Pentecost
John 14:23-31
Jesus replied, "Whoever
truly loves me reveals
my Spirit, and my Father will love them, and we will
come to them and prepare with them a dwelling in the everlasting [or, an
eternal dwelling]. Whoever 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. 
Mark Wiggin
"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.
"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 according to the Father's purpose, as it was entrusted to me. Arise, let us be on our way.
Whitsunday
May 23, 2021
John 14:23-31
At the first Pentecost event, the disciples see a mighty
fire that divides itself into separate flames. Each flame comes to rest over
the head of each of them. 
Fra Angelico
In paintings by Fra Angelico, the flame also appears above the heads of angels. It is the symbol of an expanded awareness. The flames are the fire of love, a love which creates. These flames are an awareness that a river of love, the water of life, flows through all of creation, pervading the entire universe.
A sudden awareness of the love that creates and bears the universe can at the same time make us aware of our own shortcomings in the realm of love. How loveless we can sometimes be! This painful self-awareness becomes the fire that burns, that burns away the dross of our selfish egotism. Once overcome, however, we can then proceed to generate the fire and warmth of a quiet but enthusiastic love for others, especially for those whose path is different from ours. We can generate an enthusiastic love for the truth. We can generate enthusiasm for deeds of service.
The poet Rumi helps us become aware of our fear of this transformation of the lower self. He says:
On the left is a blazing fire and
On my right a cool flowing stream
One group of people walk toward the
fire, into the fire
And the other toward the cool
flowing waters
No one knows which is blessed and
which is not.
 |
| Robby Donahey |
That head bobs up from the water
And just as a head enters the water
That face appears in the fire….
The voice of the fire says:
I am not fire, I am fountainhead
Come into me, and don’t mind the sparks.
Our true self is a fire that burns; it burns away egotism;
it burns unextinguished in the waters of life-giving love.
