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}May 11, 2008\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 Pentecost
 (A)\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 St. John 
20:19-23\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 This year
, for Mother\u8217\'92s Day, I put together a photo book for Mom of pictures I had
 taken at her house and of the Everett home place, where she was born. I also included
 some of my own photos of surfing dolphins and sunrises and sunsets that I thought
 she might enjoy.\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28\line Looking
 at the book this week as I sat on the back porch,\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 I saw something
 unexpected in the print of the 90 or so\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 year old 
dogtrot house Mom loves so much. There was\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 plenty of
 soft but bright light, and as I looked at the\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 picture of
 the front of the house, I could just barely make\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 out Mom\u8217
\'92s figure on the south side of the house, toward\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 the back. 
How fitting, and how wonderfully surprising! I\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 had not known
 she was in the frame at all. That got me\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 to thinking
 about Pentecost, and the promised gift of the\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 Holy Spirit
, which we celebrate today.\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 Because of
 the extra light I had on the porch, my\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 eye caught
 that small image of Mom on the print. Could it\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 be that the
 extra light, if you will, the divine fire, the divine\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 desire of
 Pentecost may help me see more and deeper,\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 yea, even
 more as Christ sees, since in and by his Spirit\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 he now dwells
 in me, in you, in all of us who are His\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 gathered 
community? And with more of the eyes of\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 Christ we
 see ourselves better, others better, God\u8217\'92s\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 creation 
better (we know it more and more as God\u8217\'92s\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 creation, 
not our own, and not our plaything to do with as\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 we please
).\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28\line In the
 past few weeks, the Spirit has been trying me with, of all things, a scrawny, mangy
 black cat with piercing eyes. In a matter of a few weeks, I have gone from throwing
 whatever I could lay my hands on at this cat, to putting out food for it. I rationalize
 putting out the food for it by telling myself that it\u8217\'92ll be\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 easier for
 the animal control officer to catch it this way.\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 But I\u8217
\'92m sending out mixed signals to this poor creature.\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 I\u8217\'92
ll feed her, but then when she tries to come up on the\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 porch, I\u8217
\'92ll raise my voice or shoo her off. Come this\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 close, but
 no closer. But like our other two cats, the\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 scrawny black
 stray likes the porch, and the dog bed.\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 She\u8217
\'92s pretty bold, when you come right down to it. It\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 would seem
 that the Holy Spirit thinks boldness is called\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 for in order
 to get through to me. You have compassion\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 for this 
poor creature, what of my other needy, hurting,\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 and hungry
 ones? What will you do with and for them?\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 I saw a young
 poet on the square at flea market,\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 trying to
 sell a book of her poetry. I didn\u8217\'92t buy one, but I\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 talked with
 her a moment and asked if she read Mary\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 Oliver. She
 said she did. Could this be an expression of\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 the insight
 and peace the Holy Spirit brings?\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 (From Mary
\u8217\'92s Six Recognitions of the Lord--Thirst)\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 I lounge 
on the grass, that\u8217\'92s all. So simple. Then I lie back until I am inside 
the cloud that is just above me but very high, and shaped like a fish. Or, perhaps
 not. Then I enter the place\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 of not-thinking
, not-remembering, not wanting.\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28\line When
 the blue jay cries out his riddle, in his carping voice, I return. But I go back
, the threshold is always\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 near. Over
 and back, over and back. Then I rise. Maybe I rub my face as though I have been
 asleep. But I have not been\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 asleep. I
 have been, as I say, inside the cloud, or, perhaps, the lily floating on the water
. Then I go back to town,\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 to my own
 house, my own life, which has\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 now become
 brighter and simpler, somewhere\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 I have never
 been before...(Karl Barth, Swiss pastor and theologian, to express what the gift
 of the Spirit means theologically): \u8220\'93...It is indeed {\b\dbch\af2\loch
\af1\hich\f1 not }a natural condition of man for him to have the Spirit; it will
 always be a distinction, a gift of God. What matters here is, quite simply, belonging
 to Jesus Christ.\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28\line We are
 not concerned in the Holy Spirit with something\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 different
 from Christ and new...the Holy Spirit {\b\dbch\af2\loch\af1\hich\f1 is }the Spirit
\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 of Jesus 
Christ...In the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 Pentecost
, there is a movement--pneuma means wind--\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 from Christ
 to man. Christ breathed on them: \u8216\'91receive ye\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 the Holy 
Ghost!\u8217\'92 Christians are those breathed upon by\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 Christ.\u8221
\'94 (Desert Fathers--early monks in Egypt and elsewhere)\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 Abba Lot 
went to see Abba Joseph and said to him,\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28\u8220\'93
Abba, as far as I can, I say my little office, I fast a little, I\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 pray and 
meditate, I live in peace, and, as far as I can, I\par}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28 purify my
 thoughts. What else can I do?  The old man stood up and stretched his hands toward
 heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire, and he said to him, {\b\dbch
\af2\loch\af1\hich\f1\u8220\'93If you will, you can become all flame.\u8221\'94\par
}}

\pard\nowidctlpar\nooverflow\sl240\slmult1{\f1\lang1033\fs24\kerning28\line Where
 will the wind of Heaven take us my brothers and sisters? As those breathed upon
 by Christ, filled with His Spirit, what will we do in his name? What worlds will
 we turn upside down? What worlds will we set alight?\par}

}