June 6, 2022 — Words of Wisdom, Elie Wiesel*

The Word

“When human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant.  Whenever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe”  Elie Wiesel

 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. “I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” John 14:15-21

*Wiesel was a Romanian-born American Jewish writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate and Holocaust survivor.

The Word

Elie Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor, and as such lived through one of the most horrific experiences of systemic murder, fanaticism, and evil this world has ever seen. As he continued his life, having lost a good portion of his family to the death camps of the holocaust, he and his wife established The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity, to fight “indifference, intolerance and injustice”. As Elie so eloquently puts it, we must always fight for “human dignity” and fight against those people and regimes that seek to deny basic human rights.

Jesus is known as the “Word” in the Gospel of John:  “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

So when we speak of the “Word of G-d” we need to clarify if we are speaking about the written word (the bible), or the Incarnation of G-d, Jesus Christ. 

Jesus, the Word Incarnate, taught that we are to love all people, we are to cherish the dignity of all lives, and we are to be Spirit-led people of G-d. We become Spirit-led people by reading the Word, and by receiving the very body and blood of Jesus in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. It is through these means that we understand where our true identity comes, that we are people of G-d, not people of the world – but as people of G-d, we are sent out to right the wrongs of this world, no matter where we encounter them.

Let us pray,

Lord Jesus, we hear that you were with the Father in creation – and as such will always be in creation to the very end. Help me hear your word today and then live it out and share that word. Amen.Pastor Dave

June 5, 2022 – Pentecost

“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every people under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” Acts 2:1-12

Pentecost – literally translated as “50^th Day”. It is an ancient harvest festival call “Shavvot” or “The Feast of Weeks”. It was a one day festival celebrated by the Jews as appointed by G-d in Leviticus 23 – celebrated 50 days after the Passover. Israelites from all over would travel to Jerusalem to praise G-d for the bounty and grace they had received from G-d. In the miracle of the harvest, they would have seen the hand of G-d blessing them – and as such they felt the need to thank G-d.

For you and me, the day of Pentecost comes on the 50^th day after the Resurrection of Jesus. On the 40^th day Jesus ascended into heaven – promising his disciples that he would return to them one day – but also promising them that they would receive the gift of the spirit. Ten days later, as they were gathering for this harvest festival, the Holy Spirit did come – in a rush – in a dramatic fashion – promising to continue to blow open the doors if not blow down the doors of their faith. What would they do with the power of the Holy Spirit?

What are we going to do? What can we do empowered by the Holy Spirit? That is our question to ponder this day. Pentecost is big – a huge event – but Pentecost is also filled with little signs and wonders as well. We see the little signs – and of course the big signs in our country that all is not well. The most recent school shooting in Texas – 19 elementary-aged children killed because someone felt such anger or separation or loneliness that he chose to turn to a gun rather than choosing to share their pain with their voice. It is one of the many, many signs that our country needs the presence, and the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no time to wait……there are plenty of signs around us — we need to allow others to witness how the power of the Holy Spirit is leading us – through our words and our actions of love, mercy and Grace.

Pastor Dave