Kahu's Manao

Keawala‘i Congregational Church
United Church of Christ (USA)

Pentecost Sunday
Sunday, May 23, 2010

The Rev. Kealahou C. Alika

“Ka ‘Ekalesia O Keawala‘i: We are the Body of Christ”
Acts 2:1-21

Our reading from The Book of Acts provides us with a description of the first Pentecost after the death and resurrection of Jesus. In the passage, the disciples and others have gathered in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost, a religious observance that was observed both in Judaism and Christianity.

The writer tells of a sudden sound, “like the rush of a mighty wind” (Acts 2:4) from heaven, followed by “tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each one of them.” (Acts 2:3)

We know that the events associated with Pentecost constitute the fulfillment not only of the prophecy of Joel (Joel 2:8-32) but also the promise of Jesus (Acts 1:8). Jesus said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and the ends of the earth.”

As a result, it is said that about 3,000 persons were added to the group of believers. On that day the Spirit came upon the disciples and many others and empowered them to become the Body of Christ or the church.

Today we are the Body of Christ. Our strength comes from an affirmation and recognition that each of us has a place in the body that is the church. It was the Apostle Paul who reminded those in the church in Corinth in the first century that despite the turmoil and conflicts they were experiencing each of them were a part of the Body of Christ.

His words to those at Corinth remind us that we too are the Body of Christ.

Kahu: The Body of Christ has many different parts, just as any other body does.

Liturgist: Some of us are Jews,

Kahu: and others are Gentiles.

Liturgist: Some of us are slaves,

Kahu: and others are free.

Liturgist: But God’s Spirit baptized each of us and made us part of the Body of Christ.

Kahu: Now we each drink from the same Spirit.

Liturgist: Our bodies don’t have just one part.

Kahu: They have many parts.

Liturgist: Suppose a foot says,

Kahu: “I’m not a hand, and so I’m not part of the body.”

Liturgist: Wouldn’t the foot still belong to the body?

Kahu: Or suppose an ear says,


Liturgist: “I’m not an eye, and so I’m not part of the body?”

Kahu: Wouldn’t the ear still belong to the body?”

Liturgist: If our bodies were only an eye, we couldn’t hear a thing.

Kahu: And if we were only an ear, we couldn’t smell a thing.

Kahu: But God has put all parts of the our body together in the way that God

decided is best.

Liturgist: A body isn’t really a body,

Kahu: unless there is more than one part.

Liturgist: It takes many parts to make a single body.

Kahu: That’s why the eyes cannot say they don’t need the hands.

Liturgist: That’s also why the head cannot say it doesn’t need the feet.

Kahu: In fact, we cannot get along without the parts of the body of Christ that seem to be the weakest.

Liturgist: We take special care to dress up some parts of our bodies.

Kahu: We are modest about our personal parts,

Liturgist: God put our bodies together in such a way that even the parts that seem the least important are valuable.

Kahu: God did this to make all parts of the body work together smoothly,

Liturgist with each part caring about the others.

Kahu: If one part of our body hurts

Liturgist: we hurt all over.

Kahu: If one part of our body is honored,

Liturgist: the whole body will be happy.

Kahu: Together (we) are the body of Christ.

Liturgist: Each one of (us) is part of his body.

In 2009 Carl J. Nygard, Jr. wrote the words to an anthem entitled “Fear Not.” His words, like the words of the Apostle Paul remind us of what we share in common.

“Fear not, for I am with you. Fear not, for I have redeemed you and loved you, blessed you and called you by name. You are mine.”

“My love will always surround you and hold you; for you are precious to me. I have called you by name, you are mine.”

Each of us has been called by name to be a part of the Body of Christ here in Mākena; some of us for a lifetime; others for this moment. We are kamaʻāina and malihini – sons and daughters of this land and newcomers.

We come from many different places; many different families. We are old and young; children, women and men; disabled and able-bodied. We have different temperaments and personalities. We come in all shapes, sizes and colors.

Together we are the Body of Christ, the church. And the source of our strength comes from the power of the Spirit.

Our children will be singing a song written and composed by Gerry Holmes in 1993. It points to the source of our strength. “Wind is moving over water, patterns shifting out across the bay. Grass is bending on the hillside, clouds are drifting right across the sky. O Holy Spirit, move over all our lives.”

A notation on the song points out that “in the scriptures, wind and breath are often identified with the Holy spirit. The same Greek word is used for both: pneuma. The breath we use to sing and to play musical instruments and the wind that blows through the grass is the same wind of the Spirit.”

I do not know if Gerry Holmes was inspired by a scene along the seashore. But it would seem with a little “tweaking” he could have well penned his words here in Mākena. “Wind is moving over the waters of Alalakeiki, patterns shifting out across Keawalaʻi bay. Grass is bending on the hillside of Haleakalā, clouds are drifting right across the sky towards Kahoʻolaw. O Holy Spirit, move over all our lives.”

Thanks be to God. Amen.

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