For Sunday
The Day of Pentecost
Collect
Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Reading
Reflection
For most of the last ten years, a dove has nested in the cloister and in the trefoil above the front door into the church. It arrives write around Pentecost and each time, I marvel at this beautiful symbol of grace. The trefoil, a symbol of three interlocking circles, is a common symbol of the trinity. And the dove: the Holy Spirit. Together, it is so perfect.
I’ve been looking for her this year. It’s time. There is a nest in the cloister, but not one in the trefoil.
I’ll confess that it has left me more than a little disappointed. Even as I understand that we aren’t the apostles waiting for the Advocate. Nor are we supposed to get a parallel sign to theirs—especially as an annual occurrence.
What Jesus tells the apostles is that they are witnesses—because they have and do experience things. And it is because of the experience of witnessing, they are able to share with others.
The dynamic heart of witnessing grace is not seeing alone. It involves processing what we’ve seen and sharing it as a testimony to it. We see a thing, figure out what we’ve seen, and tell somebody about it in a way that they might understand it.
Perhaps the point, therefore, isn’t for us to see the Holy Spirit nest in our trefoil every year. But that her presence with us was for us to see, process, and share. That we might be active witnesses of grace—not mere observers or recipients of cool stuff.
As we gather to celebrate the Day of Pentecost, let us do so with gratitude and eagerness. To be thankful for what we have seen and eager to make sense of it and share it. That others may know the generous grace of a loving and faithful God.