"Pentecost: The Word Among Us"

The opening verse of our first lesson (Genesis 11:1) reads, “Once upon a time, all the peoples of the Earth spoke one language, and used de same words.”  Or, in a more contemporary version, “They all said what they meant, and they meant what they said.”

Language has evolved since those days.  But never mind Babel and much less, let’s forget about the challenges of understanding people from different cultures and nations, even when they are supposed to speak the same language!

Over time, the words we hear on television, read online, and even those spoken in places of worship, have undergone changes – even when we believed they were spoken in English.  This has led to situations where “what is heard is not always what is meant, and what is meant is not always what is heard.”

In fact, to compound the issue, over the years and across some civilizations out of the perversion of honest and clear communication new languages have been developed, namely, “The Fine Print” and “Legalese”.

Creation began with the Word, spoken by divine will, “Let there be light, and there was light.”  It doesn’t matter what we may believe about what God said in a particular time or situation since those days, or how much God’s words have been doctored to fit doctrine or tradition, the bottom line is that only God’s words were and continue be Truth and Life.

The biblical story and, indeed, the story of the People of Israel, on the other hand, show for all to see the very human tendency to twist God’s message into what we think God said – Or worse, what God should have said!

Of course, we don’t know how God’s makes decisions, but in my mind, I’d like to imagine God one day saying, “Enough is enough!  Jesus – go down there and become my Word.”

And so, as the Gospel of John tells us,

“In the beginning the Word already existed.  The Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He existed in the beginning with God.  God created everything through the Word, and nothing was created except through the Word.  The Word gave life to everything that was created, and the Word brought light to everyone.”

And, as John will tell us in today’s gospel, what Jesus said was not out his own invention, or processed through committees or deliberated in the councils of the church.  Indeed, whatever he said was God at work in Him.

So, if we wish to understand what God thinks about any specific issue and what God may have to say about any situation, what we need to do is to study our Lord Christ’s life and we will get it.

Now, this is not to say that one must follow the way of life espoused by the Rev. Henry Maxwell – of “In His Steps” fame.  Civilization and the challenges of contemporary society cannot be squeezed into the pages of the New Testament. 

So, if Jesus is “The” Word, we must, therefore, first study carefully our Lord’s life and then, draw principles which we may apply to our contemporary circumstances.

Now, the challenge is that any study of the life of Jesus is going to be intensely personal.  And second, the principles we may draw in isolation from the larger Body of Christ may turn up being so broad that any and all situations will have our Lord’s blessing – or rebuke. 

Or, conversely, only very narrow principles may be drawn, making them, ultimately, so narrow as to become useless, or exclude everyone else’s interpretation but ours.

God, however, wasn’t surprised by the people’s need to continue listening to hear God’s actual Word.  Even when, as we know, Jesus had to leave this world and go back to our Heavenly Father’s bosom.

So, in the Day of Pentecost, as the Gospel of John tells us, God sent the Spirit to “teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you,” (John 14:26).

But and this is key, it is the Spirit’s ministry to help us to listen God’s Word.  In fact, it is through the ministry of the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Truth – which will lead us to hear the umpteenth questions that have no answer in the pages of the New Testament.

Discernment – that’s the technical name – inspired discernment is how we can hear the Word afresh.  It is in the community of faith where the true golden kernel of God’s truth will be separated from the chaff of prejudice, vanity and even plain mindless religious gobbledygook.

But here is the thing, which sometimes gets lost.  Even if the Spirit was sent over individuals, most often than not, the Spirit is sent to individuals in community. 

Reading the St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians one can see what happens when such corporate dimension is lost – everyone says their own thing, turning into dissonant clanging and, eventually, leading to division.

But, on the other hand, if St. Paul were to write to Episcopalians, quite probably he may have stressed the individual dimension of the presence of the Spirit.  In other words, we are across the street from the Corinthians.

For, sometimes in our tradition, the Spirit shows up in confirmation, then appears once again in red balloons for Pentecost and, then somehow, loses her personality to become “polity, tradition, and policy worked out through task forces, commissions, and the resolutions of conventions.”

So, where do we find a healthy balance?  Mind you, not balance for the sake of being balanced and measured but balanced in terms of truly becoming God’s hands in this world and faithful witnesses of the mighty acts of God.

Today, the Day of Pentecost invites us to move toward a deeper understanding of God’s Word so that we may be really tuned to the Word of God.

As we celebrate God’s Word by a different Name, let us open ourselves to the refreshing wind of God’s presence in us, and for us.  A presence which is only limited to the room which we may offer God in our lives.

Such openness requires a deliberate posture of humility, allowing the Spirit to guide not only communities but also individuals in their collective discernment. 

But, at the same time, such openness demands from us a willingness to let go of preconceived notions, traditions, and systems that may hinder the Spirit’s transformative work.  For God is a God of the Living and not the god of the good old days!

Describing the Gospel of John, it is alleged that St. Augustine said that John’s gospel is “Deep enough for an elephant to swim in, but shallow enough for a child to wade in.”

The same could be said of the Spirit presence in our lives.  Through the Spirit we can go deep into the heart of God.  Deep enough to have a little grasp of the immensity of Almighty and Eternal God’s love, but shallow enough that we may safely wade and just rejoice in the presence of Jesus, safe and secure from all alarms.

My prayer for you, indeed for us all today is that the Spirit may kindle in us a flame that burns so fiercely with compassion, grace, and unshakable faith, so that we, in turn, may shine with the love of God to proclaim the mighty acts of God in word and deed.  

But mind you – The Spirit’s flame sometimes burns in odd places, not necessarily on our heads, so as to lead us into bold action, like it did on Pentecost Day.  Amen.

Fr. Gustavo