Pentecost as Living Breathing Witness!

Last week, I explored (wrote and preached on) the Ascension as Benediction.  So here is a followup, on Pentecost, the amazingly explosive day God gave "birth" to the church through the power of the Holy Spirit!   Last week, Jesus ascended into heaven blessing the disciples as he "disappeared."   Of course, Jesus didn't exactly disappear for he was on his way to re-union with God. This reunion was one from which the Spirit would come upon, not just special people for special times, but potentially upon all people for all times.     As I contemplated Pentecost and the early church this week, I rested in a fallow time of waiting by praising God with the disciples and keeping a gratitude journal.

Mexican Pentecost Icon (public domain artwork)

In great anticipation, I wait for the story of the Spirit to descend upon the people of God to give them the power to be witnesses to the Gospel.  What about me?  Do I experience the word "witness" as a verb - is it something I do?  Or do I experience it as a noun - something I am?    OR ... it is the now old expression "both/and?"  YES!  The question becomes for me, "What does it mean for my life to 'be' a living, breathing witness?

Emerging last week from my ponderings on the Ascension, I meditated on the rhythm of life that Jesus lived and invites us into, his own withdrawing for prayer and rest woven together with his ministry of preaching, teaching, and healing.  As he left and blessed the disciples this rhythm was heard in the text: wait! pray & praise God then receive power & witness ... remembering this same rhythm has arisen over Christian history:  St. Benedict's "pray and work," Wesley's means of grace in "works of piety and works of mercy," and Rohr's center for "action and contemplation."  In many ways, this rhythm itself is "archetype" of the spiritual journey, which means it "recurs as a symbol or motif."  I suppose if we think of creating a life with God, we could go all the way back to creation for a foundational symbol.  God, as Creator, worked and rested. 

For many months, I have felt a shift within, God moving me deeper and wider and farther into the unknown.  I feel like I am being called into a place I have never been before.  What I found this week as I spent time seeking God through praise and gratitude is that I am, once again, looking at every space and every movement as a time for finding blessings within them.  It is deepening my sense of God's presence and my faith in the unknown. I can feel my heart opening wider ... fertile ground for the question, "What does it mean for my life to 'be' a living, breathing witness?

Look up joyfully and say to the Lord in words or the desire of the heart: that which I am I offer to you Lord for you are it, and think nakedly, fully and boisterously that you are who you are without any questioning.  ~ The Cloud of Unknowing

As Christians, we celebrate these 2 weeks, Ascension (Jesus ascends) and Pentecost (Spirit descends) as an ending and a beginning.  Our texts emerge from the 2-part volume (Luke-Acts) penned by the author, traditionally known as "Luke."  As we left the disciples last week, the gospel text says they, "were continually in the temple courts blessing God."  (Luke 24:53, NET)  Blessing, in this context, means they were praising God.  As we move into the reading from Acts (2:1-4, NET) this week, it begins, "Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them."

WOW!  All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them! I am drawn to the Holy Spirit!  I am drawn to this sense of power that descended upon them just as Jesus said it would.  The disciples and all of the followers of Jesus received the power to communicate with the world!  What rejoicing there must have been ... and yet, there is more to the story!  Read Acts 2:5-13 (NET)

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem. When this sound occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. Completely baffled, they said, “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that each one of us hears them in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!” All were astounded and greatly confused, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others jeered at the speakers, saying, “They are drunk on new wine!”

Through my 21st century ears, the coming of the Holy Spirit sounds beautiful, but in reality it wasn't.  It was powerful but not necessarily was it a beautiful experience.  All were astounded and greatly confused!  Some accused the people of being drunk.   This amazing power to communicate, to bring people together in a new way, to be able to share the gospel story with people you couldn't even have said, "hello and how do you do?" to before the Spirit descended!  Some say this is the "undoing" of the Tower of Babel.  But ... it wasn't beautiful, people were filled with inner chaos.  How hard it is to embrace something new, someONE new!  How hard it is to believe someone else may have something that we don't have ... and yet, the gospel story invites all of its hearers to change, the ones speaking and the ones hearing.   The gospel story invites all of us into the question, "What does it mean for my life to 'be' a living, breathing witness?"

On that day of Pentecost, gathered together were many devout Jews.  The gospel story was inviting them to change not just their lives but their religion as they were now expressing it.  They were being invited to see the Messiah as a dead man now resurrected, risen, and ascended but not sitting on the earthly throne of a restored Jerusalem but on a heavenly throne.  Yeah, that's right.  Even the disciples had a hard time with that one.  Just a few verses before, they asked “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?”  (Acts 1:6b, NET)

How often do we hear Jesus say, "You have heard (this) but I tell you (that)" as he invites new ways of thinking, new ways of seeing, new ways of experiencing life.  And always it is with the purpose of expanding the kingdom.  Jesus welcomed the people no one else would welcome because Jesus sees each person through the eyes of the God of Love.  Jesus sees what we cannot see.  Jesus loves in ways and in depths that we cannot.  Jesus died for ALL.  This expansion of the kingdom, this welcome extended to ALL, is so often met with resistance.  Oh, yeah!  How can I confront my resistance to change so I can embody the question, "What does it mean for my life to 'be' a living, breathing witness?"

Finally in our passage for Pentecost, to accusations of drunkenness, Peter said, "this is what was spoken about through the prophet Joel: And in the last days it will be,’ God says, ‘that I will pour out my Spirit on all people ... and then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts 2:17, 21 NET) 

Does ALL mean ALL?  Either it does or it doesn't.  Does everyone mean everyone?  Either it does or it doesn't.  I wonder just how many and how often hungry, thirsty, and broken people, sinners all of us, who sincerely "call on the name of the Lord" are stopped at the door of our hearts and our churches and told, "no."   And somehow, I think that if they aren't calling on my name or your name, we don't have the authority to close the door to the kingdom in their face.  We just might be closing our own door to the kingdom ... and suddenly it all gets turned upside down, inside out ... the ones who think they are "in" are out and the ones we pronounce as "out" are in.   Now, that sounds like the Jesus I know and love!  Paradox abounds!

I don't know, there is just something about gratitude in my prayer life that helps me to see blessings in difficult places and opens my heart to God, to others often unwelcome in my world, and yes even to the parts of myself that I don't like.  I ask myself the question one last time,  "What does it mean for my life to 'be' a living, breathing witness?"

Jesus said, "Wait for the Holy Spirit." Only when my heart is open can I receive the power of the Holy Spirit.  Only through the power of the Holy Spirit, can I allow God to change my heart so that I can travel beyond the kingdom of Cindy to deeply embrace the kingdom of God!   


Don't you just some days want to shout, "Come, Holy Spirit, Come!  Come NOW!" 

And may it be so!  Amen!

A simple prayer to welcome the Spirit of Pentecost to the World:  May the dove of peace be with us this day. May many blessings follow us always. May the Holy Spirit guide our path, give us strength, and kindle our heart for the journey into the kingdom -- forever. Amen.

followed by a personal 3-fold Breath prayer that emerges ... 

Breathing in ... Holy Spirit ... Breathing out ... guide my path

Breathing in ... Holy Spirit ... Breathing out ... give me strength

Breathing in ... Holy Spirit ... Breathing out ... kindle my heart 

(for the journey into the kingdom)

Repeat your breath prayer until you are moved to a gentle Amen.

Pentecost: Many Gifts, One Spirit

We celebrate the day of Pentecost as the day the "church" came alive.  Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, but did anyone really know what that meant?   Have you ever felt the movements of the Spirit within yourself?  What did it feel like?  If you haven't, how do you feel about that?  Perhaps you are one that is skeptical of "feeling" God.  Perhaps your expectations of what that will feel like is keeping you from being aware of how God IS moving in your life.  

Many years ago I sat in a small church in Jovellanos, Cuba.  It was my third trip to visit La Iglesia de Park Temple with a small group from my church.  The Bishop was preaching at a 100 year celebration and the church was packed.  Bishop Ricardo Pereira is a charismatic man and a healer.  I know very little Spanish, just enough to manage but when I listen to Bishop Pereira I understand in the depths of my being the language of the Spirit that he speaks.  That evening I sat with a friend who is a translator but I asked him not to speak so that I could simply bask in the Spirit.  I feel like I was as open to the Spirit as I ever had been ... suddenly I was surrounded by many and various manifestation of the Holy Spirit.  I was especially entranced with a woman whose arm was in a large cast and she was dancing, twirling around and around, slowly.  I wondered, "why am I not dancing?"  My friend, also seemingly unaffected by the Spirit overtaking the room, looked at me and reading my mind, whispered "some of us do not receive this gift."  Although there was a momentary spark of envy, deep down I truly felt content and gently warmed in my heart.  I did not get the experience I wanted, but I did get the experience I got.  And so it is with our spiritual life and the gifts that we receive.  Yes, there are many gifts but only One Spirit.

When you are ready to pray with our scripture this week, I invite you to spend a few moments to prepare your heart to worship God as you engage with the text via Lectio Divina.   Breathe deeply and envision God’s Spirit filling you with love with each breath you take!  Settle into a place of confidence within yourself with a simple breath prayer.  Use this one or create your own (six to eight syllables)

Breathe in (who do you worship?) ... Spirit of God
Breathe out (what do you need?)     ... Move in Me

and when you are ready to move deeper into the text, pray ... Come Spirit Come! Illuminate my mind, enflame my heart, and enliven my body.  As I pray with your holy Word, may I hear your voice emerging through the text and my prayers.  Encourage me to serve others with love, justice, and compassion.  In Christ, Amen.

Step 1: Lectio … reading

Read  1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 (NET) to yourself twice in a slow and reverent manner.
Listen for a word or phrase that catches your attention.
Silently focus on that word or phrase.
Repeat it several times and allow it to sift through your heart and mind.

No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.  Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different results, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things.  For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body—though many—are one body, so too is Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit.

Step 2: Meditatio … receiving
Continue to focus on your word or phrase.
Pay attention to the thoughts and feelings it evokes.
What images emerge in your imagination?
What memories come to your mind?
Ask God to continue to speak to you through this word
Listen for God’s reply as you move through your day

Step 3: Oratio … responding
Consider any desires that have been awakened by your prayer
Perhaps you have found an area of your life that needs attention
Do not rush ... wait and listen as God forms your prayers and desires

Step 4: Contempatio … resting
Allow yourself to rest in the silence.
Allow your mind to settle into the silence.
When you feel the time to move on ...

If images are a pathway to God for you, you may want to pray while "gazing" upon this amazing icon of the Pentecost event ... and let IT search you! 

Descent of the Holy Spirit (Novodevichy Convent) by anonimus image in Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

If music is a pathway to God for you, you may want to take this link to youtube, close your eyes and listen to "Spirit of the Living God" by Bryan & Katie Torwalt.  It is a little different than the traditional song ... and quite beautiful. 

You may want to finish your time of praying with scripture with this Prayer to the Holy Spirit written by St Augustine. Also quite beautiful .... and appropriate for the day!

Breathe into me, Holy Spirit,
that my thoughts may all be holy.

Move in me, Holy Spirit,
that my work, too, may be holy.

Attract my heart, Holy Spirit,
that I may love only what is holy.

Strengthen me, Holy Spirit,
that I may defend all that is holy.

Protect me, Holy Spirit,
that I may always be holy.  Amen. Amen. Amen.

Pentecost: Mystified, Surprised, Amazed, and Bewildered!

Pentecost!  People were speaking in different languages all at the same time.  Chaos reigned!   It was a strange day, a very strange day indeed.  In the Common English Bible read these selected verses (1-4, 6b-7, 12-13) from the Acts 2 account of the Pentecost "event" through Luke's eyes:  When Pentecost Day arrived, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound from heaven like the howling of a fierce wind filled the entire house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be individual flames of fire alighting on each one of them.  They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them to speak ... They were mystified because everyone heard them speaking in their native languages ... They were surprised and amazed, saying, “Look, aren’t all the people who are speaking Galileans, every one of them?  ... They were all surprised and bewildered. Some asked each other, “What does this mean?” Others jeered at them, saying, “They’re full of new wine!”

Yes, it was a very strange day.  But no one was drunk as some accused!  The Holy Spirit was poured upon the people ... and the Holy Spirit often leads us in strange directions, at least it seems that way through human eyes.  At the same time that Pentecost was a strange day, it was also a glorious day!   It was as if a fire burst forth upon the followers of Jesus to empower them to live into their calling. Many say this is the day the "Church" was born.

Once again this week we'll engage in a derivative form of Lectio Divina (sacred reading) ... Visio Divina (sacred seeing) ... reading a piece of artwork by "gazing" in prayer.   This artwork is a companion piece to last week's "Ascension" artwork.   

This is Pentecost from the Rabbula Gospels and the artist/scribe is Meister des Rabula-Evangeliums.  For more information on this Image take this link to The Eparchy of Saint Maron of Brooklyn page on this icon of Pentecost.  The Rabbula Gospel images come from an illuminated gospel text created in 586 at a monastery in Syria.  The images are in the public domain.   

Public Domain:  Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License

When you are ready to pray using the art of Visio Divina, or "sacred seeing" take a few moments to still your heart and center on the image.

Read the Image ... Allow your eyes to seek softly what you are attracted to in the image.  Simply receive the gift of seeing.  What image within the image is drawing you in ... Allow yourself a few moments simply to sit with this gift.

Receive the Image ... Take a deep breath and gaze with soft eyes and a receptive spirit.  After receiving, close your eyes and allow your imagination to form that image in your consciousness ... what questions emerge for you as you gaze upon the image?  what are you receiving from God through the image?  How do your questions and your insights illuminate your life right now?

Respond to God ... Now take a deep breath and gaze with soft eyes and a grateful spirit.  How do you sense yourself desiring to respond to God through the image you have received?   What would you say to God about what you are hearing, seeing, feeling?  Allow yourself to pray with gratitude ... 

Rest in God ... Now take a deep breath and rest ... notice how your body feels.  Is there something more here?  Then go back and repeat your "gazing" prayer.   If you feel that you have received all you need in this moment, simply rest in the silence and come to a place of shalom, peace, wholeness ... 

To end your time of Visio Divina, take a few moments to read the Gospel text in which Jesus promises the "Advocate," who is the Holy Spirit will come.  John 14:8-17 and 25-47 (CEB)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. I will ask the Father, and he will send another Companion, v who will be with you forever. This Companion is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world can’t receive because it neither sees him nor recognizes him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be with you.  “I won’t leave you as orphans. I will come to you. Soon the world will no longer see me, but you will see me. Because I live, you will live too. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them loves me. Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them. ”  Judas (not Judas Iscariot) asked, “ Lord, why are you about to reveal yourself to us and not to the world? ”  Jesus answered, “Whoever loves me will keep my word. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word that you hear isn’t mine. It is the word of the Father who sent me.  “I have spoken these things to you while I am with you. The Companion, w the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I told you.  “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid. You have heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away and returning to you.’ If you loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than me. I have told you before it happens so that when it happens you will believe. I won’t say much more to you because this world’s ruler is coming. He has nothing on me. Rather, he comes so that the world will know that I love the Father and do just as the Father has commanded me. Get up. We’re leaving this place. 

So be it.  Amen.

If you desire to go deeper, you can take this link to Alive Now's Audio Lectio of a portion of this text John 14:15-17 and 25-27 ... a prayerful listening to scripture ... you may have to research their archives if you are visiting at a time other the timing of this original post.  

Linger in the Silence ... or listen to Consuming Fire - A Great Song for Pentecost.  It is a lovely contemporary arrangement and has the lyrics so you can read/sing along.

God bless you ... I invite you to take a deeper journey this week "seeing" God with new eyes through the images you find in your life!

Ascension: Looking Toward Heaven?

The Sunday before we celebrate Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit descends upon the followers of Jesus Christ) is Ascension Sunday.  According to the book of Acts, this is the last resurrection appearance as Jesus ascends physically into heaven with the disciples as his witnesses.  He leaves his followers alone to "wait" for the Spirit to "come upon" them, to "fill them" with the power to spread the good news to all the world.  

Do you remember the song "Spinning Wheel" by Blood, Sweat and Tears?  What goes up must come down ... Jesus goes up, Spirit comes down!  If you listen to the rest of the song it sings like a cotton candy apocalyptic "lite" vision!   Jesus goes up, Spirit comes down!  This passage is just a little different (and mind-bending for me) so this week and next week we are going to do something a little different ... Visio Divina!   This is a prayer of prayer "gazing" upon an image with the same basic movements as praying with scripture via Lectio Divina. 

Today's image is called Ascension from the Rabbula Gospels and the artist/scribe is Meister des Rabula-Evangeliums.  For more information on this Image take this link to The Vanderbilt Divinity Library's "Art in the Christian Tradition" Page on the Ascension.  The Rabbula Gospel images come from an illuminated gospel text created in 586 at a monastery in Syria.  These images are in the public domain. 

Public Domain:  Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial ShareAlike 3.0 License

When you are ready to pray using the art of Visio Divina, or "sacred seeing" take a few moments to still your heart and center on the image.

Read the Image ... Allow your eyes to seek softly what you are attracted to in the image.  Simply receive the gift of seeing.  What image within the image is drawing you in ... Allow yourself a few moments simply to sit with this gift.

Receive the Image ... Take a deep breath and gaze with soft eyes and a receptive spirit.  After receiving, close your eyes and reflect by allowing your imagination to form that image in your consciousness ... what are you receiving from God through the image?  How does this illuminate your life right now?

Respond to God ... Now take a deep breath and gaze with soft eyes and a grateful spirit.  How do you sense yourself desiring to respond to God through the image you have received?   What would you say to God about what you are hearing, seeing, feeling?  Allow yourself to pray with gratitude ... 

Rest in God ... Now take a deep breath and rest ... notice how your body feels.  Is there something more here?  Then go back and repeat your "gazing" prayer.   If you feel that you have received all you need in this moment, simply rest in the silence and come to a place of shalom, peace, wholeness ... 

To end your time of Visio Divina, take a few moments to read the Scripture passage for Ascension day ... Acts 1:1-11 (CEB)

Theophilus, the first scroll I wrote concerned everything Jesus did and taught from the beginning, right up to the day when he was taken up into heaven. Before he was taken up, working in the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus instructed the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he showed them that he was alive with many convincing proofs. He appeared to them over a period of forty days, speaking to them about God’s kingdom. While they were eating together, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait for what the Father had promised. He said, “This is what you heard from me: John baptized with water, but in only a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”  As a result, those who had gathered together asked Jesus, “Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel now?”  Jesus replied, “It isn’t for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by his own authority.  Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”  After Jesus said these things, as they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight. While he was going away and as they were staring toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood next to them. They said, “Galileans, why are you standing here, looking toward heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you saw him go into heaven.”

So be it.  Amen.

Linger in the silence ... or listen to "Come Away to the Skies" sung by Maddy Prior and the Carnival Band in A Celebration of Charles Wesley.  It is rather a lovely little folk song ... with the lyrics so you can read (or sing if you dare) along with the music.  God bless you ... I invite you to take a deeper journey this week "seeing" God with new eyes through the images you find in your life!