Day of Pentecost A May 31, 2020
Lectionary Link
At 13:16 mark of video.
Come Holy Spirit. Veni Sancte Spiritus. Ven Espiritu Santo,Viens Esprit Saint, Komm Heiliger Geist, Ruh al'qdos Biya,
Pentecost is the event of finding harmony in difference. It is the day of affirming that people who speak different languages and have drastically different world experience and conditions can come to harmony and peace together.
And so we say in every language today, "Come Holy Spirit," even though we know that the Spirit came in creation and has never left the world. The Spirit creates the divine environment and so we can know ourselves to live and move and have our being in God. If the Spirit has always been, why to do pray, Come Holy Spirit? We do so, because it isn't always enough to know that there is a wind; we need to see the leaves move in the tree. We need to see the Holy Spirit as apparent in human community.
And how we need the peaceful Holy Spirit to become apparent in our human communities today. On Pentecost, we have been literally "pent" up, sheltering in our homes for longer than the Easter season. We have been "pent" up in anxiety about the pandemic and its many drastic effects upon human life on every level. And now the injustice inflicted upon the life of a black man in Minneapolis seems to put us over the top of what we can actually bear without the acting out of frustration about long denied justice and the practice of uneven justice in our society.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come. Be made apparent even as a peace dove calming our hearts. Today, we need more than our belief in the Holy Spirit; we need the Apparent Effects of the Holy Spirit to be realized in significant ways.
The Holy Spirit can become apparent, if the Spirit has the leader who can unite. And Jesus Christ was the one who could unite hearts with voices which spoke different languages.
The Holy Spirit is looking today for worthy leaders who can unite in the midst of differences. The Holy Spirit of Peace is looking for us to be the leading channels or instruments of peace as goes the prayer attributed to St. Francis.
There are other spirits besides the Holy Spirit and the spirits of peace that the Holy Spirit inspires.
"Spirits" are the constellation of the energies of group identities which motivate group actions, some are destructive and evil, some are entertaining, benign and beneficial, and some become the vehicle for God's Holy Spirit to be peaceful, loving unifying justice in our world, not just in ideal, but in actual practice.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
Think about all of the group identities which are the "esprit de corps" rallying what people do when they come together. Think about all of the footage of horrifying dictators who have flamed unities of hatred and bias. The mob spirit found in our history books and in our world today are truly anti-Christ, because they don't end in inspiring peace, truth and unity.
There are other manifestation of group spirit which are benign and even beneficial. Colleges, sports teams, school spirit, city pride, hometown spirit are manifestations of esprit de corps in very benign ways. An esprit de corps which raises money to fight cancer and every sort of illness or malaise can true be a beneficial "mob" spirit.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come. And help us discern what you truly inspire. And how is Holy Spirit distinguished from the other manifestations of "esprit de corps" in our world?
First, Holy Spirit is permanent. It is the ground of the omnipresence of God within whom we live and move and have our being.
Second, it is Personal. We acknowledge on Pentecost the rising in human understanding of the Holy Spirit as a Person of the Godhead. The reason that we can project Personality upon the omnipresent Spirit is because we as humans are personal, meaning we are connected and related to all that is. Personality is our highest attribute and if we confess someone greater than we are, that Someone also is at the very least a very exalted Person.
Come, Personal Holy Spirit. We need you.
The Holy Spirit has had a general permanency since forever, but the Holy Spirit also has "coming out" parties and events. Pentecost was the chief coming out party of the Holy Spirit. There needs to be particular manifestation so that we can be renewed in knowing the Great Friend of the universe.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come. Wind, I need to see the leaves move on the tree to reassure me that you are still here.
So we need both the general and the particular apparent experiences of the Holy Spirit to reinforce the belief in the unseen in the middle of all that we do see, touch, feel, and hurt and cry about.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
The Holy Spirit is not just enlightened esprit de corps; the enlightened identity attained by people who want to let the Christ nature become evident in them. The Holy Spirit is also individual and personal. The Holy Spirit can be known within each of us as the Clean Heart which the Psalmist prayed for. We need the Holy Spirit as our Clean Heart because we need the highest authority for our consciences and motives.
We need the Holy Spirit as the experience of deep calm and peace within us, because we know that things on layers above the Holy Spirit can be turbulent and unsettled and even frightening. We need an internal place of retreat and refuge, not to escape our world but to have an anchor within the tossing waves of the world.
And we need the Holy Spirit as proof of our longevity in Hope. Hope has made me want more than can ever be delivered in my lifetime. Is my Hope a taunting God who wants good things that will never fully be my experience? Or is that Hope the very presence of the eternal Spirit who is saying that I will ride the eternal Spirit, eternally?
Come, Holy Spirit Come, and come in apparent and particular ways for us today. Inspire and activate manifold creativity to bring an end to this world pandemic. Inspire and convert leaders who will promote social harmony. Bring police and minority communities together for the common good of actual justice.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come, even to us the people of St. Mary's-in-the-Valley in specific ways. Let us discern your manifestations today. Amen.
Gen. 11:1-9Ps. 104: 25-32
Acts 2:1-11 John 14:8-17, 25-17 Lectionary Link
Come Holy Spirit. Veni Sancte Spiritus. Ven Espiritu Santo,Viens Esprit Saint, Komm Heiliger Geist, Ruh al'qdos Biya,
Pentecost is the event of finding harmony in difference. It is the day of affirming that people who speak different languages and have drastically different world experience and conditions can come to harmony and peace together.
And so we say in every language today, "Come Holy Spirit," even though we know that the Spirit came in creation and has never left the world. The Spirit creates the divine environment and so we can know ourselves to live and move and have our being in God. If the Spirit has always been, why to do pray, Come Holy Spirit? We do so, because it isn't always enough to know that there is a wind; we need to see the leaves move in the tree. We need to see the Holy Spirit as apparent in human community.
And how we need the peaceful Holy Spirit to become apparent in our human communities today. On Pentecost, we have been literally "pent" up, sheltering in our homes for longer than the Easter season. We have been "pent" up in anxiety about the pandemic and its many drastic effects upon human life on every level. And now the injustice inflicted upon the life of a black man in Minneapolis seems to put us over the top of what we can actually bear without the acting out of frustration about long denied justice and the practice of uneven justice in our society.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come. Be made apparent even as a peace dove calming our hearts. Today, we need more than our belief in the Holy Spirit; we need the Apparent Effects of the Holy Spirit to be realized in significant ways.
The Holy Spirit can become apparent, if the Spirit has the leader who can unite. And Jesus Christ was the one who could unite hearts with voices which spoke different languages.
The Holy Spirit is looking today for worthy leaders who can unite in the midst of differences. The Holy Spirit of Peace is looking for us to be the leading channels or instruments of peace as goes the prayer attributed to St. Francis.
There are other spirits besides the Holy Spirit and the spirits of peace that the Holy Spirit inspires.
"Spirits" are the constellation of the energies of group identities which motivate group actions, some are destructive and evil, some are entertaining, benign and beneficial, and some become the vehicle for God's Holy Spirit to be peaceful, loving unifying justice in our world, not just in ideal, but in actual practice.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
Think about all of the group identities which are the "esprit de corps" rallying what people do when they come together. Think about all of the footage of horrifying dictators who have flamed unities of hatred and bias. The mob spirit found in our history books and in our world today are truly anti-Christ, because they don't end in inspiring peace, truth and unity.
There are other manifestation of group spirit which are benign and even beneficial. Colleges, sports teams, school spirit, city pride, hometown spirit are manifestations of esprit de corps in very benign ways. An esprit de corps which raises money to fight cancer and every sort of illness or malaise can true be a beneficial "mob" spirit.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come. And help us discern what you truly inspire. And how is Holy Spirit distinguished from the other manifestations of "esprit de corps" in our world?
First, Holy Spirit is permanent. It is the ground of the omnipresence of God within whom we live and move and have our being.
Second, it is Personal. We acknowledge on Pentecost the rising in human understanding of the Holy Spirit as a Person of the Godhead. The reason that we can project Personality upon the omnipresent Spirit is because we as humans are personal, meaning we are connected and related to all that is. Personality is our highest attribute and if we confess someone greater than we are, that Someone also is at the very least a very exalted Person.
Come, Personal Holy Spirit. We need you.
The Holy Spirit has had a general permanency since forever, but the Holy Spirit also has "coming out" parties and events. Pentecost was the chief coming out party of the Holy Spirit. There needs to be particular manifestation so that we can be renewed in knowing the Great Friend of the universe.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come. Wind, I need to see the leaves move on the tree to reassure me that you are still here.
So we need both the general and the particular apparent experiences of the Holy Spirit to reinforce the belief in the unseen in the middle of all that we do see, touch, feel, and hurt and cry about.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
The Holy Spirit is not just enlightened esprit de corps; the enlightened identity attained by people who want to let the Christ nature become evident in them. The Holy Spirit is also individual and personal. The Holy Spirit can be known within each of us as the Clean Heart which the Psalmist prayed for. We need the Holy Spirit as our Clean Heart because we need the highest authority for our consciences and motives.
We need the Holy Spirit as the experience of deep calm and peace within us, because we know that things on layers above the Holy Spirit can be turbulent and unsettled and even frightening. We need an internal place of retreat and refuge, not to escape our world but to have an anchor within the tossing waves of the world.
And we need the Holy Spirit as proof of our longevity in Hope. Hope has made me want more than can ever be delivered in my lifetime. Is my Hope a taunting God who wants good things that will never fully be my experience? Or is that Hope the very presence of the eternal Spirit who is saying that I will ride the eternal Spirit, eternally?
Come, Holy Spirit Come, and come in apparent and particular ways for us today. Inspire and activate manifold creativity to bring an end to this world pandemic. Inspire and convert leaders who will promote social harmony. Bring police and minority communities together for the common good of actual justice.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come, even to us the people of St. Mary's-in-the-Valley in specific ways. Let us discern your manifestations today. Amen.
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