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Writing about what I have been reading and encountering in the media. |
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WELCOME TO MY BLOG! I comment on things I am reading, thinking about, encountering in media, and spiritual issues. I hope you will find something interesting. PS. I love feedback... |
| These are the days of apostles The days of the Apostles were very much like today. There was rapid social change due to the coming together of people of many cultures related to the expansion of the Roman empire and related increase in trade and travel. There was violence. Jesus was crucified with others and his crucifixion was totally political in origin as opposed to being the result of him engaging in serious crime. They didn’t have AR15 rifles, but they had many other ways to torture and kill. Before the Pentecost that we celebrate today, the Apostles had daily contact with Jesus. It is probable that they had a good understanding of the nature of the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, we have no way of knowing exactly what each apostle experienced at the moment they became aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit that day. I suspect they were astonished at the very least. It might not have been the same as having their hair on fire, but there were flames over their heads. They had become like candles and the flames did not go out in the rushing wind. The people who gathered there were from many nations and spoke many different languages. At that moment, they heard what was being said in their native tongues. Was that the apostles speaking in various languages, or God translating what was being said for each individual? The writers of the Bible chose to think of it as the Apostles speaking in different languages. In any case, all those people took in new wisdom in an amazing way that they understood and didn’t forget, and that people still talk about two millennia later. In this way, Christianity was born. One Pentecost Sunday, many years ago, I was in a large, urban gothic revival church, The nave or sanctuary was shaped like a cross with the chancel, that is the altar and area around the altar, in the middle, a small chapel to the left of the chancel and a baptistry to the right of the chancel area. The baptistry had a font, much smaller than what is used here. There were many sconces each with a single-lit votive candle on the wall behind the font. The choir, seated on a balcony in the back of the sanctuary, was organized around a core of 6 professional singers and lead by an outstanding organist playing a first-rate pipe organ. They had chosen a modern piece that sounded like rushing wind and many voices singing in different languages. It was quite mystical and moving. As the music reached its climax, a votive candle fell from the baptistry wall and crashed to the floor. The feeling I experienced was immediate and intense and my thought was “I’m not ready, Lord.” What if today, we have our own experience of the Holy Spirit? When I was a teen, I asked my pastor why people believed that God would speak only through the Bible. It seemed to me that this was very inefficient and not especially effective. I found the Bible very hard to understand, and still do. I have to get out reference books and then think, and then do Google searches, and still, sometimes I feel uncertain that I have understood what I read. But the newspaper is a whole different thing. I have no trouble understanding it because it is written at a fifth to tenth grade comprehension level and in contemporary language that people easily understand. Now, we have multimedia communications. I think that the creator and sustainer of the multiverse can figure out how to communicate to us through these media which may actually be a gift from God. A few years back, there was an earthquake on the east coast of the US. It damaged the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral. Some Christians saw it as a sign from God that homosexuality is bad, and others saw it as a sign from God that LGBTQ+ people should be accepted. If it was a communication from God, it didn’t get through very clearly. Again, I think God is capable of better than that. You all know the song We are one in the spirit, we are one in the lord with the chorus, and they will know we are Christians by our love. Is it not true that we believe God is acting through us when we show compassion, offer help, or just show respect for others? If that is the case, the Holy Spirit is very active and communicates with and through each of us every day. It is time to be astonished. Those apostolic flames are burning over our heads all the time. Are you ready? Are we ready? What do we need individually and as a faith community to be ready, to feel ready for the Holy Spirit to act through us? Take a moment now and think about what can prepare you to show your love effectively. It may be something you have, receive, or do but it may be something you need more of, or something yet to be available to you. If it is something you already have, then it would be something to give thanks for. If it is something you need, then it would be a request. Now pray your way into sharing grace of the Holy Spirit. {image # 1445398} |
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