[__ver-06_ ___words _]
Sunday
June 4, 2017 / Pentecost Sunday
[ • Acts 2:1-111 • Psalm 104 • 1 Corinthians
12:3b-7, 12-13 • +John 20:19-23 • ]
Title: “Attraction and Action: Pentecost”
[__01_] Attraction brings action. This is our Feast of
Pentecost Sunday.
And the arrival of the Holy Spirit is
an attraction, an event which commands the attention of the disciples:
We read; this is our reading from the
Acts of the Apostles, chapter 2:
“When
the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And
suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it
filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues
as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them.” (Acts 2:__)
[__02__] In the joy of a great celebration or the
excitement of sporting event, we are also attracted and united by the action. The French Open. The NBA Finals. Check
your local listings.
We are attracted to the action and
then we talk about, discuss – ANALYZE (beat a dead horse?) what happened and why.
[__03__] Now, in earlier visits – arrivals – of God to
his disciples, there was attraction, but sometimes less action. At least, in
the immediate moment of the event, there
were fewer observers, friends, followers, likes and comments.
Consider: Jesus is born in Bethlehem,
an out-of-the way place and the significance of his birth is noticed by a few.
Even King Herod noticed. He was
attracted, tried to take action, but never really made the connection.
Pentecost is different from Christmas.
There is an attraction, an event and everyone is talking about it afterwards.
It’s an international global episode. Had there been a 24-hour news cycle,
someone would have picked up the story.
And, Pentecost is important to you and
to me today. We are called to act in a way similar to the disciples. Yes, it is true that a few disciples were
able to speak in multiple languages without 4 years in high school, 32 credits
in college or Rosetta Stone. Yes, this is remarkable.
[__04__] However, you and I are also called to
recognize that God is trying to attract us, to draw us, to call us and that we
are called to take action, to be his translators.
[*** P A U S E ***]
[__05__] In 1977, Star Wars was released. That
year, Star Wars and director George Lucas – whom no one had ever heard of –
made 10x more money than the James Bond movie of the same year.
This was attraction. A new attraction.
And, there was lots of action. Now,
these days, many people anticipate the release and arrival of a new Star Wars
movie.
The
premiere of a movie is big deal.
Many people want to see it is as soon
a possible. It is also an international – multilingual event which is simulcast
in many languages.
One day, several years, a person with
whom I worked offered me tickets to the Star Wars premiere. I was so
fascinated. I thought, at first, that this meant I would need a limousine.
Maybe get my picture taken. Not quite.
What this meant – on the “planet” of
Star Wars was that the movie was being shown as a premiere, 24 hours a day
around the clock over several days at cinemas in New York City. So, if I could
be at 78th Street at 11:00 am on a Thursday, I could be part of the
worldwide multilingual – Pentecostal (?) – premiere of Star Wars.
I did not make it
[__06__] In any endeavor – including the endeavor to
forgive someone, to love someone, to speak the vows of marriage, and to extend
ourselves in love, we are called to more than attraction.
We are called to action, to
participation in God’s plan.
God uses his disciples, you and me to
go out and speak with others.
[__07__] And, after the Star Wars premiere – if you
had been there or if I had been there – we would be telling everyone about it.
Today, we have had the Pre-Cana
retreat for 25 couples at Our Lady of Lourdes preparing for their wedding day.
And, your day is important, holy, sacred…and it is a joy to know that people
will talk about your vows, your commitment on the day and afterwards…and to
tell others not only that they were there ..but why they were there.
You
and I are also called to tell others about the effects of the Holy Spirit in
our lives.
[__08__] Now, of course, you might say this is quite
difficult.
After all, I only speak one language.
And, maybe you or I might not feel confident to speak – let alone translate –
our faith into another language.
[__09__] But, I would suggest you are already doing
the translation and doing so with God’s help,
with the Holy Spirit.
If you are trying to care for a child,
a young person and trying to raise them up in the ways of God, in honesty,
integrity, purity, you are – at times – speaking a foreign language, a language
they may not hear. For a mother/father to maintain a signal, a connection to a
daughter/son, he ore she is called to speak and listen to new ideas, new words,
new languages and also to share ideas with the young person that may seem
foreign. It takes courage.
And, whenever we are trying not only
to speak the Gospel but also demonstrate the Gospel by our compassion and love,
then we are also making a translation and delivering a message that no one else
can deliver. And, when we do this by
accepting a little inconvenience, a little suffering, a change in routine so
that we can tell the Good News, then we are also spreading the Good News on a
worldwide, international scale, to a person whose only access to the Jesus may
be through you or through me.
We pray that the Holy Spirit will assist us
with these words, these actions, these translations, 24 by 7.
[__10_PRE CANA / 5:30 pm Mass Saturday_] Today, we also make this prayer for couples
preparing for the Sacrament of Matrimony.
This
morning our Pre-Cana team including married couples from both St. Joseph
We
pray that the Holy Spirit will also be their interpreter, their guide, to make
their love known to each other, in both spoken and unspoken ways.
Also: attraction, action, love for each other ..and
in this regard through action of the Holy Spirit, your attraction to each other
will endure, your attraction will also last.
[__fin__]
No comments:
Post a Comment