of Pentecost’s deepest truths: the Holy Spirit speaks in many
languages, through many personalities, across many cultures, and among
many kinds of people. Pentecost is not the erasing of difference. It is the
sanctifying of difference for the sake of communion.
Paul goes on to say to me each is the most important part, is when
Paul says, “For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into on
body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of
one Spirit.” That was a true statement then, and it still is now. In Christ,
the divisions that dominate society are no longer the final word. In
Christ, human labels do not determine human worth. In Christ, baptism
becomes deeper than tribe, status, race, or rank. In Christ, we belong to
one another. And that belonging is not shallow. It is sacramental. It is
spiritual. It is holy. So, on this day of Pentecost, let us celebrate the birth
of the Church through the Holy Spirit. Let us all remember our own gifts
through the Holy Spirit that makes us one Body with Him. The Father,
and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Year A – Pentecost Sunday – May 24, 2026 – The Rev. Mark Colbert
