Christmas, Easter and Pentecost are the three most important feasts
of the Christian year and the Christian calendar. And Pentecost
always comes in a distant third. We never have a Pentecost tree. We
never have Pentecost presents. We never have Pentecost family
gatherings. And, God help us, we never have a Pentecost egg hunt.

What is Pentecost really about, because there is no infant in a crib
or empty tomb to make it clear for us? Instead we get a dove. We get
wind. We get fire, and we get red shirts and maybe red socks. That’s
what I have. What is Pentecost really about? You know, I gather with
a group of preachers and ministers each Tuesday morning to look at
the feast coming up, and that was a question one of the Catholic
preachers asked last Tuesday morning. What is Pentecost really about?
And he gave to me an excellent answer. He said it is about the
reality of Jesus Christ today, his vision, his power, his presence,
his influence in our lives and in our world today, and the power of
the Spirit of God that makes it happen. This is how it happened. The
source of making the real Jesus present today is God Almighty, God’s
own self, God’s own spirit. And that’s what we remember and that’s
what we celebrate on Pentecost, grounded in God himself. And the
shape it takes is the shape of Jesus Christ, whether you talk about
Jesus of Nazareth and his teaching and his death and resurrection or
Jesus whom we meet in the Eucharist or Jesus whom we meet in one
another, whom we meet as the Jesus Movement that we call the Church.
That’s the source, God Almighty. That’s the shape, Jesus Christ. And
the result, the future, the goal, the destiny.

The long-range plan, Jesus announces, is “Shalom.” We translate it as
“Peace,” but peace can just mean there is no war going on. Shalom
means a complete healing, a complete wholeness for all of us and all
our world and its future. The result is to be Shalom. Now, here’s the
tricky part. Jesus also says the strategy to get there, (Are you
ready?) the strategy is forgiveness. Didn’t it ever seem strange to
you? Jesus comes to the disciples on that first day of the week and
he says, “Peace be with you.” and then he starts talking about
forgiveness. The strategy to bring Shalom to our world is
forgiveness, and it ain’t easy! That’s a tough sell! I know. I’m
Irish. I have a priest friend who said to me, “You know the Irish way
of forgiveness is to say ‘I forgive. I forget. But I will remember.’
“ People have talked about Irish Alzheimers and called it “We forget
everything except the grudges.” But it applies to everybody. I
remember there was the Irish play, “Da.” and it talked about
remembrance and forgiveness in the family. I saw it on Broadway and,
in a matinee show, most of the people attending were Jewish matrons.
And, during the intermission, one Jewish matron was saying to
another, “This play isn’t about the Irish. It’s about us. It’s about
us Jews.” It’s about all of us. It’s about Filipinos too.

You know, it is not easy to follow the strategy of forgiveness. So,
what are the steps? The steps are clear in the feast of Pentecost.
What was the first step? We think about the gift of tongues. But
those are tongues of fire. The gift was the gift of hearing. We are
amazed. Each of us hears and understands in our own language. God
gave, through his Spirit, the gift of hearing. We have to learn to
listen to one another, to different people, people who differ from
us, and we have to understand. We have to.... (I always quote
Cardinal Seunens, teaching at Sproul Hall in Berkeley and saying,
“God had it right. God gave us two ears and one mouth.”) We have to
listen twice as much as we speak. The gift of hearing, we pray for that.

The gift of community. Each one hears in their own language, in their
own tongue. We are called to be one. But each in its own community,
with its own culture, its own style, its own language, its own
history, its own traditions. And yet, we are one. That’s why we give
thanks on this Pentecost weekend, that we have our Filipino community
sharing their style and their traditions and their devotions with us,
that we welcome and give thanks for the richness and the style of one
another. And yet we are one. The gift of hearing, the gift of oneness
and diversity....

And finally, the gift of hope! Those disciples went out and changed
the world. And where were they to begin with? Behind locked doors!
What locked the doors? Was it a combination lock? No. Was it a
padlock? No. Was it a Yale lock? No. The gospel tells us they were
locked up by fear. They were locked by fear. We have more than enough
fear to go around. And the Spirit of God gives us the hope that
allows us to break out of the fear and change the world and make a
difference.

What are our fears? We have big fears. We have little fears. And I
got to tell you, the little fears are the big ones. We have the fear
of Global Warming. And we have the fear of personal loneliness.
That’s the big one. We have the fear of what to do with Iraq and the
war and terrorism. And we have the fear of personal depression.
That’s the big one. We have the fear of all kinds of issues of
justice, workers being fired aimlessly in Emeryville today, the
School of the Americas training people to really attack their own
citizens, the problem of immigration, the problem of homeless. And we
also have the fear of our family problems, our family security, our
family future. That’s the big one. We have the fear of world hunger
and the fear about our own health. Just got a call from a dear friend
yesterday. He’s diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Those are the big
ones. The powerful spirit of God can come through and unlock the
doors of fear by giving us hearing to one another and community and
hope. So we have to pray about it. So that’s what I am going to
suggest. You know, I used to have those four-minute specials. I’m
going to ask four minutes of meditation. I am going to suggest we sit
quietly, maybe put your hands in your lap and even cup them, a sign
that you are open to receive the spirit to be poured out in you.
Let’s sit back and meditate and pray, “Come Holy Spirit, Come.”