Today is Pentecost Sunday - one of my favorite Sunday's of the year. Pentecost celebrates the outpouring of God's Spirit on the followers of Christ. It celebrates the presence of God among God's people and the power of God for his people.
Pentecost draws on four images from Hebrew history, communicating four truths.
The first image is the Shekinah presence of God. At Sinai, the people were instructed to construct a Tabernacle "so that I may dwell among them" (Exodus 25:8). When the Tabernacle was completed, "the glory of the LORD filled" it (Exodus 40:34). God's presence, symbolized in a cloud, filled the Tabernacle. It became the place where God dwelt among his people, where heaven and earth were united. That same experience was duplicated when Solomon dedicated the Temple, replacing the Tabernacle (1 Kings 8:10). Now, at Pentecost, God's presence (symbolized in the wind and fire, Acts 2:2) comes to dwell among the followers of Jesus. They/we become the Temple where God dwells in the midst of God's people, where people heaven and earth are united, where people encounter God.
The second image relates to the Jewish festival of Pentecost. That festival celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. At that first Pentecost, God gave the Spirit to do what the Law could not do. The Law could tell us what to do and how to live, but it could not give us the power to do so. (See Romans 8:3-4.) The Spirit guides us into the truth Christ taught (John 14:26) and empowers us to live that truth. Through the Spirit, the law is written on our hearts (Jeremiah 31:33), that is, God's character is ingrained within us. The Spirit transforms our hearts and minds so that we can live the ways of God.
The third image is of the anointing with the Spirit. In the Hebrew scriptures, chosen individuals were said to be anointed with the Spirit to do God's work. This anointing is the meaning behind the word Messiah (Hebrew) or Christ (Greek). In the Hebrew scriptures, prophets, priests, and kings were anointed with the Spirit. The prophet Joel spoke of a time when God's Spirit would be poured out on all people - men and women, young and old, slave and free - so that they could do the work of God (Joel 2:28-29). Peter identified Pentecost as the fulfillment of that day (Acts 2:16-18).
The fourth image is the Old Testament story of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) where men no longer spoke one language. The diversity of languages, that is, the inability to communicate, led to the scattering of the people and the creation of different peoples. Pentecost is a reversal of Babel. Through the power of the Spirit, the apostles were able to speak in languages other than their native language (Acts 2:4) so that the good news of Jesus could be communicated to all people. The healing and reuniting of the nations is possible as the Spirit draws us together in Christ. The healing of the brokenness of the nations is possible as the Spirit teaches us and empowers us to live the ways of God Jesus taught.
I need to hear the great truths Pentecost proclaims. God lives in us and among us. The Spirit transforms our hearts and minds, empowering us to live the ways of God that Jesus taught. The Spirit gives each of us abilities to use in ministry so that all have something to contribute to the work of God (1 Corinthians 12:4-7). The Spirit overcomes the brokenness and divisiveness of the world, bringing all together in Christ as the Church.
I need to be reminded of these great realities today. You see, I am grieving. My heart is heavy. My spirit is weary. I grieve what is happening in our nation this week. I grieve the brokenness and division that is being played out. I feel powerless and defeated by what I see.
I have not posted about the week's events. I have not known what to say. I have no words. Yet something deep within (the Spirit?) pushes me to speak, to say something, to speak out - as a follower of Jesus, as a so-called spiritual guide, as a human being, as a white man who grieves alongside of his black brothers and sisters.
The words that come to mind are "We're better than this."
We're better than the seemingly non-ending parade of black deaths at the hands of some police officers and white vigilantes.
We're better than the blatant racism that fuels that seemingly non-ending parade.
We're better than the blind patriotism that demands unquestioned loyalty to the police (or the military or the flag or the president) without also demanding accountability that ensures justice for all.
We're better than riots in the streets filled with destruction and looting (again).
We're better than riot squads, tear gas, rubber bullets, and snipers on roof tops with which we greet the rioters.
We're better than the judgment passed on the rioters because of the inability to understand, much less feel, their pain and the anger that grows out of it.
We're better than rednecks toting AK 47's, waving Nazi and Confederate flags, being allowed to storm state houses and shut down state governments.
We're better than the systemic racism and white privilege to which we turn a blind eye.
We're better than the "offense" we take at such realities being called to our attention.
We're better than the condemnation we heaped on those who attempted to call our attention to these realities before there were riots in the streets.
We're better than the us-them polarization that divides our nation (and The UMC), that pits one group against another.
We're better than the tribal thinking that views anyone who is not like us in skin color or language or nation of origin or religion or politics or economic status or sexual orientation as "other" who is to be feared and who has no place in our nation.
We're better than the arrogance with which we judge those not like us.
We're better than the rigid, close-minded positions we take that refuses to hear, much less honor, other positions.
We're better than the hateful, demeaning attacks we launch against anyone who does not agree with us.
We're better than the conspiracy theories and fake news we swallow hook-line-and-sinker because they reinforce what we already think and don't require us to change.
We're better than the refusal to heed the findings of scientific research that inconvenience us and questions our lifestyles.
We're better than the fear-driven, self-serving spirit out of which we react to the "other" and to the events surrounding the "other."
Is this what makes America - or any other nation or any people - great?
We're better than this ... aren't we?
I want to believe we are better than this, but it seems we are not better than this. But we can be. The message of Pentecost gives me hope that we can be better than this - through the power of the Spirit.
Merciful God, may it be!
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