05/24/2026 ~ Day of Pentecost ~ * Acts 2:1-21 or Numbers 11:24-30; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 or Acts 2:1-21; John 20:19-23 or John 7:37-39 ~ Heritage Sunday Celebrated at the 1759 Meeting House ~ HARPSWELL TV VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha4kceAmrso

Future… Perfect?

“In the days to come— it is our God who speaks— I will pour out my Spirit upon all humankind. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young people will see visions and your elders will dream dreams.” — Acts 2:17

You heard me say this earlier. The first time the Declaration of Independence was publically read in Harpswell, it happened on the steps of this Meeting House. And as I am sure you know we are approaching the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration.

Fifty years after the adoption of the Declaration, July 4, 1826, two hundred years ago, a pair of former Presidents who had a hand in writing the Declaration, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, died. Yes, they died on the same day, fifty years to the day after that document was adopted.

Several weeks later at an official ceremony for the nation, the most famous orator of that post-revolutionary era, Daniel Webster, offered a eulogy honoring these stalwarts of the American Revolution. Webster’s words go on for pages and pages. Therefore, I have taken a very large liberty. I will offer an extremely edited, very small snippet of that address. So please thank me as I will not go on and on. (Pause.)

Neither of these fellow-citizens could have died without leaving an immense void in American society. They have for so long blended with the history of the country, in our thoughts and recollections, that the death of either would have touched the chords of public sympathy.

We have felt, because of this link connecting us with former times, that we had lost something of the presence of the Revolution, the act of independence, and were driven on to mix with the future. Like the mariner who the winds carry, we should feel the stream of time, itself, hath borne us onward. (Slight pause.)

At the end of the remarks Webster said these two have joined the American Constellation; the heavens beam with new light. Beneath this illumination let us walk the course of life forward and at its close devoutly commend our country to the Divine. (Pause.)

These words are in Acts: “In the days to come— it is our God who speaks— I will pour out my Spirit upon all humankind. Your sons and your daughters will prophesy and your young people will see visions and your elders will dream dreams.” (Slight pause.)

This weekend is the national observance known as Memorial Day. Lest we forget, this commemoration was first known as Decoration Day, a time to “decorate” with flowers the graves of those who died in the Civil War, Confederate and Union dead.

Just as Webster honored the memory of Jefferson and Adams, Decoration Day, Memorial Day, is meant to honor not just those who have given their all in service to the nation but it is also a way to honor the past— the past on which our future is built. (Slight pause.)

I think we always need to remember the past. But we especially need to remember the reality of the past, even when that reality is so abhorrent some might want to obliterate or even try to change the details, change the reality. In the Civil War, for instance, it is well documented that 620,000 died.

That total is more than those who died in the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II and the Korean War, combined. And this 620,000 dead was Americans killing Americans. It’s also well documented these 620,000 deaths happened because some people claimed that simply for the sake of economic gain they had a right to enslave other people. (Slight pause.)

It is well documented that the prime author of the Declaration of Independence, a document about freedom and equality, was Jefferson. And it’s well documented the writer of those words which enshrine freedom and equality as an American principle, enslaved other humans. It’s well documented that Jefferson begat offspring with one of those he had enslaved and the children of that union were also enslaved.

I bring these facts up because honoring the past is important. However, grappling with the reality of the past is also important. Of course, grappling with the reality of the present is important too. But grappling with the reality of the future is of upmost importance. (Slight pause.)

What does that mean— grapple with the reality of the future? Well, what is the past? What is the present? What is the future? (Slight pause.)

George Carlin said, “There is no present. There is only the immediate future or the recent past.” That’s a fairly accurate take on our experience. After all, what I said just a minute ago is gone. It cannot be rectified, reset or redone. It’s over.

So the past is irrevokable, the present at best fleeting. That leaves the future which we have not yet experienced. I’m aware that many people find the future frightening. From a Biblical perspective, thinking the future is frightening has always amazed and baffled me.

To explore that, let’s look at the episode recorded in Acts. This is clear: in the Pentecost sermon Peter honors, remembers the past, by quoting the prophet Joel.

This is equally clear: the text tells us people from everywhere hear these words so the whole world is meant to listen. Next, this passage says the Word of God, the reality of the presence of God, has entered a new era. These words also tell us we need to be the ones who spread this Word, this reality, to the whole world.

In short, this is an instruction which honors the past but it is not about what’s happening right now, either. It’s about what needs to be done. Peter proclaims what we are called to do, what needs to be done in the future. Hence, what Peter shares is a message of hope.

Hope is not about the past, what has happened, or the present, what’s happening now. Hope is about the future. Hope is about what we are called to do, what we shall do, what we will do.

And what is it we are we called to do? We are called to be instruments of God’s justice, God’s peace, God’s wisdom, God’s joy, God’s love. (Slight pause.)

It’s clear the writers and the signers of the Declaration of Independence did not know what would happen. When the Civil War erupted it’s unlikely anyone knew what would happen or even that the result might be freedom for the enslaved.

When the Revolution and the Civil War happened, hope was a cherished ideal but the future was unknown. To quote the Preamble of the Constitution, the necessary ingredient in embodying and empowering hope was We the People. (Slight pause.)

We the people is also the necessary ingredient in empowering the work of the church. We the people is the necessary ingredient because unless the whole community works together, not a lot can be accomplished. We the people is the necessary ingredient because unless the community of faith known as church seeks a willingness to be instruments of God’s justice, God’s peace, God’s wisdom, God’s joy, God’s love, the future will be bleak.

So let us strive to fulfill the call of God for our generation. Let us strive toward not a perfect time. Let us strive toward a goal of the possibility of a future in which we work toward the perfect. I believe working toward the perfect is a goal to which God calls us. I believe we need to strive to work toward a hope filled future time of perfection and I believe a future time of perfection is the goal of God.

So let us not be deterred if we feel God’s justice, God’s peace, God’s wisdom, God’s joy, God’s love is in short supply now, in our time. Just look at the reality of human history, the reality of our history. God’s justice, God’s peace, God’s wisdom, God’s joy, God’s love was often in short supply.

Therefore, moving forward we need to face the reality of the future, the reality toward which hope points. And who is God calling to embark on this journey toward the future? God calls you and you and you and me.

We are not on this journey alone. On this journey we need to travel together. So let us together be empowered by hope, the hope God has for us, as we strive and work toward the reality of participating, working toward God’s justice, God’s peace, God’s wisdom, God’s joy, God’s love. Amen.

05/24/2026 — Pentecost Sunday
Elijah Kellogg Church, Harpswell, Maine
Heritage Sunday at “The Old Meeting House”

ENDPIECE: It is the practice of the Pastor to speak after the Closing Hymn, but before the Benediction. This, then, is a précis of what the pastor said before the blessing: “We need to remember the witness of the New Testament says the disciples rebelled against the powerful. How so? The word “Lord” applied to Jesus was also a word the Roman culture applied to Caesar. Hence, using that word applied to Jesus was and is an act of rebellion against power. And let us also remember, the future of God’s vision relies on the our mutual support. Indeed, when the Declaration of Independence was signed Benjamin Franklin infamously defined mutual support. He said we must all hang together or we shall all hang separately— that sounds to me like mutual support was, is and will be necessary.”

BENEDICTION: Let us go from this time of worship as we continue to worship with work and witness outside these doors. And may we love God so much, that we love nothing else too much. May we be so in awe of God, that we are in awe of no one else and nothing else. Amen.