Pentecost 2007

Wednesday, May 30th, 2007

As I write this, I am preparing to leave - yet again - to carry the hope that we on the Coast will not be forgotten by those whose lives were not torn apart by Katrina’s wind and water.  It is my honor to do so and yet I will miss my new home terribly and will be eager to return to celebrate with my parish family.  This coming Sunday is Pentecost, and I want to share my Pentecost reflection with you.

I suspect that you have seen the internet jokes that propose to determine one’s geographical region of birth by the name one calls certain objects.  For instance do you call that thing from which you drink water a “water fountain” a “drinking fountain” or a “bubbler”?   Chances are if you called it a “bubbler you are from Massachusetts.  How about those athletic shoes…  “sneakers”, tennis shoes, or “running shoes”?  If you are form Mississippi you probably say  “tennis shoes”, but in Massachusetts they are “sneakers”.  One more… “soda”, “coke”, pop”, or tonic”?  This is clearly a weird one because for me even Sprite is a “coke” but in Massachusetts they are all “tonic”.  Now there are lots more, but here is my point.  Language separates us.  It identifies us as belonging to one group or another.  Sometimes that can bring comfort, but at other times it can make us feel very much alone and at odds with our neighbors.

The Pentecost lessons from the Hebrew scriptures (Tower of Babel) and from the Christian writings (anointing of the Holy Spirit on the disciples) offer an interesting and enlightening dichotomy between separation due to self-centeredness and a desire for power versus togetherness that is born out of being united in love of God and compassion for others.  In the first, the writer tells us that all people were originally one in origin and one in language.  This Hebrew writer understood that such unity was a gift from God.  But the people who were one began to believe that their abundance was of their own doing and so they built grand structures that were intended to augment their power at the expense of their dependency on God.  And so God caused them to be separated by language, scattered abroad over the face of the earth, isolated and alone.
But scripture does not leave us in this place of isolation because from the Hebrew prophets to the writers of the Gospels and the Epistles we are reminded of God’s desire to draw us all together with God.  And so we hear in this wonderful story of the early church how the Holy Spirit came and lit up the followers of Jesus literally and figuratively.  They went into the streets telling Jesus’ story to anyone who would listen and they were understood by all except those who chose to be separated and apart.  To those who would turn their back on their brothers and sisters the voices were cacophonies of unintelligible sounds. 

And so I wonder, when are our voices unintelligible?  What is it that prevents us from hearing and being heard?  What is it that has the power to touch our tongues so that others might hear and understand?  The author of Acts tells us that it is God’s Spirit that fills us with love, compassion, and a willingness to reach out to our brothers and sisters, to listen intently to the stories of struggle, to speak truthfully and openly in telling our own stories.  When we open our hearts up to God and allow the Spirit to work in and through us then we are speaking the universal language of Love and we are able to be understood and to understand.   That is my prayer for the people of the Church of the Redeemer and the people of Massachusetts,  that we will open our hearts and minds to listen to each other and to seek our common ground of being agents of God’s mission in the world.

There are some exciting opportunities this summer.  Bishop Bud will lead a group of adults to NOLA in June to engage issues of institutional racism with the people of Trinity New Orleans.  Youth groups from Florida, Massachusetts, Maryland, and New Jersey are all coming to work in Biloxi and Bay St Louis and to get to know the people of Redeemer.  One Massachusetts group is going to specifically struggle with racism and classism.  These young people from Marblehead and Lynn have committed to returning to Massachusetts equipped to “Build a Better America”.  For a long time now I have been convinced that our young people stand head and shoulders above the crowd in the willingness to lead us to the place of Love and compassion.  Lead on guys!  You are filled with the Spirit and travelling God’s Highway this summer!
God’s Peace be with you,

Jane+