Pentecost
John 14: 23-31
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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.]
June 12, 2011
Pentecost (Whitsun)
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| Danny Hahlbohm |
John 14:23-31
One of the most elemental
games we play as children is hide-and-seek. Everyone hides and one child looks
for them. One of the comforting rules of the game is that if, after diligent
searching, maybe with help of others hidden and found, one can call out, ‘Come
out come out wherever you are!’ and the one still hidden will show himself.
Today is Pentecost or
Whitsun. The disciples had lost sight of Christ ten days previously at His
Ascension into the realm of the clouds. He hid Himself in the biosphere. In
today’s reading Christ stresses trusting and loving Him even when He seems to
have gone away. He said he would not leave us as orphans; He said he would be
with us till the end of the ages. Christ assures us that although He seems to
be hidden, we can trust that He will appear, though not in the way we might
expect. We are not to become upset or afraid; but to trust. He will send us His
Spirit of Healing Love. For He has hidden Himself in plain sight.
John O’Donohue gives us some
hints about seeking and finding this Spirit of Healing and Love. He says:
Take
refuge in your senses, open up
To
all the small miracles you rushed through.
Become
inclined to watch the way of rain
When
it falls slow and free.
….Draw
alongside the silence of stone
Until
its calmness can claim you.
Be
excessively gentle with yourself.
Stay
clear of those vexed in spirit.
Learn
to linger around someone of ease
Who
feels they have all the time in the world.
Gradually,
you will return to yourself,
Having
learned a new respect for your heart
And
the joy that dwells far within slow time.[1]
Christ’s disciples, waiting
mournfully for Him to appear, experienced wind and fire, visions, speech and an
upwelling of joyful enthusiasm. They had to wait for ten days. But they stuck
it out. And He came to them through what they saw and heard, as understanding
and inspiration.
www.thechristiancommunity.org
[1]
John O’Donohue, “A Blessing for One who is Exhausted”, in To Bless the Space Between Us, p. 125.
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