Today is Pentecost. It’s the day that we mainline Protestants finally remember that the Trinity is more than just the Father and the Son, that there’s another divine person who often gets forgotten in our sacred storytelling. So the pastors all unpack their trusty metaphors for the Holy Spirit and the props that help drive their descriptions home: pinwheels, bubbles, red streamers, candles; basically anything that can be used to represent wind or fire.
You’ve all heard of Schrodinger’s cat, right? I’m no physicist, but I’ll do my best to summarize (my apologies in advance to any physicists who may be pained by my rudimentary explanation). As I understand it, Schrodinger’s Cat is a thought experiment performed by physicist Erwin Schrodinger to demonstrate the paradox of quantum indeterminacy (non-physicists, stay with me). This principle says that the physical state of a quantum particle cannot be definitively known apart from observation of it – in other words, observation itself plays a role in determining the particle’s physical state. Schrodinger took this idea out of the realm of quantum particles and into the “real world”: he posited that if a person were to seal a hypothetical cat in a box with something that could eventually kill it, they wouldn’t be able to tell whether the cat was alive or dead until they open the box to look. Therefore, according to quantum indeterminacy, the cat would be both alive AND dead until the box was opened and the cat’s state was observed.
[Before I begin, I want to acknowledge that this sermon is going to touch on some tough subjects, like sexuality and abortion. If you need to step away because these topics are too personal for you, I encourage you to do so. But if you find yourself squirming in your seat just because these topics make you uncomfortable, I encourage you to try and stick it out.]
I find this to be an unsetting passage. Do you? I don’t find it unsettling because it’s especially disturbing; it doesn’t contain anything particularly sad or violent or dangerous, as some Bible stories do. No, I find it unsettling in the literal sense – it just ends without any sort of satisfying resolution; it’s unsettled. Paul and Barnabas aren’t able to convince the crowd of their own humanity, there’s no successful conversions recorded, no minds or hearts changed. Just a failed attempt at evangelism. Especially after last week’s wonderful example of living out the Great Commission from Acts 10, this story is more disheartening than anything. Where’s the good news?
*You are welcome to use or adapt any of my resources for free, but I ask that you provide proper citation AND comment on this post to let me know.*
Call to Worship (based on Acts 14:13)
Leader: Worshipers of Zeus and Hermes bring bulls and wreaths as sacrifices. People: But the Lord takes no delight in burnt offerings and worthless gifts.