I am delighted to share another beautiful submission to the Monk in the World guest post series from the community. Read on for Elaine Breckenridge’s reflection An Expanding Pentecost.
“Suddenly from heaven, there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind…and divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them and they were filled with the Holy Spirit.”
I have been thinking about the day of Pentecost and how it carries important messages for us in all seasons. When the smoke and winds of Pentecost have died down what’s left? A conversation.
Above the murmur of the different languages, individuals heard God speaking to them in their own native languages. The Spirit of God rushed in to empower many different kinds of people to do something astounding—to communicate effectively with one another!
Pentecost was about mutual conversation. A mutual conversation between God and humanity. And a mutual conversation between human beings. And yet, despite the modern miracles of international translation devices and the many skilled individuals who speak multiple languages, we actually seem farther apart in our ability to communicate with one another.
Even so, I wonder if the Pentecost moment of old is becoming more expansive? I wonder if, because we as human beings have failed to listen and understand one another, that God may be reaching out to the world in a new way, using an older language? I wonder if God is speaking to us through the Earth? I wonder if this expanding Pentecost is calling us to listen and engage in a sacred conversation with the creatures of God’s creation?
Thomas Berry has said, “We are talking only to ourselves. We are not talking to the rivers; we are not listening to the wind and the stars. We have broken the great conversation.”
Berry’s comment encouraged me to begin practicing listening and holding conversations as I sit in a Cedar Forest next to the farm where my children and grandchildren live. The cedars, firs, alders, ferns, mushrooms, wildflowers and the furred and feathered ones have welcomed me there. The Great Mother tree embraces both me and my four-year old grandson, Leo.
As our conversation unfolds, I sense that other two-legged friends would be welcome there too. I consider inviting friends with the desire to practice kinship. What would it be like to practice a respectful presence by listening to the many voices in the forest? Could we enter into a conversation with them by simply being present and participating in their worship?
Sitting on the stumps we would begin by grounding ourselves in silence, acknowledging the many creatures by name whom we have joined. Next, engaging in a practice of holy wandering for twenty to thirty minutes, we would explore an area of the land to listen to what creation and God may be saying there. After the wandering, we would come together again and share our experiences and offer prayers of thanksgiving. Sometimes we might sing or read poetry. There might be scripture readings or readings from other faith traditions, stories or poems or a mix.
However, the main point is to listen to creation and restore the sacred conversation between the Earth and humanity, which many believe has been broken. So yes, I see this as God’s invitation to be part of an expanding Pentecost movement. God is speaking to us through the Earth and I believe we are called to listen.
For me, the Sabbath Day of Sunday will usually involve gathering in an Episcopal Church to share the elements of the Earth, the bread and the wine, and let’s not forget the flowers and the water of baptism. But I also love and welcome Earth’s invitation to be nurtured by creation in a forest sanctuary, by the seaside, or in my own backyard.
I am grateful for the first miracle of Pentecost as revealed in our sacred scripture. And for the Spirit revealed to us in the images of wind, water, and fire. I hope you will join me in being part of the expanding Pentecost. Wander into creation and see what you hear. It will surely be words of love.
Today, let us pray for the Spirit to again blow the breath of love into the hearts of all people. May we invite the Spirit to gift us with the fire of love; to come upon us and enlighten our world with compassion. May our compassion embrace both humanity and other-than-human elements that surround us above, below, around and beside us.
Let us pray and hope for a continual expansion of Pentecost, noticing wherever and however a fresh outpouring of the Spirit will draw all people into an awareness that we are One, with humanity, with our Earth and all her creatures. May the Spirit guide us through our stewardship of the Earth’s beauty and resources. Let us pray and hope for an expanding Pentecost in our own lives. Let us be bold to pray, “Come Holy Spirit, come.” Amen.
Elaine Breckenridge is a dancing monk, Episcopal priest and Wild Church Leader. She happily resides on Camano Island, Washington where she volunteers at the Camano Farm Ashram and Circlewood. She has two grandsons, ages 7,4 who live at the Farm Ashram with their parents. When she is not writing a sermon, she enjoys practicing yoga and exploring the island’s many forests, beaches and nature preserves.
