Pentecost Sunday

Our readings for Pentecost Sunday are:

1. Acts 2: 1-11
   
2. Psalms 104: 1, 24, 29-30, 31, 34
   
3. 1 Corinthians 12: 3b-7, 12-13
   
4. John 20: 19-23
   

• Reaching out
  
• The early disciples must have looked at each other and asked "what's next?"  First the messiah is murdered after the mockery of a trial.  Then He comes back from the dead.  Just when the thought that they were getting the hang of His resurrection Presence, He leaves them, and now He's back, in the form of the Holy Spirit, and they end up ministering to people that they never would have thought that God would reach out to.
• How can we be more welcoming to others of different languages, cultures, backgrounds?
• What would it take for us to really understand and empathize with folks that we know next to nothing about?
• How can we avoid tokenism?
• How do we do all of that and keep the original Gospel message strong and clear?
  

• The Holy Spirit is creative
  
• All of us were probably raised to value honest work, to strive to find our place in life, our ultimate purpose, and fulfill that purpose in and through the creative energies expressed in our two hands.
• Why do you work?
• Does it have to earn a salary to be worthy?
• Is there work that is uniquely Christian?
• Is one type of work intrinsically better than another?
• How does the work that you do fit in with the ongoing work of Creation?
  

• Finding your place
  
• There are an abundance of ministries within the Church.  Each has its place and qualifications, each a blessing in its own way.  Years ago, we would have guest speakers come to RCIA meetings to tell the Elect and Candidates about ministry opportunities within the parish.
• Could we do a better job of recruiting people?
• How does one, how do we, discern where a person's gifts lie?
• How do we tell when it's time for someone to move on in their ministry?
• Does the discernment process ever end in our lives?
  

• Peace be with you
  
• Jesus told His disciples "peace be with you" before He sent them out.  I take that to mean that we need to be at peace to be truly effective ministers.
  
• What brings you peace?
• Is peace always possible?
• Is peace always necessary?
• Is there a way to live more at peace in life?
  

• Preparation for Reconciliation
  

1. Where is God calling me to be more inclusive?
2. Where might God be calling me to be more creative?
   
3. Am I serving right where I need to be?
   
4. Where am I looking for peace?

You Have to Just Feel It

I'm really good at fractions.

To the point that I can tell you exactly how many beats a triple-dotted quarter note represents.

I remember John Flaherty, our choir director in days gone by,

Telling me that sometimes, the music on the page stops being a guide,

And instead becomes shackles that keep me from letting the music inside,

And playing it, praying it, from the heart.

 

I think that, for some of us, following God gets that way.

We want to "get it right", know that everything is just perfect,

As though the intrinsic messiness of life,

Somehow has no place in ministry,

As though Jesus can be a refuge from the unexpected and the uncomfortable.

Somehow, it doesn't seem to work that way.

 

What I can tell you,

Is that your definition of "success" is bound to change as you mature.

Often in ways that you would never have believed when you were younger.

And that success becomes not so much a matter of settling for less,

As it becomes a matter of letting go, and letting God,

And realizing that any illusion of control that I might have is just that - illusion.

 

I gave up praying that the Spirit would speak louder.

Instead, I've starting praying that I can become quieter.

Taking time each day to turn off the noise, no matter how helpful it might be,

Tune into the silence all around me,

Let God take my hand in His,

And see where He has been guiding me of late, and the path directly in front of me.

 

I pray that I can learn to set aside "getting it right",

In favor of being nimble, sensitive to God's leading, His Spirit's voice.

Open to the unexpected, unplanned, even the undesired.

So that I don't miss that still small voice quite as often as I used to.

And along the way, learn to be more generous with myself,

And let the messy process of maturation wend it's mysterious course -

 

However long that might take.

Shalom!