Year A Readings: Acts 2:1-21; John 20:19-23
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit! Acts 2:1-4
On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” John 20:19-23
Human. Kind. Be both of these. It is hardly easy to do either when culture and human nature push us toward hatred and pull us toward arrogance. Jesus presses us to an authentic faith which does not withhold forgiveness. Pentecost Sunday and the U.S. Memorial Day holiday are oddly paired together this weekend offering both the remembrance of the sacrifice of fallen soldiers and empowering renewal in the Holy Spirit. We do well to receive the peace of the risen Christ, who sacrificed for us, as well as the countless human heroes who have given their lives for our nation’s peace.
We can offer kindness and cooperation with the heroes who serve on our city streets keeping the peace. They are humans who work as constables, sheriffs, police, social workers, homeless shelter workers, chaplains, medical and mental health workers. In our city, the poor, the mentally ill, drug addicts, and trafficked live on the streets where we pass by, shop, get gas, eat and yes go to church. They are in plain sight, yet instead of looking away, we need to focus our attention on them, and take up the cause of justice:
(God) upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked. Psalm 146 (NIV)
In Luke’s account of Pentecost in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes like the force of a strong wind on the disciples, while in John’s account Jesus breathes the Spirit gently on them. Both the wind and breath of the Spirit blow and move us to work for change in the world, and teach us the ways of the peace of Jesus.
RECOGNIZE. Where have you seen the push and pull of hatred and arrogance in your own heart that withholds forgiveness and peace for the oppressed, the immigrant, the sex-worker, the homeless? Where is Jesus “sending you” with the breath of the Spirit, to offer peace and hope? Reflect on Zechariah 9:16 and Psalm 82:3-4 and sit with what you notice.
PRACTICE. Take a day to walk alongside a professional who works for peace in your city. Do a prayer drive through your streets and ask the Spirit to open your eyes to where you can uphold, defend, lift up, or watch over those who need peace.
The Trinity is a mystery, a community of God in which the Father, Son, and Spirit work together, glorifying their Oneness. They are an example for us to work for peace, as one loving presence in community. As I volunteer on a team of “women for women” in our city, I have seen how we fit together with our unique callings and giftedness to love and serve. And we have called on professionals to guide and walk with us in dark places to bring light and of hope. Today I celebrate the movement of the Spirit in and through those who daily work for peace.
O God who defends, upholds, rescues and delivers, gift us with your peace. Amen.
robbijames 