Day of Pentecost (Year C)
2.1When Pentecost Day arrived, Jesus’ followers and their families (about one hundred twenty persons) were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them. 4They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak.
5There were pious Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6When they heard this sound, a crowd gathered. They were mystified because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages. 7They were surprised and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all the people who are speaking Galileans? 8How then can each of us hear them speaking in our native language? 9Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; as well as residents of Mesopotamia, Judea, and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the regions of Libya bordering Cyrene; and visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism), 11Cretans and Arabs — we hear them declaring the mighty works of God in our own languages!” 12They were all surprised and bewildered. Some asked each other, “What does this mean?” 13Others jeered at them, saying, “They’re full of new wine!”
14Peter stood with the other eleven apostles. He raised his voice and declared, “Judeans and everyone living in Jerusalem! Know this! Listen carefully to my words! 15These people aren’t drunk, as you suspect; after all, it’s only nine o’clock in the morning! 16Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17 In the last days, God says,
I’ll pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young will see visions.
Your elders will dream dreams.
18 Even upon my servants, men and women,
I’ll pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they’ll prophesy.
19 I’ll cause wonders to occur in the heavens above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and a cloud of smoke.
20 The sun will be changed into darkness,
and the moon will be changed into blood,
before the great and spectacular day of the Lord comes.
21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Other readings: Genesis 11.1-9; Psalm 104.24-34, 35b; John 14.8-17, 25-27
Prayer:
All-loving God, you spoke the world into being. Pour your Spirit to the ends of the earth, that all people may return from exile as citizens of your commonwealth, and our divisions may be healed by your word of love and righteousness; through Jesus the Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.
According to the Church calendar, the Day of Pentecost marks the official end of the Easter season. But what would it look like if we had a never-ending Easter season? I mean, instead of continually holding the seasons of the Bible in perpetual remembrance (obviously, we would continue celebrating Christmas, Holy Week, and Easter),[2] we create new liturgies and celebrations for New Creation — for the continual expanse and implementation of God’s Realm “on earth as in heaven.” I mean, that’s the vocation of God’s people, isn’t it?
I know some people will say that “Ordinary Time” is the time set aside for this. According to the Episcopal Church website, “Ordinary time can be understood in terms of the living out of Christian faith and the meaning of Christ’s resurrection in ordinary life.” But during Ordinary Time, all kinds of other texts are read and emphasised. Again, there’s nothing wrong with this but the emphasis isn’t really on Christ’s resurrection, the beginning of New Creation, and what that means for the world and all people, especially those of us who believe.[3]
What if we reimagined community time (the worship service) that emphasised and celebrated this? For one thing, I think it could refocus our worship songs. Instead of them focusing on “going to heaven”[4] or Christ’s sacrifice, our songs could be about changing the world for the cause of Christ through the power of God’s Spirit.[5] Or about seeing the face of Christ in the face of our neighbors. Or our songs could be about celebrating life in God’s New Creation.
For a lot of local parishes, Pentecost is the time when we emphasise “the start of the church.” And that’s fine as far as it goes but Pentecost is so much more than that. Pentecost is the time when, as Peter highlights above, God’s Spirit was poured out on all creation for the purpose of empowering God’s people to carry out the New Creation project. Pentecost is not a memorial — it’s an ongoing project that we get to be part of!
For several years now, I’ve used a different version of the Lord’s Prayer in my daily prayers and I’ve added it to every retreat and service I’ve ever led. It’s adapted from the Night Prayers of the New Zealand Prayer Book. Part of the prayer speaks to this idea of God’s people continuing the New Creation project:
May your justice be followed by the peoples
of the world!
May your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
May your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and be manifested in creation.
I love this. It begs a few questions though: What is God’s justice? What is God’s will? And how can God’s Realm (commonwealth) sustain our hope and be manifested in creation? Let’s briefly address these.
God’s Justice
If we’re used to seeing God’s Justice as judgement then we’re missing the point. God’s Justice is about putting things right. It’s about lifting up the downtrodden and lowering the high and mighty. It’s about the first being last and the last being first (Matthew 20.16). It’s about fairness and equality. That’s at the heart of God’s Justice. We see this highlighted when Jesus made his public appearance (Luke 4.16-21). He went to the synagogue and read from the scroll of Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to preach good news to the poor,
to proclaim release to the prisoners
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to liberate the oppressed,
and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
In another place, Jesus said that people who sacrifice their way of living and follow him, “will receive much more in this present age and the Life of the Age in the age to come” (Luke 18.29-30; GNT; adapted).[6]
Too often people see this and interpret it as all spiritual — that is, it’s all about people being “saved” and “going to heaven.” But that falls flat. If I live in a place where a hostile regime is oppressing me because of the color of my skin or my sexual orientation and Jesus or one of his followers shows up and tells me that God has come to “liberate the oppressed,” I’d be ecstatic!
But there’s a catch.
“Hold on,” I’m told, “not now; not in this life — the next one.” That is, my liberation won’t come until I die and “go to heaven.” I’m sorry, but that’s not Good News. Good News is about this life and the next. We’ve pushed God’s Justice so far into the future that it has nothing to do with the here and now. As one of my old pastor’s used to say, “We’re so ‘heavenly minded’ that we’re no ‘earthly good’!” But that’s not what Jesus said. In Mark 1.15, he said, “Now is the time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!” Here we see the coming of God’s Realm, of God’s Justice, is now — not in some unknown future. It impacts our world today.
God’s Will
When we think of God’s Will, a lot of us think about missionary work, serving in soup kitchens, or giving money to the church. And while all of those things are good, noble, and needed, there is a more down-to-earth way. Paul lays out a really good blueprint for living out God’s Will in very practical terms:
12Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you’re called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
16Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
The Rule of The Lindisfarne Community, the neo-monastic of which I’m a part, can be summed up as, “To love, to serve, to forgive.” This seems to echo Paul’s comments above. Trevor Hall captures Paul’s essence, too, when he says, “Love all, serve all, and create no sorrow.”[8]
God’s Realm (Commonwealth)
For a lot of us, when we think of God’s Realm (or kingdom), we think of “heaven.” But Jesus taught us to pray for God’s Realm to come “on earth” (Matthew 6.-13). And that’s just what we see in the Revelation to John:
1Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3I heard a loud voice from the throne say, “Look! God’s dwelling is here with humankind. God will dwell with them, and they’ll be God’s peoples. God will be with them as their God. 4God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
It’s that vision — of God’s Realm and our realm finally becoming one — that sustains my hope. It’s the goal to which I work. When I work in a soup kitchen or homeless shelter, that’s helping to meet a need in the current moment. But when I actively pursue ways of reducing the need for them, that’s working to manifest God’s Realm in our current world.
What are other ways we can celebrate Easter every day, every week, every month, and every year? What ideas do you have to implement the healing of God’s “supremely good” creation? What ways can you help build bridges and embrace the differences with all of God’s people?
~~~
In the Love of the Three in One,
Br. Jack+, LC
_________
[1] Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible.
[2] There’s nothing wrong with the rest; this is all just a “what if” type of scenario.
[4] Which isn’t even the focus of the Bible, especially the New Testament! See my two part response to a friend’s question: Understanding Jesus Crucifixion.
[5] Not through coercion or force or any other type of violence but through the non-violent ways of the Prince of Peace.
[6] Scripture quotations marked (GNT) are from The Good News Translation (Today’s English Version, Second Edition). Copyright © 1992 by American Bible Society. All rights preserved.
[7] Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation, Inc. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
[8] Hall, T., (2009). “Unity.” On Trevor Hall [MP3]. Santa Monica, CA: Vanguard Records, a Welk Music Group Company.
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