Just a word before we go...Pentecost Sunday...June 8, 2025

With several references to Jesus’ Jewish heritage, the author of the Acts of the Apostles begins recounting the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Feast of Pentecost, a remembrance of Moses receiving the Law on Mt. Sinai, establishing a covenant between God and the people.

Acts depicts a glorious profusion of peoples in the crowd, reflecting God’s embrace of great diversity being unified by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, suggesting that God’s dream for the human race is unity, not uniformity.  Evidence of this dream can also be found in the  reading from Corinthians about the different gifts of the Spirit given to each of us, but all intended to work for the good of the whole community.  Jesus, in our Gospel, emphasizes peace  -  perhaps achieved through the recognition of and respect for our differences.

Our new Pope, Leo XIV, is a member of the Augustinian Order, and as such places great emphasis on the importance and value of community, reflecting that order’s rule that places love of God and neighbor as being primary in one’s life. The pope has recently stated that, “The Christian life is not lived in isolation, confined to our minds and hearts.  It is lived with others because the risen Christ is present among his disciples gathered in his name. We are part of a people, a body that the Lord has established. No one is a Christian alone.”

Our readings today and the pope’s words bring this community of faith to mind.  To quote our opening hymn, “We are a pilgrim people, we are the Church of God. A family of believers, disciples of the Lord. United in one spirit, ignited by the fire. Still burning through the ages, still present in our lives.”

May we move forward together, united in our diversity, to work as co-creators with our God in renewing the face of the earth, bringing God’s love, mercy and peace to one another and to our greater community.  May we strive to honor the human dignity of all we encounter.   May we continue the outreach we have already established and, inspired by the Holy Spirit, use our diverse gifts in new ways to lift up those in need.  Amen.