PENTECOST IS MEANT TO BE A FIRE

This week ( seven weeks and one day after Easter) we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost. We are trying to recover the sense that the three days of Easter (the cross and resurrection) are bookended with the feast of Pentecost. In Easter we celebrate our redemption; in Pentecost we celebrate the sending forth to the world of the redemption won in Jesus Christ.

 

Fire is a very strong symbol of the presence and working of the Holy Spirit. When Moses first encountered God, he met him in the burning bush. God sent him on his mission to rescue the enslaved Hebrews from the burning bush. Fire has always remained a very strong sign of the presence and working of the Holy Spirit.

 

Now on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is given to the disciples in pieces (i.e., tongues – to use an image from present day carpentry). This is a sign that they are being empowered by the Holy Spirit.

 

Now, we need a little more of the fire of God in our world today. 

 

May there be pieces of God’s fire wherever there is war and fighting. Countless young men (mostly) are killed and maimed through bombs and land mines. May there be pieces of God’s fire moving the powers that be to end the war and work towards peace between nations. 

 

Throughout the world there are countless people who have strong financial power, are well educated and manage serious responsibilities but they have chosen to be indifferent to the suffering of their poor neighbors. The world may admire them as being very successful  but their heart has shrunk. They are indifferent to the sufferings of others. May the fire of compassion be lite in their hearts. May the heat of God’s love melt the indifferent walls of the tight, tight heart.

 

The population of the world is on the move. Never before in human history have so many people left the land they were born in and moved to country where life will be better for their children. There are people in our Canada (and we all have immigrant roots) who are very opposed and verbally hostile toward the newcomers. We pray that the fire of the Holy Spirit burn strong in their hearts to take ownership of their  own immigrant roots and their hearts expand to understand people who have different skin color, speak with an accent and work two to three jobs. 

 

I want to leave it to you to add a few more ‘fires’ for Pentecost.  What is the Holy Spirit trying to teach us with this fire image? What new insights have you gained by exploring the possibility of this fire image?

 

 

WORKING TO BECOME A BIBLICAL CHURCH

 About a hundred and twenty-five years ago the scholars looked seriously at how the early church actually lived their life as a faith community. The one thing that stood out clearly was the importance of the Word of God. When they would gather for worship a passage was chosen, proclaimed and meditated upon. These were people who were for the most part illiterate; only a small group of men could read and write.

 

This was also a time when the spoken word, the story told, was committed to memory. Many people knew  and recited parts of the Scriptures in their daily prayer life. The Word of God was integral to their prayer and their spirituality.

 

After the Vatican Council (ended in 1965) the readings for Sunday Mass were updated into the three year cycle of readings. This means that all the New Testament and the important parts of the Old Testament are proclaimed in every church, every three years.

 

This innovation was adopted by the Anglican, United, Luthern, Presbyterian churches in Canada.  This means that on almost every Sunday in Canada the exact gospel passage is being proclaimed in all five churches.

 

A strong value of the three year lectionary is that the Word of God is given to the local church. This means that there is no room to pick and choose just the parts of the Scriptures that we like. Very simply put: local church here is the Word of God – deal with it! Keep in mind that there are many parts of the Bible that people do not want to deal with in their liturgies.

 

Always picture the Word of God (printed in a book we call the Bible) as so much sheet music. A musician may have stacks of sheet music on their shelves, but that is just so much paper that could be recycled in the recycle bin. It is only when the music is played that it becomes real. And what a delight it is to have a musician make the notes on the page come alive! What pleasure it gives us to just enjoy this music.

 

Consider in your memory the wonderful feeling of parents when whey silently enjoy and take great pride in the musical skills of their children. They may not put it into words but there is great satisfaction that all these trips, all these hours of practice were worth it!

When their child plays a certain piece on whatever instrument they have learnt on, the heart of the parent flowering into pride and gratitude.

 

Now, the Word of God must be seen in the same light. It is no good to have a Bible in the house if it is  never read and prayed over. When the Word of God is proclaimed during the Sunday liturgy this is  a lived experience of God.

 

But it is only when it is lived out, made real in our daily lives, does the Word of God come alive. It is in our flesh that the Word of God is real – and alive.

 

 

 

 

GIVE THE VANCOUVER WITECAPS ANOTHER THOUGHT

 

Last week our national media was flooded with protests and discussion a about the proposal to move the Vancouver Whitecaps to Los  Vegas. The fans rose up in protest.

 

What is actually at stake here? What values are we supporting or protesting?

Put yourself in the team owner’s shoes. This is a business investment right from the start. He did not purchase the soccer  club as his own personal entertainment. This was raw business. Now, there is a very good opportunity to make more if the Whitecaps play football in Los Vegas. 

 

But the Vancouver people have made this team their own. This team belongs to the people of Vancouver. They support them in so many different ways. They feel and live a  kinship with this team.  The Whitecaps are part of the life of the city of Vancouver.

 

What are the values that we must pay attention to in this controversy?

 

Do most parts of our society come down to being valued only in terms of the money they make? Do our relationships with the social reality of a professional football team count?

What values should take prominence in this discussion?

 

Money is essential to the functioning of any society. But what place must it occupy in our scale of values?  We are being put to the test in this controversy.

 

Who can place a money value on human friendship? Who can measure the value of your grandchildren bursting into your hospital room and giving you one big hug? Who can value in monetary terms when your friend drives through the middle of the night to help you in a crisis?

 

Now, in this Vancouver controversy, if making money is the most important goal, then the sale of this team to Los Vegas is a good deal. This is raw capitalism working at its best.

 

But if the social values of love for the Whitecaps and the joy and friendship that they bring to the people of Vancouver, then we recognize what has first value in our society.

 

This controversy will help identify where each one of us stands in regard to what is of first importance to the thriving of human life. 

 

Wh\ere do you stand on this issue?