The Holy Spirit Pushes Our Buttons

 I have a confession to make.

A few weeks ago, I attended a meeting of the Synod’s Deans and Ministry Directors, and I acted outside of my usual demeanor. Don’t worry I did nothing embarrassing or illegal. Typically, I participate with a mostly-sunny demeanor, active in the conversation, moving ideas forward, and arranging information into actional items. This did not change, however, there were agenda items that spiraled away from the item at hand, ventured outside of traditional operating procedures, were confused with inaccurate and unknown information, and challenged core values. Needless to say, throughout the three days, most of my buttons were pushed.

And yes, uncharacteristically, I forcefully interrupted, articulating my frustration and redirecting the group to the focus of the work. Included in the rant, was institutional information, a call back to Synod’s mission and vision, a reminder of important values of a Lutheran way of living, and a good dose of leadership acumen.

 

My buttons were pushed.

You would think that it was the topics or my colleagues who were pushing my buttons… while true, something else was happening.

My buttons – the times where I acted outside of ‘my regular’ – were moments that revealed passion; specifically my passion. The passions are those that have grown around character, personality, skills, talents, and God-given gifts in me. It wasn’t the topics or my colleagues pushing my buttons – it was the Holy Spirit.

It was the fire and wind of Pentecost, sparking and poking.

It was a reminder and a prodding to be about the tasks -the vocation- the specific items that continue the list from Corinthians, that the Holy Spirit has empowered me to articulate in action in the community of faith and beyond.

 

What pushes your buttons? What causes a strong reaction or emotion in you?

That is passion. And somehow that passion is connected to the specific gifts you have been given by God. Passion is a compass to help you direct, focus, and articulate the gospel.  Acting on your passion is living the good news. Moments of feeling passionate – is the Holy Spirit pushing your buttons – directing you to action.  

Passion is the fire and wind of the Holy Spirit present in your life and anxious to be put to work in the community of faith and beyond.

 

On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit came in a sound like the rush of a violent wind. At the sound  - and the spoken word in other languages – a crowd gathered. The crowds, according to the story in Acts, bewildered asked: How is it that we hear in our own languages?

 

Notice that the text uses the verb “hear.” How is it that we hear…

The biblical readings in the Easter season spoke of the telling of the gospel – the story of Jesus’, Jesus’ death and resurrection. The women run from the tomb to tell the disciples. The couple on the road to Emmaus run back to Jerusalem to tell the others, who in turn tell of their encounter with the risen Jesus. Stephen testifies by witnessing via speech to those accusing him. Peter and the other Apostles, tell about Jesus, preaching in the streets, and teaching in people’s homes. The story of Jesus is told. It is shared with words.

50 days with a focus on telling, now changes to a focus on hearing.

 

I hear

I have heard the biblical Jesus’ stories my whole life. I can retell them from memory. I have heard other Jesus’ stories through my time as pastor; and can retell them. I hear … and in the same breath I will confess that I don’t hear. I am sure that some of you have had the experience of not feeling heard, and it may even have been me who didn’t fully hear you.

What I mean is that one can listen and physically hear, being empathetic or sympathetic, and hold the confidence – pray for a person, be pastoral, and then rest there. Listening is presence. Listening is a gift each has the capacity to do.

Hearing is more. Hearing is attuned to the unique gifts and passions given to each person. The Holy Spirit weaves her way through ordinary life, pushing peoples’ buttons – arousing passion. Hearing is an activation of the specific qualities and characteristics that have been entrusted to you to give back into the world.

 

We pray on most Sundays, Hear us O God, or Lord hear our prayer. There is an expectation when we pray that God, in hearing our prayers, will act. That our prayer will activate God’s passion for humankind. There is something in the hearing that is active and Spirit-filled. If we have this expectation of God hearing and responding, does the same not apply to us? As we corporately pray the prayers of the people, the Lord’s prayer, the liturgy, we pray (telling or asking), and we also hear via the praying aloud by those around us.

It could be a prayer, or a reading, a line from a Psalm, a question from the sermon, an antidote in the kid’s corner, a troubling hymn – that pushes one of your buttons – that is the Holy Spirit at work activating passion. Passion is the stirring up of your particular God-given gifts.

 

Tanzania Lutheran pastor and educator, Wilson Niwagila, wrote the hymn Gracious Spirit, Heed Our Pleading. We are singing the hymn as our hymn of the day. I draw your attention to the words of the last two verses. We sing for the Spirit to come and ask specifically for: Not mere knowledge, but discernment…

Keep us fervent in our witness, unswayed by earth’s allure / Ever grant us zealous fitness, which you alone assure.

 

Discernment is difficult. Discernment is the ability to choose and determine a course of action, when the answer is unclear or there are a variety of options. Discernment is difficult because options can all be very good options. How does one choose? As a faith community we pray for direction and guidance. As individuals in a congregation, we have barriers to hearing the Spirit among us – barriers of the fear of making the wrong choice, being paralyzed by ‘what ifs,’ holding onto control, and avoiding risk.

In discernment processes – the Spirit weaves through the gathered community – pushing peoples’ buttons. It is in the bursts of passion that direction is given. It is in expressions of passion that we hear the Spirit’s direction.  

The hymn ends with an ask for God to ever grant us zealous fitness. Zealous fitness speaks to me of following and living out our passions. Passions are intense, deep, and driving forces filled with emotions, grown from knowledge, beliefs, faith, and values.  Passion keeps faith communities fit – active - living out God’s grace and unconditional love.

 

I shared my confession with you at the beginning of the sermon because some of the buttons that the Spirit pushed, I had not identified as anything but very loud pet-peeves. Upon reflection I realized that each reaction and rant was connected to a passion. And yes, with each passion, I have the acumen, knowledge, skills, and gifts to tell, hear, and act the good news of Jesus Christ into God’s world. And further to that, at this time, in the wider church, I am uniquely gifted for those specific tasks. You too are uniquely gifted and have the responsibility of passionately contributing to God’s kindom. Hear the prodding of the Holy Spirit and act.

 

Keep us fervent in our witness, unswayed by earth’s allure. Ever grant us zealous fitness, which you alone assure. Amen.

Vocation (Not Jobs) Is Working Community

 

Have you met your Walmart greeter? I know the greeter at the Walmart I go to: what she looks like, her smile, her kind actions. For years she has been a consistent and calm presence. One of the recognizable hallmarks of Walmart was the greeter, who welcomed shoppers to the store. CEO and founder Sam Walton implemented the role to show customers that they are persons who are valued. The role helped shape the identity and culture of the company. You can google ‘Walmart greeter’ and meet a host of exceptional greeters who have special relationships with the community who comes through the store’s doors.

According to American reports, effective April 2026 the role of greeter has come to an end. Greeters are being replaced with what the company is calling a “customer host” whose job now includes the requirement of being able to lift 25lbs, climb ladders, and stand for long periods of time. Their job will involve much more – for example carrying and packing bags into cars. The job’s sole purpose is no longer forming relationship with customers and making everyone feel seen and welcomed upon arrival.  

 This corporate move means that seniors and those with disabilities who often fill the roll of greeter are systematically being removed from work that is meaningful and life-giving to them, and life-giving to the world receiving their gifts.

 

Today’s reading from Acts highlights how the early church worked together to bring the kindom of God. Today it would be called a model of leadership. It would be considered an organizational structure that lives out the values of the community.

From the early days of the Protestant church, a model of leadership was articulate in theology that eventually had the church use the tagline “priesthood of all believers.”

 

Luther in, On the Babylonian Captivity of the Church, wrote: In fact, we are all consecrated priests through Baptism, as St. Peter in 1 Peter 2 says, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a priestly kingdom.” In this way we are all priests, as many of us as are Christians, there are indeed priests whom we call ministers. They are chosen from among us, and who do everything in our name. That is a priesthood which is nothing else than the Ministry. Thus 1 Corinthians 4:1: “No one should regard us as anything else than ministers of Christ and dispensers of the mysteries of God.”

 

Letters written in and to the early church often contained lists of gifts and talents of members in a Christian community. Gifts included: service, knowledge, wisdom, preaching, teaching, healing, faith, prophecy, miracles, speaking in tongues. The Letters indicate that communities have a host of individuals with varying skills and talents, all to be used for wholeness of community and the spread of the Gospel. Every person does not have every gift. Each person does have a gift to contribute, and each gift is vital for the health of that community.

 

The early followers of Jesus, as described in the book of Acts, were a community that was out in the community, bringing the kindom of God. Each one’s skills and passions were being used to live resurrection and to share Jesus’ mission in the world. Christ was being proclaimed in word and deed!

 

The example given to us this morning is of Stephen. Stephen along with six other men were chosen by the Apostles to the ministry of service. The men were responsible for feeding people and the distribution of goods to those in need. The Apostles continued their call to preach and teach. This does not mean that the Apostles didn’t participate in the ministry of service, or that Stephen and team didn’t preach. It simply means that their calling – their skills – their vocation, was to a specific role; one that used their gifts to the fullest.

Lutherans have two streams of rostered ministers. There are some ordained to the ministry of Word and Service -  our deacons; and others ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament- our pastors. Each order of ministry has specific skills and purposes. Through baptism we are all welcomed into God’s family and into a community of faith. The Holy Spirit calls us to lives that benefit the whole community. Living among God’s faithful people, we are empowered to proclaim the good news of God in Christ through word and deed, and to serve all people, following the example of Jesus. This is what we promise and what we pray for at baptisms and in affirmations of faith.

 

In our society, youth are directed and pressured to think about their futures. Often this simply means careers, jobs; the purpose to make money. They think about: part-time jobs, summer employment, school to gather skills for jobs, climbing-the-ladder jobs, good-paying jobs, jobs with benefits. Faith community understands ‘job’, ‘work’, in a different way. Rather than jobs, faith community is about encouraging the community to focus on vocation.

Vocation - is a calling or strong inclination of the heart, toward a particular course of action, way of life, and purpose. I don’t have a job – I have a vocation. You have met people in all walks of life that have a vocation – nurses, teachers, accountants, plumbers, librarians, baristas, musicians, Walmart greeters, long-term care workers - you can tell it is not just a job by the way the person’s heart is in their work. They love their work and the people they serve. Their work creates energy, good feeling, and benefits everyone around them. There is authenticity that shines their true self and passion in their role in the community. The community is blessed because of their contribution.

 

Unfortunately, society has skewed our understanding of jobs, and debased work to only be about money.

I appreciate the Acts story of Stephen because something powerful came from his working from his heart.

Prior to the snippet we read, Stephen’s purposeful work and passion for the gospel had Stephen brought before the Sanhedrin court. Acts 7 records the longest speech in Acts – and it is not Peter’s or Paul’s - it is Stephen’s defense – where Stephen speaks truth to power. The speech includes the history of God’s relationship with God’s people and God’s continued faithfulness to the covenant despite the people turning away. The powers that be are angry? Ashamed? Scared? – that a community was living the sacred texts, the covenant promises, bringing God’s kindom into their midst without the authority’s permission, assistance, power, resources, status, institution. The marginalized, the widow, the forgotten, the foreigner, the poor, the sick, the unhoused, the hungry, the landless, the slave, the elderly, the orphaned, the disheartened, the day labourer are welcomed into the community and become a community.

 

Stephen was so committed to the ministry of service and the Word proclaimed through deed, that he passionately expressed the core of the work, his vocation, in proclamation to the court. Stephen’s vocation lead to a martyr’s death which demonstrates the costly nature of serving Christ and the reality of God’s presence amid suffering and injustice.

Stephen was called to service. Called to share the gospel in word and deed. He fed people and distributed goods to those who had need. Vocation that today might be – kitchen workers at care facilities, homecare assistants, dishwashers, hospital porters, delivery drivers, crop pickers, waitresses, non-profit outreach workers  … the Walmart greeter

 

Resurrected One, In all we do – work, volunteering, jobs, interactions, buying or selling services – help us apply a sense of vocation, where we act from our hearts, passionately proclaim Christ in word and deed, and purposefully share our God-given gifts for the wholeness of the community. Amen.