Monday, June 5, 2017

Attraction and Action. (Pentecost 2017-06-04)

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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’s and Our Lady of Lourdes hosted a day of Pre-Cana for engaged couples in Connor Hall. They join us at Mass tonight for prayer.
   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__]   

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