Pentecost Sermon 2016: The manifestations of Pentecost and Discerning the work of God on Earth

Texts: Acts 2:1-21,John 14:8-27

The material effects of the descent of the Spirit on the Church at Pentecost

Why do we read Acts in the Season of Easter? It’s a little out of order.  We read Acts in Easter because Acts tells us how the incarnation passion, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ effect people in this earthly life.  I will lead us in reflection on  these earthly and material effects and impact on us and the world around us.  This is perhaps more obvious in other passages in Acts than the one for Pentecost. Yet if we pay attention to the manifestations of the Spirit at Pentecost and the perceived extent of the effect of that manifestation we can begin to understand the material nature of the impact of the Spirit and thus the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension of Christ.

Let us attend to what can be seen, heard, touched and is located on the earth in Luke’s account of Pentecost.  Most notably, and what is generally emphasized in our celebrations of Pentecost, the speaking and hearing of various languages.  We should remember that this is a physical and really very earthly and human effect. Unlike the glossolalia mentioned in Paul’s epistles where the language spoken is unknown to any of the hearers in the gathered body and thus requires translation, at the descent of the Spirit upon the Church, (at this time those Jews who are believers in Christ and who had undergone the baptism of John) Jews speak Languages they don’t know that are then also understood by those in the crowd that gathered (also Jews from different parts of the earth). This effect is relational and reconciling. There is also the noise of wind and what appear to be tongues of fire that rested on each of the Apostles.  The descent of the Spirit caused a commotion, sent out sound waves and emitted photons in the form of tongues of fire. This manifestation had an impact not only on the 120 or so gathered who formed the church of that time and moment, but of those outside that group. The Holy Spirit’s descent causes a commotion, it draws attention, and it also draws mockery and disdain.  So, the Holy Spirit descending to fulfill and continue the work begun in Jesus’s life Passion, Resurrection and Ascension has physical and material effect such that people stop and take note, but the effects themselves aren’t meaningful in and of themselves.  Ultimately Peter has to clarify the meaning in this first proclamation of the Church.  Since, Peter is preaching to those of Jewish faith and it is important to establish Jesus as the Messiah, it must be demonstrated how these manifestations fit with Jewish expectation and Torah expectations of the Messianic age in the Tanakh. Peter points to prophet Joel and what he says about the coming of the Messiah and the Messianic age, well this is the fulfilment of Joel’s expectation and prophesy about the messiah and the messianic age.  Now Peter doesn’t mean here that there’s a one to one correspondence between the manifestations experienced by all those on this Pentecost after the death and Resurrection of Jesus, but that if one wishes to understand the meaning of what this crowd has seen and heard and experienced, one should be consulting this prophecy.

Luke gives us another means of interpreting the meaning of this event, it’s geographical extent. Luke’s list of places from which the Jews in the crowd are from is a list of what would have been understood by Luke’s first readers as the extent of the inhabited earth. Meaning that for Luke the extent of this local event is in effect global.  Through the diaspora of the Jews who were on pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover and Pentecost, represent the known inhabited world. There are ancient traditions that mark the coming of the Gospel and the Church to certain regions to this moment of Pentecost. Most notably the Latin Father Abrosiaster dates the founding of the Roman Church to this moment and not the direct proclamation of the Gospel by Peter and Paul. For Luke this one local event is at this very moment also global in its extent.

Signs and wonders as physical manifestations of God’s reign in the earth.

What are we to make of all this commotion, and earthly and physical impact?  First, is that the result of what God did in Jesus of Nazareth and in the incarnation and Passion isn’t simply an internal and purely “spiritual” (if “spiritual” means non material psychological and internal experience) reality.  This means that if we’ve encountered this reality of God come in Jesus of Nazareth and the reality of the Passion, Resurrection and Ascension, we will have seen it, it will have a material effect, something we can see, hear and touch.  Second, is that this material manifestation is oriented towards a goal, that is only understood if we know how to interpret what we are seeing hearing and handling.  It is this second thing that I wish to focus on for the remainder of our time.  Since, the exact physical and material effects of the descent of the Spirit do not necessarily continue to happen, there are other possible manifestation and material effects of the mediating and sustaining and empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. In order to see them and interpret them correctly we must understand the depth and extent of the theophany of the Spirit at Pentecost.

In order to interpret and correctly identify the effects of the Spirit in our midst and in the earth, we need to understand the role of the Holy Spirit and meaning of the descent of the Spirit.  Most fundamentally we must remember that the Holy Spirit is God, a person or hypostasis of the Trinity.  In that sense the Spirit's presence in our midst is for the same purpose as the coming of God the Son in Jesus of Nazareth.  The work of the Spirit is the same work as of the incarnate Word’s, Jesus of Nazareth, life, Passion, Resurrection and Ascension.  The Spirit doesn’t inaugurate another work of God in the World, but is the means to continue the work.  This is the work God had been doing in the people of Israel which was fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, and through the Spirit is continued in the Church, in continuity with Israel.  Fundamentally God’s work is to restore the relationship between God and God’s creation, to reconcile humanity and God.  The purpose of God’s work in the world is relational, and is born out of God’s desire for us and for all creation:  The work of God in teh earth is aimed towrds relationship and love.

The material meaning of Pentecostal and Charismatic signs and wonders

Using the above framework we can look again at the manifestations and their interpretations given to us by Luke and by Peter’s first sermon.  First the manifestation and its effect are things that are evident and noticeable.  Sound of wind, tongues of fire that are seen, languages spoken.  Those who wanted to discount what was happening couldn’t deny the event they simply gave it another explanation, the drunkenness of the individuals around whom the commotion started. But the manifestations aren’t random either.  Sound of wind, tongues of fire. These are consistent forms of epiphany and theophany that the people of Israel have known and experienced. They aren’t new, remixed yes, entirely new, no.  God manifesting God’s presence through meteorological phenomenon especially wind, and in fire is consistent with the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which the celebration of Pentecost marks. The effect of the coming of the Spirit as a continuation of the work of Jesus Christ, does so in continuity with the work of God in human history and the people of God, Israel. The manifestation and effect is relational and reconciling, it bridges gaps and breaks down barriers that simply are the case in the world.  Languages and location and identity divide us as human beings, on the Day of Pentecost God uses what divides to bring together, and shows that the intended effect of the incarnation and the passion is to bring together, to reconcile in relationship.  Furthermore, Peter in referencing Joel tells us the effect is intended for all no matter one’s social location or identity and no matter your geographical location, yet it also doesn’t erase those differences or identities, rather it makes possible relationship and connection where it seems impossible or difficult.  Lastly, it shakes up what is considered inevitable, simply set in the nature of the cosmos, or dictated by the powerful.  Peter tells us that what we have seen in the descent of the Holy Spirit is the same as the cosmic powers of sun and moon being changed, shaken and upended.

On this Pentecost, what might we take from all of this?  First, pentecostal and charismatic manifestations and signs and wonders aren’t meant to be ends in themselves, without interpretation they are dead ends. Yet, to ridicule or otherwise diminish them is to deny the incarnation. To so ridicule or diminish is to deny that salvation is earthly and material.  The story of God’s activity in the world to reconcile God and God’s creation that begins with Abraham and is brought to fulfilment in Jesus of Nazareth.  If we attend to that story we will see that this reconciliation this transformation isn’t an escape from materiality and the earth, but is a deep and profound affirmation of all that God created. Yet, many of the material conditions of our current worldly existence are at odds with God’s transforming and reconciling work on the earth and in the entire cosmos.  The miraculous, or signs and wonders, are manifestations, epiphanies, that are meant to point out how and where God is at work.  We members of Christ’s body the Church should be both where these manifestations appear and those who should be looking for these theophany.  Yet, these epiphanies and theophany aren’t only the miraculous.  We should find in various ways a transformed and reconciled and transfigured world replacing the world as we know it and find it.  The Church isn’t supposed to be seeking merely the reform of worldly structures and certainly isn’t supposed to be a means of escape from this earthly existence, rather it is to up end the worldly powers of whatever name they go by: socialist, communist, capitalist, neoliberal, progressive, conservative, democracy, monarchy ad infinitum.  God came to earth to transform and redeem and reconcile God’s creation the physical and material created universe seen and unseen. The signs of the descent of the spirit at Pentecost and the signs and wonders that manifested around the early Church and show up again throughout history, show us that God means to transform our material existence.  God’s reconciling work is for the earth, for all creation, for the entire universe. Our very existence is to be transformed, and it happens in time, in history, and on earth. Yet, the work of God is also not from history, nor is it historical nor merely material. This is the incarnation, this is the coming of the Spirit, this is the meaning and reality of the Church in germ. Look, listen, be sent into the world so that we may truly see where God is at work and be ourselves individual and corporately sites of God’s reconciling and transfiguring work on earth upending all worldly systems.

As the Spirit Chooses: Sermon for Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21 - Psalm 104:24-34, 35b - 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 - John 7:37-39

Today we celebrate the birth of the Church, the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and disciples gathered in the upper room, with manifestations of sound, and fire, and various languages spoken.

It is a common practice, and in years past we have done this here at Reconciler, for the gospel or the acts passage to be read in different Languages.  This highlights one aspect of the meaning of Pentecost, that what God was doing in Jesus Christ was something for all, that in God becoming a Jew, God was coming near to all humanity, and God wished to meet us in our linguistic and cultural diversity.  Each heard the Good news of God’s wonderful works in their own language.  The universal aspect of this day. 

What I wish to focus on today is the meaning and nature of the Spirit being in us and empowering us, for the purpose of manifesting and witnessing to what God began and continues to do in Jesus Christ, that is to focus on how the Holy Spirit is needed for us to be the Body of Christ. 

The Spirit descends and gives utterance.  The Holy Spirit when it descended made possible what was otherwise possible that the disciples of Jesus spoke in languages they didn’t know so that people could hear from God in a way familiar to them.

The holy spirit came upon the firs disciples and birthed the Church through making possible something the disciples on their own couldn't have done.

There was a trend for a while in in some congregations and promoted by denominational leadership for members of congregations to undergo a Spiritual gift assessment.  These assessments where supposed to tell one what was the gift of the Spirit, or “spiritual gift” one had.  Those who promoted this appealed to this passage in Corinthians.  I think the intentions of these assessments were in the right place.  As Christians this aspect of the Christian life is often underdeveloped, the Holy Spirit and having an awareness of the power of the Spirit in one’s daily life or interaction with other Christians and in worship has been often lacking.

However, my recollection is that these assessments weren’t much different from a personality test.  That is what they evaluated wasn’t something Spiritual meaning of the holy Spirit, but matching up one’s personality with the various list of Gifts of the Holy Spirit listed in various places in Paul’s writing.

The idea was that one’s gift from the Spirit would fit with who you were, it wasn't something one needed to drum up, and it wouldn't contradict your own inner inclinations and abilities. 

Yet, this view doesn’t quite agree with what we find in the Acts account of the day of Pentecost, the point the being that filled with the Spirit and given the gift of speaking other languages was something Galilean Jews would have had no ability or inclination to begin speaking in all these (to them) foreign languages.  Also, in our Corinthian’s passage Paul’s emphasis isn’t on some heightening of the native abilities of the Christian, but Paul’s emphasis is on the will and action of the Holy Spirit.  The point is that what one is given one is base on the will and empowerment of the Holy Spirit and not on inclination or native ability.

The only indication of some consideration of the person is that the spirit gives to each individually. There is a specificity in the gifting but its relation or non-relation to native abilities isn’t in view, rather what we are lead to understand both in terms of Acts and Corinthians is that the gift we receive from the holy Spirit don’t come from us or our will or desire but from the will and desire of the Spirit. So, if one is wondering what gifting from the Holy Spirit is, you will be looking for that which comes beyond yourself.

But that isn’t all.  Paul is also using the idea of spiritual gifts to speak of unity and diversity of the Church the Body of Christ.  In this sense a Spiritual Gift is that which binds you to other members of the Body of Christ.  Spiritual giftedness is the means of the unity in diversity of the Church.  The gift you have from the Spirit is that which you serve and which binds you to other members of the body of Christ.  Your giftedness is part of your being brought into the body of Christ through Baptism.

This was the good thing about those assessments they  sought to get people to think of their connection and service to the Body of Christ, and its local manifestation in their local congregation.

Yet also, this giftedness is about giving witness to what God inaugurated in Jesus Christ.  Or to put it another way The spirit and the gifts from the Spirit empower us and bind us together as the body of Christ. This spiritual reality of the Body of Christ is also the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. 

The gift s of the spirit allow us to function as the Body of Christ, a unity like all biological bodies that is also a diversity.  It is this Spiritual unity in diversity of the gifts that shows the world what the age to come will be like. 

What gift have you received from the Spirit? What do you find in the presence of other members of the Body of Christ, which binds you to them and also serves other members of the Body in a way that is both unique to you and gives life to you, other members of the Body and the world?

If you are sitting with this and fearful that maybe you’ve missed out or that you are spiritual enough. Don’t worry.  Rest in that you have the Holy Spirit. Ask God and the Spirit to reveal to you this gift that you have been given.  Wait on God, be still. You don’t drum it up, and be prepared for the unexpected.  This is from the Holy Spirit, the gift will be something that is both you and yet beyond yourself and which takes you beyond who you think you are.  Be open to whatever the Spirit will bring you, be open to the movement of the Spirit that is like the wind that you know through its effects in you but don’t know where it is coming from or where it is going. Wait upon God and see where in your desires and in your hear flows life that doesn’t come from you but gives you life and enlivens those around you.  The spirit has come, it rest upon each us, maybe not in visible flame, but the Spirit through Baptism has rested upon each of us, and the Spirit has given you a gift that isn’t for you alone for you but for the Body of Christ and so from each of us may flow a stream of living water for the life of the world. Amen

Reconciler Update

We are coming to the end of the Season of Easter, summer is nearly upon us, and a week from this Sunday we will celebrate the descent of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost, the birthday of the church, the feast that reminds us that the Spirit of God came and filled the church and continues to fill us and empowers us as members of Christ's body. As such Pentecost seems to be a fitting place to begin to see how things have gone and see where the Spirit may be leading us, and is doing in our midst. When Tripp Hudgins and David Gortner gathered people including myself to see if God was in the idea of an ecumenical church start one of the questions was is the Spirit of God in this and how is the Spirit moving. We set out to start Reconciler because the consensus of all those gathered was that the vision was of the Spirit. One of the areas of learning for us early on was being attentive to the ways in which the Spirit moved with and in and around circumstances. We are at another stage where discernment of this is necessary.

Here is some of my reflections on direction the Spirit may be moving us in light of our circumstances. I still feel that some form of team ministry with pastors of other denominations is still part of what God is about at Reconciler. Especially since it seems that denominational structures and identities are currently not flexible enough, perhaps for good reason, to accommodate full affiliation in all three denominations at once. So, any connection to structures outside ourselves may continue to need to happen through the clergy. However, it may also mean re-conceiving how such a team works and may not mean having all three pastors equally involved in the day to day pastoring of the church. Also, we have kind of kept the Community of the Holy Trinity as a somewhat silent partner in the work of Reconciler. However, Holy Trinity is what has allowed Kate and I to continue to be part of Reconciler, and the community has provided space for meetings and potlucks and worship space. Currently, Holy Trinity and Reconciler pray in the same space. as we move forward it seems that it is time to in the least describe to ourselves and others what the relationship between community and congregation exist. In part it seems that the community provides the support and continuity that at least right now the congregation on its own could not provide. I am considering presenting to my denomination that it seek to acknowledge my work as Prior of the Community of the Holy Trinity that includes being pastor of Church of Jesus Christ, Reconciler. A closer and more explicit relationship has advantages for Reconciler as the community may take more ownership of what is happening at Reconciler and we at Reconciler can also take some ownership of what is happening with the community. These are some of my current thoughts on how God may be leading, but like when we began and and each juncture in our short life as a congregation discerning the movement of the Spirit is prayerfully considering and planning together and seeing how these things play out as we seek to faithfully follow Christ.

Pentecost Sermon- Gathered Together in One Place

Sermon Texts:
Numbers 11:24-30
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Acts 2:1-21
John 20:19-23
(Possibly begin with a reflection on Krzysztof Kieslowski, the Decalogue) Lately, I have been beginning my sermons with a confession. I do so again tonight. I confess that Pentecost is a difficult feast for me. I am not sure what to make of the descent of the Holy Spirit, even though I come from a tradition seeks to live life of the Spirit. I understand what happened could even say that it is the birthday of the Church. Yet, I found that I struggled with what it all could mean. As a result I found myself taking refuge in theological abstraction, far from the ecstatic reality presented in Acts. The ecstatic reality is too tied to modern and contemporary interpretations of the Holy Spirit, Baptism of the Spirit and speaking in Tongues. Even though Kate speaks in tongues. I want us to know this reality of the descent of the Spirit upon the church and the Spirit’s continuing presence, but where do I begin? I confess this because I have a feeling that many of us perhaps most of us have a similar ambivalence. Many groups of Christians we are all aware of will appeal to this passage in acts for their ecstatic worship. Others appeal to this passage to speak for embracing of human diversity and multiculturalism. With all of this we may have a deer in headlights experience when it comes to Pentecost and the Holy Spirit. Many denominations and Christian groups don’t even celebrate it. In Covenant Church it varies but often even in churches where Pentecost is celebrated, on a day like today Mother’s day would trump the feast of Pentecost. Before I forget let me wish to all mothers here Happy Mother’s day. This is not a mother’s day sermon, except in the most furthest reach possible, for I do want to talk to us about the Church (not our congregation, not some denomination, but the body of Christ that began two Thousand years ago on that one day on the feast of Pentecost. For the Church that universal entity that sum that is greater than its parts, is called the Mother of all the faithful. The Lutheran Theologian Carl Braaten’s main work on the church is called Mother Church.

But I have wandered. So, we know what happened and we know the various uses to which Pentecost is put but what to make of it all? The Spirit comes and fills people, tongues of fire rest on peoples heads and those people start speaking in various languages, Luke tells us that every language known to the first century Mediterranean culture and the Roman Empire was spoken on that day. For Luke the entire world in the representatives of the Jewish Diaspora around the world of the first century represented the universality of the proclamation of the new covenant. This bit of this story probably makes us all quite comfortable as those well trained and schooled in multiculturalism and valuing of diversity(at least that is so with me). The Holy Spirit as the spirit of diversity is something we can all get on board with. Yet, there is this thing of the ecstasy of the moment, the rushing wind, the confusion at least to those nearby the upper room where all were gathered together in one place. We must face the speaking of languages that these Galileans did not know. What is this to be filled with the Spirit that one then is able to do what one could not do by one’s own power or under one’s own control? I will admit part of what I have found discomforting and objectionable to Pentecostal and Charismatic church services is being caught up in a group ecstasy, of the chaos that seems to be allowed even encouraged in those services. And of the more orderly charismatic services of some more mainstream churches that use the praise and worship style I am put off by what I experience as the manipulation of my emotions to produce an ecstasy. And yet here it is in the Scripture text. The Spirit is powerful and descends with the sound of a violent wind and without warning people begin to speak in different languages, and people sit up and take notice.

Rarely do the above two ways of appropriating and relating the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost get joined together. And equally as prevalent is the tendency to simply say yep the Spirit came down and we are to be filled with the Spirit and we just continue on as before. In the story of the descent of the Spirit there is the universal reach of the Gospel message beyond human boundaries and is shown through power and the ecstatic reality of being filled with the Holy Spirit. This begins to come to view when we understand that Pentecost and the descent of the Holy Spirit is seen as the birth of the universal Church, the Body of Christ. By seeing Pentecost and the Descent of the Holy Spirit as the birth of the Church brings together the ecstasy and power of the Spirit and the diversity of the embrace of the Spirit. What is the meaning then of the confluence of these three ecstasy, diversity and founding of the church?

Why would this event be the birth of the church? Had not Jesus already gathered the 12 and the other followers that were then numbering 120 or so? Had not Jesus appeared to them and even commissioned them at the Ascension? The answer is yes and yet it is reported that Jesus instructs his followers to wait. Something is still lacking the Holy Spirit will come. Then another question should be why Pentecost, this feast of the Jewish year? Pentecost was the feast of first fruits, it is a harvest festival, but it also came to be associated with the giving of the Torah and thus the formation of the people of God Israel with the Covenant at Mount Sinai. The Numbers 11 is one of the founding stories of the People of Israel, takes in the midst of their time in the desert as they begin to live out their Covenant life under the Torah. God leads his people through those upon whom the Spirit rests. In this particular story there is a lifting of Moses’ burden but also it is yet another demonstration that the life of the people of Israel does not depend on human ingenuity and powers. In the surrounding story of this passage we see repeated both in Moses and the people the falling back on human power and vision, and God showing time and time again that unlike other communities and nations Israel is sustained by God and Spirit not by human power or leadership. It is after all the whole point of Egypt and Sinai the giving of the Torah: God takes slaves to be a Nation that is to represent God to all other nations.

How does this fit with Pentecost? Pentecost the feast of first fruits, a festival that shows that the People of Israel recognize that their life and sustenance does not come from their effort but from God’s life giving presence in the world, and so from the very first harvest in the climate of Palestine, they offer that which they have first harvested. Since the life of Israel also depends on the Torah the day also becomes associated with the giving of the Law (which came to be seen has happening 50 days after leaving Egypt). Pentecost then is about what is given and what we receive. Pentecost is about the life giving power of God and that we only live by that power.

The Spirit descends on a feast celebrating that all is from God, and which remembers the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Pentecost then reminds us that we are not to depend on our own efforts. As such then we do not on this day celebrate human community and the diversity of humanity. The Holy Spirit is not the human spirit but the Spirit of Christ, the Third person of the Holy Trinity. What is affirmed and shown in the descent of the Holy Spirit is the community of God, and we those gathered together by Christ in one place are upon whom the Spirit descends with power, not for the purpose of ecstasy, or for having a particular supernatural ability, but to show forth the purposes of God, that all may be joined in this community, in order that all may come to know God; Father Son and Holy Spirit.

I do not deny that this message of God’s universal love and invitation has been at times attached to particularities that have nothing to do with the Gospel or the divine community of the Trinity. However, we cannot allow that failure of some Christians to obscure the reality that by the descent of the Holy Spirit formed a new community whose boundaries are not human boundaries but is still a distinct group gathered together by Christ and upon whom the Spirit descended. What we then see in the rest of Acts and in history is that this community is expanded, as God joins to the 12 apostles and the 120 more and more people. This new expanding community consists of those who have come to faith in Jesus Christ, and who affirm Jesus as Lord. Peter is clear that the fulfillment of the end times prophesy of Joel (In the last days) of God’s spirit being poured out on all flesh is fulfilled on that day 2000 years ago when the Spirit descended on the 12 and the 120 all gathered together in one place. The fulfillment of Joel is particular in extent but shows itself to be universal in scope. The invitation is not limited to a language or ethnicity or gender, or any other division or difference we can discover or invent. The particularity is in God. We are called to come into a particular community, to return to that relationship humanity had before the fall. But we are unable to form such a community. Only by being joined to God; being filled with the Spirit can we be part of this community. This community then becomes the witness of what God has done and God’s character, not upon our own power but as the Spirit gives us ability. Whatever we do, if it is working for justice, or to reveal and bring beauty to the world, or to speak truth into this world, or to live faithfully in the midst of a confusing and often sinful world, we do so to witness to God’s Kingdom, and we can give this witness only by the power of the Spirit. We are not the builders the Kingdom but are to be witnesses of its presence. We will not bring justice to the world; we cannot on our own bring beauty out of ugliness. By our own will we cannot make suffering and oppression and evil make sense or bring good from it. Only by the power of the Spirit can we do so. Ultimately, the center of this work of God by the power of the Spirit is the Church. When I say this I am not referring to this or that congregation you have been apart of in the past, not even this congregation of Reconciler. By “church” I mean the gathered people of God, the universal Church the body of Christ formed on that day some 2000 years ago when the Spirit descended upon the 12 Apostles and the 120, and upon whom the Spirit has remained till now. This is why in the Apostles Creed immediately after we confess belief in the Holy Spirit and then confess faith in the Holy Catholic Church. For the Holy Spirit that brings froth the church creates the church out of those Gathered together in one place. In the church we find the forgiveness of sins and are made one with the power of life and the Resurrection and so confess resurrection and the unending life that comes through being rejoined in communion with God. None of this happens in isolation, or simply between me and you as autonomous individuals and God, for god isn’t even an autonomous individual but a being that is a communion and community of three persons into which we are drawn as those Gathered together in one place. Only by living into this reality of life lived by the power of the Spirit, which is the reality of the Church, can we have the ability to witness to the Kingdom of God in the World.

Reconciler Update

REFLECTION

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today we celebrate Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and the birth of the Christian church. It is also, coincidentally, Mother's Day. I find myself wondering...what might Pentecost and Mother's Day have in common?

Thursday was the feast day of Julian of Norwich, a 14th-century English nun and mystic. Julian lived in tumultuous times, experiencing the death of a king and archbishop, the Black Plague raging through Europe, the 100 years war between England and France. She had a near-death experience at the age of 30.

Julian experienced several revelations from Christ, which you can read about in her book Showings. She speaks of Jesus, among other things, as "Mother." For Julian, Jesus is the good mother who cares for us with infinite tenderness.

Understanding Christ as a good mother goes back to Augustine and other church fathers. It is not radical -- unless you understand "radical" in its literal sense of "getting back to the roots." Jesus himself says in Scripture "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem... how often have I longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings!" (Luke 13:34)

Despite the presence of female leaders, the early Church -- born on Pentecost -- later lost much of its egalitarian flavor, probably because it needed to survive in the very stratified Roman world. Historically the church has been a largely male defined and dominated institution Some find it helpful, as a counterbalance, to recall the qualities that transcend gender -- in Christ, God, and Holy Spirit. One Episcopal church that Numa and I used to attend spoke of the Holy Spirit as "She." The Hebrew word for spirit or breath, ruah, is feminine. Its Greek counterpart, pneuma, is neuter.

Last Sunday I was asked to speak to Immanuel's adult ed forum about "The Changing Role of Women in the Church,'" specifically about the journey of women toward ordination in the Episcopal church. One of the first women to be ordained an Episcopal priest, back in 1974, was Dr. Alla Bozarth-Campbell, a graduate of Seabury and Northwestern. She writes of her struggle for ordination in a book called Womanpriest. Bozarth-Campbell objected to the argument that women should be ordained because they bring "women's" qualities -- gentleness, nurturing, caring. In fact, these are human qualities. Male ministers also exhibit these qualities. The point is that women bring "human" qualities to ministry: leadership and rationality as well as warmth and cooperation. Bozarth-Campbell rejects a shallow breakdown of human qualities into "male" and "female." The idea behind women's ordination is to allow all persons to bring their human qualities to ministry, thus enhancing ministry, and allowing the minister to be a whole person.

We see in Scripture a God capable of wholistic behavior, who exhibits both "male" and "female" qualities -- love and wrath, strength and tenderness. We see those qualities also in Christ, the compassionate healer and the angry table-turner. We see a Holy Spirit that is both urgent as a flame and gentle as a dove.

Jesus refers to God in Scripture as "Abba" or "Daddy." Many people find this a compelling reason to continue to call God "Father." But other people, ordained and lay, find it helpful to understand God as beyond gender. They may feel comfortable calling God "Mother" as well as "Father," or understanding the Holy Spirit as feminine. They may find refreshment in Julian of Norwich's idea of Christ as the Good Mother.

The point is not simple political correctness, nor to try to re-make God in female image. The point is that Genesis tells us God created both man and woman in God's image. Thus there must be something of the female, as well as the male, in God.

Bozarth-Campbell and many others are concerned that women are left out of the Church through exclusive language -- only male pronouns for the Trinity, mostly male characters in Scripture -- and how that can contribute to women feeling invisible or powerless in church settings and beyond.

I hope this Pentecost/Mother's Day you will feel included as a full member of the Body of Christ -- no matter your gender identity -- and know that Christ lived and died for love of you and all humanity, as he told Julian of Norwich. May you feel that the Holy Spirit lives and breathes in you.

Peace,
Laura+

The Rev. Laura Gottardi-Littell
for the Pastoral Team

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Today, after our Pentecost liturgy, we will have cake and champagne to celebrate the birth of the church as recorded in Acts 2:1.

Our next Council meeting is May 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the 'Nidge. All are welcome.

The Social Justice committee will host a panel of speakers on Fair Trade on Thursday, June 5th, in the sanctuary of Immanuel Lutheran Church. Mark your calendars.

Reconciler will again be participating in the Glenwood Arts Festival (and possibly the Clark Street Festival). Speak to Larry if you are interested in displaying your art. Speak to Kate or Daniel if you are interested in helping set up, staff, or break down our booth.

Jorge Sanchez will be our guest preacher on May 18, Trinity Sunday.

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