Pentecost

“Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and Rome, Jews and converts, Cretans and Arabs, all heard the apostles speaking in our own tongues of the mighty works of God….” With that beautiful global litany, St. Luke relates the birth of the Era of the Spirit on the first feast of Pentecost. Implicit in that litany is the revelation that all are worthy of God’s word, all are worthy of a place at the table, all are children of the same loving God, all are brothers and sisters of Jesus in the power of the spirit.

St. Luke points us toward a goal—the ideal of a world of unity, generosity, and moral goodness—that, alas, seems to be receding ever more quickly from our grasp.  In the past few weeks, I can’t help but be dismayed at the willful abandonment of that goal that seems to be taking place l at the highest levels of our country’s government. Parthians, Medes, and Elamites might be ok, but watch out for those greedy Syrian refugees, the invading Mexican rapists, the cunning Chinese business men who will steal our prominence.  Pittsburg, si.  Paris and its fancy accords on saving the planet, no. 

In the new scriptures of the Wall Street Journal last week, two of our nation’s top security advisors described the new gospel that underpinned our president’s recent international trip. It was undertaken, they say, “with a clear-eyed outlook that the world is not a ‘global community’ but an arena where nations, non-governmental actors, and businesses engage and compete for advantage.”

Today, as we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, we need to take a deep breath, and remember that we are not the first to be baffled by the challenging task of opening ourselves to the world. As we’ve read through the Acts of the Apostles in this Easter Season, we’ve been reminded that the early Christian community, even before it understood itself as “Church” had to face similar challenges.

The first generation, the immediate followers of Jesus, were devout Jews. They knew and loved their tradition. They sought to hold onto it tightly even as they tried to figure out what following the Risen Lord meant. Yet that same Jesus, before he ascended to the Father, had told his followers to go out to all the nations and share with them the good news, the good news of the mercy of God. In the power of the Spirit, He gave them a global mandate to speak his word of compassion, and acceptance to all the nations, to every man, woman and child

The story of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles is the story of a beginning, not an end, the account of a process begun, not a product realized. Devout Jews from all over the world had gathered in Jerusalem for the harvest festival of Pentecost, and the Apostles, filled with the power of God’s spirit, were understood by all, Parthians, Medes and Elamites, and maybe a few Syrians, Mexicans, Chinese….

A little later on in Acts, we know that Saul, the leading Jewish inquisitor and persecutor of the Christian heretics, was enlightened by a vision of Christ. Filled with the spirit, Saul became Paul, and began to teach the Gentiles, breaking out of the narrow confines of his Jewish culture in which Jesus was born and in which the first disciples felt so comfortable. Disputes between an exclusionary adherence to tradition and openness to the world divided the community until a firm and painfully brokered decision was made, in the power of the Spirit, to admit all, to welcome all, to embrace all as children of the living God, sisters and brothers of Jesus, united in one Spirit.

The scriptures and our own experience tell us that the Spirit was not given as a fix, once for all. Read last week’s Wall Street Journal if you don’t believe that. Throughout our history as a Church, as a people, over and again the Spirit has needed to reawaken us when we fell into the sleep of self-content, has melted our hearts when they were frozen in privilege, has reminded us that God is always greater, wider, deeper than our narrow little hearts. We can be sure that the Spirit will do that again. The same Spirit that called the Parthians, Medes, and Elamites calls us today, will call us until Christ comes in glory, to repent of our narrowness, to open our hearts in comprehension, compassion and generosity to people of good will who are different from us, even who may not share our beliefs or culture, but who share our common humanity, our common heritage.

Over and over again, Pope Francis reminds us of this responsibility, through his challenging words and his even more courageous works of charity and openness. This is what the Spirit, the Spirit of renewal, the Spirit who makes all things new, invites us to again and again at this table, and in all our dealings with our complex world:  to open our minds and hearts, to embrace rich complexity and diversity of this world and not to turn our backs on it. We may not be able to change Washington, DC, but we can work in our little corner of Washington state, in our city, in our neighborhoods and schools, in this church community, empowered and emboldened by God’s spirit.

So let us pray today for the gifts of the Spirit today, gifts of wisdom and understanding, knowledge and good counsel, openness and generosity. Let us pray for the microcosm of this city and for the macrocosm of our American and Global society, that we might be open to the promptings of God’s spirit of truth and mercy, God’s spirit of humility, tolerance and acceptance.

Come Holy Spirit, open our hearts

To Parthians, Medes, and Elamites; to Syrians, Mexicans, and Chinese.

Set us ablaze with the purifying fire of your love and compassion,

And renew the face of the earth.

Rev. Tom Lucas, S.J.