In the Western church calendar Sunday is Pentecost, which marks the gift of Holy Spirit. Come, Helper, Paraclete in flame-tongues. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. And your old men will dream dreams. After 50 days since Easter, Christians are celebrating the first sprouts of the Church. Acts states that on the same day, about 3000 souls were added to them: Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians and Cappadocians. Phrygians and Pamphylians. Egyptians. Men from Libya near Cyrene.
We have entered Ordinary Time. Between the Christian high holy days, there are green spaces to grow and do the daily work. God in all: Christ was first a young boy, then a man and finally a carpenter. From Incarnation until ministry, Christ spent thirty mostly normal years. Then, he worked for a few years before the Passion and Resurrection. Eternity is a break in the ordinary time. Advent is approaching. We pray and work, and look forward to it.
Keep things in perspective.
Tomorrow, the world will enter “Pride Month”. It will be a time to celebrate, affirm and participate. The summer of this year seems to be more important than ever. Who knows what will happen in the coming months? The culture war seems to be heating up along with the weather. The increasing attachment of T towards LGB has heightened the battle lines, opened up new fronts, and mobilized reservists. There are the Dodgers and the boycotts, but remember that there was a shooting in Nashville, in March? The public has yet to read the manifesto, despite the fact that three nine-year old children were murdered. Which side do you belong to? You will have to make a decision at some point. Be prepared.
I’ll be attending our civic festivals as a professional. June won’t be a month for me to feel proud. It will be a normal time to do ordinary things like get married. The world needs to be populated. Such covenants are the foundation of life and politics. As Homer said, nothing is more noble or admirable than two people who agree to live together as husband and wife and confuse their enemies while delighting their friends. The real work in living a good, happy life is not to fire salvos at a public that is at war with itself. Let us not forget the purpose of all this political activity.
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The election is now well underway. One is tempted to think that it’s too early. It’s easy to get caught up in the polling, speculation and worries. This would be a grave mistake. Voting is still a long time away, and after all it’s just voting. The majority of us do not have to do more than our normal work as citizens, which is largely just the work of everyday life. The debates will not begin until August. Next year won’t be far away. Do not put your faith in princes.
C.S. Lewis warned us about the dangers of total mobilization in our politics. Lewis wrote about this in ” Learning in War-Time.” It is tempting to delay our goals until the crisis has passed. There will always be crises, but the insects choose to do this. According to Lewis, they “have put the welfare and security of their hive first, and have presumably received their reward.” Men are not the same. Men are different. They make jokes while on scaffolds and discuss the latest poem as they advance to the walls in Quebec. This is not panache, it is our nature.”
Women and men have achieved extraordinary feats in everyday life, because they have adapted to the needs of the moment. Humility does not come from the hive or insect life, but rather by answering the call of becoming all that each of us were created to be. The church calendar reminds us that eternity is always on the verge of breaking in – in fact, it is always breaking. As in the days of Noah, people were eating, drinking, getting married, and giving in marriage until he entered the ark. They didn’t know that the flood was coming until it took them away.
