Notes from a Sojourn
June 2, 2020
Pentecost in a Time of Pandemic
Sunday, June 1st, 2020 marked the day of Pentecost for the church. Usually, this occasion is marked with churches full of people. Songs of celebration. And my personal favourite: cake.
This year is very different. We are in a time of pandemic. The obvious one being the fear and harm that COVID-19 has loosed upon the world.
But as Bishop Michael Curry points out, we are in a pandemic of another kind. We are in a pandemic of self-centeredness. And it is a self-centeredness that is at the root of every harm done to a person, or the earth. This self-centeredness says my beliefs, and those just me, are the center of the universe. Everything else in on the periphery. I am the center, and so you are not.
This is the disease that plagues our world. And the only cure is love.
This doesn’t mean love as a warm and fuzzy feel good. This is sacrificial love. Love that chooses to give up itself for the good of others. Love that doesn’t try to defend and protect itself. Love that gives of itself so that others can have life. The same love Jesus showed the world.
When we hear the stories of horrible abuse and discrimination from people of colour, love listens and takes them seriously. It does not rush to defend, or explain, or rationalize. This is why “All Lives Matter” will never be true until we make sure “Black Lives Matter” as well as the lives of our First Nations people.
This is hard work. Some might say impossible. But it is possible. Pentecost is the day we celebrate that God’s spirit is poured out, and empowers us all. The possibility is within each of us. We simply need to find a way to set that spirit free.
At Pentecost, God reminds us all that it can be different. That people from different walks of life, from different races, religious, and perspectives can find understanding with one another. We can listen and understand. We can be brought together. Sacrificial love is the way. God’s spirit makes it possible, so in the words of the ancient prayer of Pentecost: Come Holy Spirit. Come!
Jon Martin+
Parish of South Dundas
