Archive for the ‘Pentecost’ Category
Above: Pentecost Dove
Image Scanned from a Church Bulletin
The Nature and Character of God
MAY 28, 2023
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According to the Inter-Lutheran Commission on Worship (ILCW) Lectionary (1973), as contained in the Lutheran Book of Worship (1978) and Lutheran Worship (1982)
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Joel 2:28-29
Psalm 104:25-34 or Veni Creator Spiritus
Acts 2:1-21
John 20:19-23
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God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
as you sent upon the disciples the promised gift of the Holy Spirit,
look upon your Church and open our hearts to the power of the Spirit.
Kindle in us the fire of your love,
and strengthen our lives for service in your kingdom;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
OR
God our creator, earth has many languages,
but your Gospel announces your love
to all nations in one heavenly speech.
Make us messengers of the good news that,
through the power of your Spirit,
everyone everywhere may unite in one song of praise;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 23
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O God, on this day you once taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending them the light of your Holy Spirit.
Grant us in our day the same Spirit
to have a right understanding in all things
and evermore to rejoice in his holy consolation;
through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you in communion with the Holy Spirit,
now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Worship (1982), 59
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VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS
Come, Holy Spirit;
send down from heaven’s heigh
your radiant light.
Come, lamp of every heart,
come, parent of the poor,
all gifts ar yours.
Comforter beyond all comforting,
sweet unexpected guest,
sweetly refresh.
Rest in hard labour;
coolness in heavy heat,
hurt souls’ relief.
Refill the secret hearts
of your faithful,
O most blessed light.
Without your holy power
nothing can bear your light,
nothing is free from sin.
Wash all that is filthy,
water all that is parched,
heal what is hurt within.
Bend all that is rigid,
warm all that has frozen hard,
lead back the lost.
Give to your faithful ones,
who come in simple trust,
your sevenfold mystery.
Give virtue its reward,
give, in the end, salvation
and joy that has no end.
–Original Latin text by Rabanus Maurus, 800s C.E.; translation courtesy of The Church of England, Common Worship: Daily Prayer (2005), 642
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Pentecost is the fiftieth and last day of the season of Easter. The baptismal connection to this feast is strong. The alternative name, Whitsunday (White Sunday) refers to the white garments of the newly baptized.
The divine nature exceeds human comprehension. Orthodox theology offers partial answers, the best we mere mortals can receive. Receiving those answers does not guarantee comprehending them, though. So be it. Christianity is not Gnosticism; salvation depends on grace, not knowledge. With all this in mind, we can still utilize useful language, much of which may be theological poetry, not theological prose. God is with us. God empowers us. Christian language for this truth is “the Holy Spirit.”
However, I seek to avoid committing modalism, an ancient Trinitarian heresy. This heresy denies the permanent existence of the members of the Holy Trinity and focuses on allegedly transitory distinctions, defined by functions. Know, O reader, that I am not a modalist. I merely acknowledge that the full nature of God is too much for a human mind to grasp and that we mere mortals experience God in certain ways.
I like the Jewish way of explaining the divine nature and character, as much as doing so is possible. That method is recalling what God has done. This method pervades the Hebrew Bible. Think, O reader, what God has done that you have noticed. Ask yourself what these divine actions tell you about the nature and character of God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 26, 2022 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM COWPER, ANGLICAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ADELARD OF CORBIE, ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK AND ABBOT; AND HIS PROTÉGÉ, SAINT PASCAHSIUS RADBERTUS, FRANKISH ROMAN CATHOLIC MONK, ABBOT, AND THEOLOGIAN
THE FEAST OF ROBERT HUNT, FIRST ANGLICAN CHAPLAIN AT JAMESTOWN, VIRGINIA
THE FEAST OF RUGH BYLLESBY, EPISCOPAL DEACONESS IN GEORGIA
THE FEAST OF SAINT STANISLAW KUBITSA, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1940; AND SAINT WLADYSLAW GORAL, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP AND MARTYR, 1945
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM STRINGFELLOW, EPISCOPAL ATTORNEY, THEOLOGIAN, AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST
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Link to the corresponding post at BLOGA THEOLOGICA
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Above: Pentecost Dove
Scan by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
Light in the Darkness
JUNE 5, 2022
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 2:1-21 or Joel 2:21-32 (Protestant and Anglican)/Joel 2:21-3:5 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Roman Catholic)
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Acts 2:1-11 or Romans 8:22-27
John 15:26-16:15
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The Humes lectionary readings for Pentecost across all four years are mostly the same. In fact, the readings for Years B and D on this day are identical. I understand; feasible options are limited.
Anyway, after writing lectionary-based devotions for more than a decade, I fall barely short of dreading composing another devotion for Pentecost. My perspective is unique; only I know how often I have repeated myself. I may have something not excessively repetitive to offer in this post.
One of the major themes in the Gospel of John is the conflict between light (good) and darkness (evil). We read that the Holy Spirit will reveal to the world how wrong it has been about sin, about who was in the right, and about judgment.
Pentecost was nearly 2000 years ago. The world has persisted in a state of denial and obliviousness. Human nature has not changed.
Yet may we take courage. God remains sovereign. And those who cleave to the light remain in Christ, who is in God. The light shines on the just and the unjust. And the darkness has not overcome the light.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 12, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BENEDICT BISCOP, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF WEARMOUTH
THE FEAST OF SAINT AELRED OF HEXHAM, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT OF RIEVAULX
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY PUCCI, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
THE FEAST OF HENRY ALFORD, ANGLICAN PRIEST, BIBLICAL SCHOLAR, LITERARY TRANSLATOR, HYMN WRITER, HYMN TRANSLATOR, AND BIBLE TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARGUERITE BOURGEOYS, FOUNDRESS OF THE SISTERS OF NOTRE DAME
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2021/01/12/light-in-the-darkness-part-vi/
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This is post #450 of LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS.
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Above: Pentecost Dove
Scanned from a Bulletin, Saint Gregory the Great Episcopal Church, Athens, Georgia
The Spirit of Truth
MAY 23, 2021
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Joel 2:21-32
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Acts 2:1-21
John 14:8-17, 25-27
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John 14:8-17, 25-27 is the only one of the four readings not common to Pentecost on all four years of the Humes lectionary. I choose, therefore, to focus on that lesson in this post.
The Jesus of the Synoptic Gospels acts more and speaks less. The Jesus of the Johannine Gospel, however, speaks more and acts less. Therefore, we have chapter upon chapter of material, in the mouth of Jesus, addressing his Apostles during Holy Week. The setting of John 14 is the Wednesday of Holy Week, after the Last Supper. (Yes, in the Gospel of John, Jesus was the Passover Lamb, crucified on Thursday, the day of Passover, as sacrificial animals went to death at the Temple.) We read that Jesus was about to go away, but that the Apostles would not be alone. The Holy Spirit would teach them in Christ’s absence and give them divine peace.
I am cautious about any attempt to parse the Trinity, for I do not want to commit a Trinitarian heresy. The Trinity is a great and glorious mystery; I prefer to treat it as such. Nevertheless, I affirm that remains active in the world. The label for God, active in the world, is the Holy Spirit, in Christian theology. The same Holy Spirit available to those Apostles remains available to all of us.
Happy Pentecost!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 11, 2020 COMMON ERA
HOLY SATURDAY
THE FEAST OF HEINRICH THEOBALD SCHENCK, GERMAN LUTHERAN PASTOR AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF CHARLES STEDMAN NEWHALL, U.S. NATURALIST, HYMN WRITER, AND CONGREGATIONALIST AND PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER
THE FEAST OF GEORGE AUGUSTUS SELWYN, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND, PRIMATE OF NEW ZEALAND, AND BISHOP OF LICHFIELD; MISSIONARY
THE FEAST OF GEORGE ZABELKA, U.S. ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MILITARY CHAPLAIN, AND ADVOCATE FOR CHRISTIAN NONVIOLENCE
THE FEAST OF HENRY HALLAM TWEEDY, U.S. CONGREGATIONALIST MINISTER, LITURGIST, AND HYMN WRITER
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2020/04/11/the-spirit-of-truth/
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Above: Pentecost Dove
Scanned from a Church Bulletin by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
When the Advocate Comes
MAY 19, 2024
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Acts 2:1-21 or Joel 2:21-32
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Acts 2:1-21 or Romans 8:22-27
John 15:26-16:15
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My Episcopal parish recently held a few focus groups. Our tasks were envision the congregation in a decade and to think about what the church should be then, to focus on goals and broad strokes, not technical details. I stated my version of that future. I also said, in broad terms, that we ought not to focus on what we can do or think we will be able to do, but on what God can do through us. I vocalized the principle that we need to focus on divine agency, not human agency.
This has been the task of the Church since its birth on Pentecost 29 or 30 C.E., in Jerusalem. God has always been central; human egos have imagined otherwise.
As we continue our collective and individual spiritual journeys in Christ, the Holy Spirit will accompany, advise, and advocate for us.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 29, 2019 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL APOSTLES AND MARTYRS
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2019/06/29/when-the-advocate-comes/
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Above: Pentecost Dove
Image Scanned by Kenneth Randolph Taylor
Receive the Holy Spirit
MAY 28, 2023
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The Collect:
God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
as you sent upon the disciples the promised gift of the Holy Spirit,
look upon your Church and open our hearts to the power of the Spirit.
Kindle in us the fire of your love,
and strengthen our lives for service in your kingdom;
through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Lutheran Book of Worship (1978), 23
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The Assigned Readings:
Joel 2:21-32
Psalm 104:24-34, 35b
Acts 2:1-21
John 7:37-39
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Joel 2:21-32 (Protestant and Anglican versification) = Joel 2:21-3:5 (Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox versification)
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Dating the Book of Joel is difficult, but its message is simple: After the judgment of God and the repentance of Israel divine mercy will be abundant and God will pour out His spirit on all people. The assigned reading, quoted partially in Acts 2:1-21, fits well with Psalm 104. The future age predicted in Joel 2:21-32/2:21-3:5 remains for our future, but its message of God’s universal outpouring of the Holy Spirit is timeless. For the sake of completeness, however, one should not that Chapter 4 (if one is Jewish, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox)/Chapter 3 (if one is Anglican or Protestant) contains both judgment and mercy.
By means of both the witness of the Holy Spirit and Single Predestination, taken together, salvation is available to all people, but many people reject it, hence divine judgment. This is unfortunate, as well as beyond any mere mortal’s pay grade, so to speak. Nevertheless, the extent of the boundaries of divine grace would probably shock most of us, if we knew all the details. These are properly matters in the purview of God.
John 7:37-38, in the original Greek, is a somewhat ambiguous text, due to the question of punctuation. Related to that issue is the matter of theological interpretation, as commentaries reveal. I feel comfortable asserting that Jesus, not the believer, is the source of the rivers of living water. In Christianity we must look to Jesus. God is central; we are not.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 2, 2018 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT BLANDINA AND HER COMPANIONS, THE MARTYRS OF LYONS, 177
THE FEAST OF ANDERS CHRISTENSEN ARREBO, “THE FATHER OF DANISH POETRY”
THE FEAST OF MARGARET ELIZABETH SANGSTER, HYMN WRITER, NOVELIST, AND DEVOTIONAL WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT STEPHEN OF SWEDEN, ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONARY, BISHOP, AND MARTYR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2018/06/02/receive-the-holy-spirit-part-ii/
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Above: Icon of Pentecost, by Phiddipus
Image in the Public Domain
Community and Faith
MAY 28, 2023
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Deuteronomy 16:9-12
Isaiah 60:19-22
Galatians 3:1-5
John 3:31-36
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“Pentecost” comes from “fifty,” as in the formulation in Deuteronomy 16. The harvest festival described in that text is a community celebration of gratitude to God.
That communal ethos, rampant in the Bible, runs counter to much of Western Civilization, with its emphasis on individualism. To read past the blindness of individualism when pondering the Bible can be difficult, but it is essential. The glory of YHWH, we read in Isaiah 60, will shine on the faithful community. We also read of a foolish community (or a group of communities) in Galatians 3.
As St. Paul the Apostle argued correctly, one cannot break one part of the Law of Moses without violating the entire law code. And nobody can keep all of the Law. The emphasis on the Holy Spirit in Galatians 3:1-5 is appropriate for this Sunday, a commemoration of an extraordinary event–the birth of the Church.
In the Gospel of John (17:3) eternal life is simply knowing God via Jesus; time and timelessness has nothing to do with the definition. There is no such thing as an eternity without God, for eternity is, by definition, in God. Eternity is a quality of life, not the afterlife. One can have an afterlife without God; the term for that is Hell. Eternity, however, begins in this life and continues into the next one. Eternal life comes via the Holy Spirit. Community can reinforce this faith.
I will not attempt to explain the Holy Trinity, for a set of heresies has originated from such efforts. No, I ponder the Trinity and affirm that God is at least that and certainly far more. I cannot grasp the Trinity, so how can I understand the full nature of God? What we mere mortals are worthy of grasping, however, is sufficient for salvation and justification. That which is left for us is to stand in the awe of God, to trust in God, to recognize our complete dependence on God, and, by grace, to love each other selflessly and self-sacrificially, thereby following the example of Jesus, the visible manifestation of God. We can do this via the power of the Holy Spirit.
Happy Pentecost!
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 14, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT METHODIUS I OF CONSTANTINOPLE, PATRIARCH
THE FEAST OF DOROTHY FRANCES BLOMFIELD GURNEY, ENGLISH POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF HANS ADOLF BRORSON, DANISH LUTHERAN BISHOP, HYMN WRITER, AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
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https://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2017/06/14/community-and-faith/
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Above: The Original Text
Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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Loving God, who loves us, mourns with us, and rejoices with us,
the death of dreams and aspirations is among the most traumatic losses to endure.
It cuts to the emotional core of a person, causing great anguish, grief, and anger.
Regardless if the dream was indeed the one a person should have followed
(assuming that it was not morally wrong, of course),
the pain and disappointment are legitimate, I suppose.
I have known these emotions in this context more than once.
I wish them upon nobody, not even those who inflicted them upon me.
May we, by grace, function as your ministers of comfort
to those experiencing such a death or the aftermath of one
and who are near us or whom you send our way.
And may we, by grace, help others achieve their potential
and refrain from inflicting such pain upon others.
In the name of Jesus, who identified with us, suffered, died, and rose again. Amen.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
APRIL 19, 2014 COMMON ERA
HOLY SATURDAY, YEAR A
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Tagged with Anger, Grief
Above: Easter Vigil, St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church, Dunwoody, Georgia, April 8, 2012
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
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The congregational response to “We pray to God” is “Lord, hear our prayer.”
As we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus of Nazareth, we bring our thanksgivings and concerns to the throne of grace.
We pray for
- Justin, the Archbishop of Canterbury;
- Katharine, our Presiding Bishop;
- Robert and Keith, our Bishops;
- Beth, our Rector;
and all lay and clergy members of the the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
We pray to God.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for economic justice, environmental stewardship, good government, and a better society. We pray especially for
- those who struggle with financial, career, job, and/or vocational issues;
- those who suffer because of tyrants and violence; and
- those who suffer because of the apathy or prejudices of their neighbors.
We pray to God.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for shalom among people everywhere.
We pray to God.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We give thanks for everything which causes God to rejoice, especially
- the beauty of the natural world;
- the beauty which people have created;
- [the birth of G, son/daughter of H and I;]
- loving relationships;
- X, Y, and Z, who celebrate their birthdays this week; and
- A and B, C and D, and E and F, who celebrate their anniversaries this week.
We pray to God.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for all military personnel, especially (insert list here).
We pray to God.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for others for whom we care, especially (insert list here).
We pray to God.
Lord, hear our prayer.
We pray for those who have died, that they will have eternal rest.
We pray to God.
Lord, hear our prayer.
[The celebrant concludes with a Collect.]
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MARCH 3, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE THIRD SUNDAY IN LENT, YEAR C
THE FEAST OF SAINT KATHARINE DREXEL, FOUNDER OF THE SISTERS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
THE FEAST OF SAINT CUNEGOND OF LUXEMBOURG, HOLY ROMAN EMPRESS THEN NUN
THE FEAST OF SAINT GERVINUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF JOHN AND CHARLES WESLEY, ANGLICAN PRIESTS
Above: The Conquest of the Amorites, by James Tissot
Numbers and Luke, Part IX: Fairness and Grace
MAY 28, 2023
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Numbers 21:10-35
Psalm 93 (Morning)
Psalms 136 and 117 (Evening)
Luke 21:20-38
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NOTE:
The sequence to which this post belongs continues at ORDINARY TIME DEVOTIONS, beginning with the following URL:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2012/06/26/devotion-for-monday-and-tuesday-in-pentecost-week-lcms-daily-lectionary/.
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Israelite victories and conquests prior to the arrival in Canaan fill Numbers 21:10-35. The narrative tells us that so long as they obeyed God, they won. I wish that life were always as simple as obedience to God leading to success and prosperity. Yet, as we read in Luke 21:12-19, sometimes it leads to persecution and betrayal. Indeed, the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot opens the next chapter.
I have no easy answers as to why bad things happen to good people. Observation and the study of history have taught me some lessons. Jealousies arise. We see those who are better than ourselves and we seek to tear them down rather than to improve ourselves. Or we misunderstand others, and we learn to hate those we do not understand. Sometimes people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yet some people seem to have all the luck while others seem to have none. The fact that I know all this does mean than I understand it very well.
I do know that the world is an unfair place. I have railed against this to God. The world is still horribly unfair, however. But perhaps fairness is not the proper standard. Grace is not fair either, but I try not to complain about that reality. No, the standard I really seek is grace–to everybody. And, when I perceive the absence of it, I become disturbed. And I rail about it to God. But to what extent are we–you, O reader, and I–supposed to function as agents of that grace more than we do?
Now that is a hard lesson.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 23, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICETAS OF REMESIANA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF WIREMU TAMIHANA, MAORI PROPHET AND KINGMAKER
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/numbers-and-luke-part-ix-fairness-and-grace/
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Above: Episcopal Church of the Holy Spirit, Cumming, Georgia, Pentecost Sunday, June 12 2011
Image Source = Bill Monk, Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta
The Inclusive Gospel of Jesus
JUNE 5, 2022
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The Assigned Readings for This Sunday:
Acts 2:1-21 or Genesis 11:1-9
Psalm 104:25-35, 37
Romans 8:14-17 or Acts 2:1-21
John 7:37-39a
The 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.
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Some Related Posts:
A Prayer for Those With Only the Holy Spirit to Intercede for Them:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/17/a-prayer-for-those-with-only-the-holy-spirit-to-intercede-for-them/
Come Down, O Love Divine:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/come-down-o-love-divine/
Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/07/30/come-holy-spirit-heavenly-dove/
Invocation to the Holy Spirit:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/invocation-to-the-holy-spirit/
Holy Spirit, Font of Light:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/holy-spirit-font-of-light/
Prayer of Praise and Adoration for the Day of Pentecost:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/prayer-of-praise-and-adoration-for-the-day-of-pentecost/
Prayer of Confession for the Day of Pentecost:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/prayer-of-confession-for-the-day-of-pentecost/
Prayer of Dedication for the Day of Pentecost:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/03/04/prayer-of-dedication-for-the-day-of-pentecost/
Like the Murmur of the Dove’s Song:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/like-the-murmur-of-the-doves-song/
Spirit of God, Unleashed on Earth:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/spirit-of-god-unleashed-on-earth/
Pentecost Prayer of Adoration:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/pentecost-prayer-of-adoration/
Pentecost Prayers for Openness to God:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/pentecost-prayers-for-openness-to-god/
Pentecost Prayers of Confession:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/pentecost-prayers-of-confession/
Come, Holy Spirit, Come!:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/04/28/come-holy-spirit-come/
Come, Blessed Spirit! Source of Light!:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/come-blessed-spirit-source-of-light/
Come to Our Poor Nature’s Night:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/come-to-our-poor-natures-night/
Holy Ghost, With Light Divine:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/holy-ghost-with-light-divine/
Divine Spirit, Attend Our Prayers:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/spirit-divine-attend-our-prayers/
Come, Thou Holy Spirit Bright:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2012/05/30/come-thou-holy-spirit-bright/
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The LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS blog terminates each church year at the Day of Pentecost. This practice makes sense because Pentecost Sunday is the last day of the Easter season. There is another reason, however. Liturgical renewal and restructuring for most of Western Christianity, beginning with the Roman Catholic Church in Advent 1969, has led to the labeling of the subsequent Sundays in Ordinary Time (beginning two weeks after Pentecost Sunday) as “after Pentecost” in lieu of the prior dominant practice, “after Trinity.” (Disclaimer: U.S. Methodists used to divide the post-Pentecost and pre-Advent time into two seasons: Whitsuntude and Kingdomtide, with the latter beginning on the last Sunday in August. And the Lutheran Service Book and Hymnal (1958) lists Ordinary Time Sundays as both “after Pentecost” and “after Trinity.”) Trinity Sunday, of course, is the Sunday immediately following the Day of Pentecost. Anyhow, those who continue to observe Sundays after Trinity are liturgical outliers. My own denomination, since its 1979 Book of Common Prayer and the process which led up to it, operates on the Sundays after Pentecost pattern. It is what I have known. The 1928 Book of Common Prayer is an artifact from which I have never worshiped. Sundays after Trinity seem quaint to me.
So here we are, on the cusp of changing seasons and Sunday numbering (the Propers through 29 are almost upon us), pondering two opposite and assigned stories. The Tower of Babel myth tells of linguistic differences causing confusion and thwarting human ambitions. (We know from anthropology, history, and science that linguistic diversity is much older than the timeframe of the Tower of Babel story.) The sin in the myth is pride, which God confounds. Yet linguistic variety cannot confound God’s purposes in Acts 2 because God will not permit it to do so. The proverbial living water of Jesus, whose glorification in the Gospel of John was his crucifixion–something humiliating and shameful by human standards–would be available regardless of one’s language.
Thus the Church was born. It is always changing and reforming, adapting to changing circumstances and seeking to look past human prejudices and false preconceptions. I prefer to include as many people as possible while maintaining liturgical reverence and orthodox (Chalcedonian, etc.) Christology. I do, in other words have boundaries, but they are too large according to those on my right and too small according to those on my left. That makes me something of a moderate, I suppose. “Left of center” might be more accurate. Regardless of who is correct, may the church and its constituent parts follow the crucified and resurrected Lord and Savior, who transmuted shame and humiliation into glory, who ate with notorious sinners, whose grace scandalized respectable and respected religious authorities. Or are we become modern counterparts of the scribes and Pharisees with whom Jesus locked horns?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 23, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT NICETAS OF REMESIANA, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF WIREMU TAMIHANA, MAORI PROPHET AND KINGMAKER
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http://blogatheologica.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/the-inclusive-gospel-of-jesus/
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LENTEN AND EASTER DEVOTIONS 
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