Dear Friends,
As
believing people, many of us grew up with two rather divergent world views:
One world view encompasses our everyday lives: work,
school, family, neighbors, friends, sports, shopping – by and large, a world we
love, value and enjoy.
The other world view is the God world: Sunday church,
prayer, keeping the commandments. Often this world seems rather distant, not
particularly warm or inviting.
The Feast of Pentecost, which we celebrated last Sunday
celebrates and reminds us of quite a different world view.
Pentecost
celebrates and reminds us that there is only world:
The
world of Genesis in which God looked at
this earth and said “It is good. It is very good.(Gen.1.31)”
The world of which Jesus said “I have come that you might
have life and have it abundantly.(John 10.10)”
The world of which Jesus said “I will send the
Holy Spirit to be with you always. ( John 14.26)”
The
challenge of Pentecost is twofold:
-
to recognize the
Holy Spirit present in every facet of
our lives
-
to understand
that the Spirit of God comes where and when the Spirit will it and not at our
command..
Think
about the people who were present in Jerusalem
at the time of
the First Pentecost.. They
came from places with tongue-twisting names. All came for other reasons, but
they were privileged to hear Peter, newly infused with the Holy Spirit, and to
experience the power of the Spirit themselves. Coincidence that they were
there?
A woman in New York City, hesitant about taking a job
in Rochester was considering her
options when a jogger passed her on the street, wearing a tee shirt that said “
I’d Rather Be in Rochester.” Coincidence?
Walking
through a courtyard at the University of Pavia, Italy last month, my friends
and I came across a graduate with her family. We applauded her, engaged her in
conversation, then she said to us “ I
have
been considering going to America. You
are my sign I should go.” Concidence?
Luck? Chance? Happenstance?
Someone once said that “Luck and chance are just God’s way
of being anonymous.” Where has God been
anonymous in your everyday life?
~Sister Joan Sobala
