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Pentecost Sunday
May 30, 2004
Genesis 11:1-9
Psalm 104:25-37
Acts 2:1-11
John 14:8-17, 25-27
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The Gospel according to
John 14:8-17, 25-27
Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father,
and we will be satisfied." Jesus said to him, "Have I been with
you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has
seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe
that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I
do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not,
then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you,
the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will
do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do
whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the
Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. "If
you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and
he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the
Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor
knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in
you. "I have said these things to you while I am still with
you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to
you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you
as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be
afraid.
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Come, Holy Spirit,
Come
–if You Dare
A Reflection on
Pentecost
Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come–if you
dare.
You were with us. The
Christ. Our Christ. Our Jesus. We saw you. We heard
you. We touched you. We knew you were real.
And then you left us.
"I will send you an Advocate to
be with you forever," you said.
How dare you!
How dare you leave us!
How dare you abandon us?
How dare you say, "I will
send you an Advocate,"
as if that makes up for it.
An Advocate,
a Spirit that we cannot see,
a Spirit that we cannot hear,
a Spirit that we cannot
touch.
You leave us and leave us with
what? A Spirit.
How dare you?
Spirit —you spirit that we cannot
see or hear or touch—
can you know our trouble?
Can you know our fear?
Spirit, do you dare to come to our
illness?
Spirit, do you dare to come to
our pain?
Spirit, do you dare to come to us
as we vomit with matted hair?
"Yes," murmurs the dove’s
song.
Spirit, Spirit that we cannot see
or hear or touch,
do you dare to come to us when we
remember
the shameful things that were
done to us?
Do you dare to come to us when we
remember
the shameful things we have done?
Do you dare to come to us when we
are haunted and trapped
by memories of our past?
"Yes," whispers the
wind.
Spirit, Spirit that we cannot see
or hear or touch,
do you dare to come to us
when we are lonely and afraid?
Do you dare to come to us
when we have lost the ones we
love?
Do you dare to come to us
even at the grave?
"Yes," burns the flame.
But what about
when we hurt,
and when we hurt others,
and when we lash out,
when anger flares,
and when we chase security we know is
not there,
when we spoil the gifts,
when we live in fear
we complain
we treat others as objects
we raise our hands against children
of God
we’re addicted
we smile during the day
but cry at night
we have on one to tell
we do not do the things we love
we do not love the people we love,
do not do the good we know is right
but do the very things we hate.
We do the evil we do not
want.
We do the evil we hate.
We do not do the good; we do
the evil, the evil.
A world of pain.
A world of fear.
A world of terror.
A world of hurt.
A world of cruelty. . . .
Our
world. Our world.
Not
a Spirit world,
not a world of not seeing, of not hearing, of not touching,
but our real world
of real pain,
of real fear,
of real terror,
of real hurt.
Our real world of real cruelty.
Can you come to that?
Can you come to that?
"Peace, my child,"
murmurs the dove’s song.
"Peace, my child,"
whispers the wind.
"Peace, my child,"
burns the flame.
"My peace I leave with you;
my peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives."
Not as
the world gives.
Peace I leave with you.
Peace I give to you.
That you will know that I am with
you in your real world.
Your real world of real pain.
Your real world of real fear.
Your real world of real doubt.
That you may know that this
Spirit,
this Spirit that you cannot see, that you cannot hear, that you cannot
touch,
This Spirit can comfort you as
the dove’s song,
can move you as the wind,
can change you as the fire.
And that you may know that you,
you who know that peace of God,
you who are comforted,
you who are moved,
you who are changed,
by the power of this Holy
Spirit,
You,
you can change your world,
by the power of this unseen, unheard, untouched Holy Spirit,
you can change your real
world.
So make your prayer:
Come, Holy Spirit, Come. . . .
If you dare.
The Rev. James H. Pritchett, Jr.
St. John’s Episcopal Church, College Park, GA
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