We are celebrating Pentecost today!
Today, Sunday, May 31, marks the end of the liturgical season of Easter and the beginning of Common Time, the time for all things growing.
I always notice the wind moving on this day. It always seems like a physical representation of the Life-Giving Spirit and her activity in the world. These words from the Message have changed my experience of the wind (and trust me, we know wind in Saskatchewan!).
With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. Romans 8:1-2 (The Message)
Thank you Life-Giving Spirit for clearing the air, for freeing us from a life of tyranny.
Our world is in turmoil at the moment with a pandemic and with our mainstream North American cultures becoming aware of a racism problem that has been hidden in plain sight.
My heart aches for those who are aware of the hurt, the grief, that has been done to them. My heart burns against those who continue to perpetuate an imbalance. In diversity, life grows!
Our community needs to see and own the truth of the destruction and fear that are part of the lives of too many. I hope that by being out in the light, by being on camera, we start to see with honesty what is real. In the experience of confession, apology and practices of repair, the healing just might begin.
Traditionally, this Pentecost day is marked by the liturgical colour red. We have connected the red with flaming, fire of the Spirit, with power to raise Jesus from the dead and comfort to help us in our bereftness. We connect this Pentecost day with people speaking in the languages of the people who had gathered from around the known world so that they could hear the fantastic, healing news of a Divine Family who LOVED EVERY ONE OF THEM.
No colours left out. No languages left out. No cultures. No abilities left out. No genders or non-genders left out. No socio-economic stata left out. Everyone belongs. Everyone got to hear about freedom and love for themselves.
Sweet, strong, sweeping Life-Giving Spirit, we need you today! We need you to strengthen our voices, call forth the work of our hands and the bending of our knees, to amplify the listening of our ears and our hearts, so that we can support those who feel like they are on the edges of safety.
May our tears water the seeds of a future that is diverse, challenging, messy and beautiful. May we never use our tears as a weapon, but as a gift from you to bring the healing that you invite us into.
One of the great gifts of the Divine Family is diversity and creativity.
I stand for that diversity and for the ability of each person to name for themselves what makes their lives meaningful and valuable.
And I stand against those who devalue, by their actions, their inactions and their words, those who are different from themselves. I stand against the part of myself that discriminates in big and small ways.
Spirit, make me aware of the plank in my own eye before I point to the speck in the eye of another. May I treat each person, each creature with dignity and respect and listen to their story with honour.
In the midst of the chaos and the turmoil, I choose to work toward a future of equality and complementarity, choose to have faith that there will be growth and change. May it begin with me.
Part of choosing hope in these days, is continuing to live with bite-sized practices for contemplation and creativity.
Our Angeline is creative through and through.
Today she asked if we could turn old crayons into a candle (flame is another great metaphor for the Spirit).
She also wondered if we could turn a red watermelon into a Pentecost cake.
So, without further ado, a watermelon cake, so that you, too, can enjoy creativity and a glorious mess. Share some Pentecost food, keep engaging in this meaningful conversation, and thank the Life-Giving Spirit for clearing the air — and our hearts — of tyranny. One bite-sized practice at a time.
All the best to you and bon appetit!
Jennifer
Angeline’s Watermelon “Cake” Recipe
- Wash your seedless watermelon.
- Cut off the stem and bud ends of the watermelon. (Use the red fruit inside those ends for making melon balls or eat it up as a yummy treat. There is lots of extra watermelon and lots of messy juice.)
- Set the watermelon on one of the flat edges. You might need to trim it so it’s flat.
- Cut off the green rind by slicing straight down just inside the white part and then turning the watermelon a little bit. Keep going around in a circle.
- Divide the large cake shape into three. We made three different tier sizes by repeating the same kind of cutting that we used to cut off the rind.
- A skewer can hold your tiers so they don’t slide.
- We decorated the cake using fruits and flowers we had around the house.
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