Pentecost
John 14: 23-31
Jesus replied, “He who truly loves me reveals my Spirit, and my Father will love him and we will come to him and prepare with him a dwelling in the everlasting [an eternal dwelling]. He who does not love me cannot reveal my Spirit. And the spirit power of the word that you hear is not from me; it is the speaking of the Father who sent me.
I have said this to you while I am still with you.
But he who is called down, the health-bringing Spirit, whom the Father will
send in my name, he will teach you everything and will awaken within you all
that I have said to you.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do
not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do
not be afraid [have no fear].
You have heard how I said to you, ‘I am going away,
and yet I am coming to you’. If you loved me you would rejoice because I am
going to the Father[ly Ground of the World], for the Father is mightier than I
am.
I have told you now, before it happens, so that
when it happens you may find trust. I no longer have much to say to you, for
soon the prince of this world is coming. Yet over me he has no power.
But the world shall see in this how I love the
Father [Ground of the World] and how I act in accordance with the Father’s
purpose, as it was entrusted to me. Arise, let us go on from here. [let us be
on our way.]
Sunday,
May 27, 2007
A hole in a flute
Whitsunday
John 14: 32-31
In the
evening the sun descends in a blaze of color. If we let ourselves be carried by
sunset’s mood, we may find ourselves becoming quieter, reflecting on the day’s
events. And despite growing darkness, we have no fear: for we know that the sun
will soon rise again to enlighten another day.
Pentecost
is like a bright evening in the story of mankind. At Ascension, the Sun of
Mankind disappeared from sight. And yet the light did not leave us, for at
Whitsun the disciples began to remember everything Christ had told them. The
light of understanding dawned within them. The flames of their love rose up,
and the warm light healed their sore hearts. Praise for the incredible new day
of humanity broke forth from them. They offered themselves into this new
streaming of light.
The Act of
Consecration is itself a Whitsun event. In the gospel reading we hear and
remember what Christ spoke to humanity. The warmth of our love for Him rises
like flames. Yet this is not a fire that consumes, it is a fire that creates,
creates the light of understanding; creates warmth of heart and a fiery
enthusiasm of will.
Through the
fire of our love, we are elevated to a creative stream, a collective place
where all creatures sing His praise. We become, in the words of the poet:
A hole in a flute
That Christ’s breath moves through
–
…the concert
From the mouth of every
Creature
Singing with the myriad
Chords.[1]
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