The Miracle of Pentecost

Wednesday, June 20, 2007 -- Week of Proper 6, Year One

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html

NEW-- Audio Podcasts of today's "Morning Reflection" and those from the past week are available from http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id244.html (go to St. Paul's Home Page stpaulsfay.org and click "Morning Reflection podcast")

Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 970)
Psalms 119:97-120 (morning) 81, 82 (evening)
1 Samuel 2:12-26
Acts 2:1-21
Luke 20:27-40


Last night I was watching the news. I saw stories of tragic violence that was so hard to understand. In Palestine, Hamas and Fatah brothers are at arms against one another. A few miles away Israel plans its response. Grieved and angry mothers cry out with songs of mourning that are both unintelligible to me and hauntingly anguished. Shia and Sunni brothers in Iraq plant devastating bombs while young men who look like my son walk into alleys and homes trying to discern whether these are friend or foe in an foreign and strange land. More sounds and shouts of passion and anger in words I do not know. I don't know the words, but the passion communicates -- grief, anger, revenge.

One person who is familiar with such violence and suffering is Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh. He lived through the horror and violence of the Vietnam War which divided his homeland. Much of his work during that war was spent trying to rebuild villages destroyed by the fighting.

Shortly after the attacks of September 11, Thich Nhat Hanh was asked, "If you could speak to Osama bin Laden, what would you say to him?" His response began in this way:

"If I were given the opportunity to be face to face with Osama bin Laden, the first thing I would do is listen. I would try to understand why he had acted in that cruel way. I would try to understand all of the suffering that had led him to violence. It might not be easy to listen in that way, so I would have to remain calm and lucid. I would need several friends with me, who are strong in the practice of deep listening, listening without reacting, without judging and blaming. In this way, an atmosphere of support would be created for this person and those connected so that they could share completely, trust that they are really being heard.

"After listening for some time, we might need to take a break to allow what has been said to enter into our consciousness. Only when we felt calm and lucid would we respond. We would respond point by point to what had been said. We would respond gently but firmly in such a way to help them to discover their own misunderstandings so that they will stop violent acts from their own will." (the full text of the interview is found at http://www.theconversation.org/thich.html)

The miracle of Pentecost is the miracle of communication. People speak and are understood across the barriers of language and culture. The listeners hear and understand the words from the hearts of people from foreign lands and tongues.

This is the activity and presence of God's Holy Spirit. It reunites a human race that has been divided since the days of the Tower of Babel.

At his Plum Village community in France, Thich Nhat Hanh works to facilitate the miracle of Pentecost. "This past summer a group of Palestinians and Israelis came to Plum Village, the practice center where I live in southern France, to learn and practice the arts of deep listening and loving speech. (Around 1,600 people come to Plum Village each summer from over a dozen countries to listen and to learn how to bring peace and understanding to their daily lives.) The group of Palestinians and Israelis participated in the daily schedule of walking meditation, sitting meditation, and silent meals, and they also received training on how to listen and speak to each other in such a way that more understanding and peace could be possible between them as individuals and as nations.

"With the guidance and support of the monks and nuns, they sat down and listened to each other. When one person spoke no one interrupted him or her. Everyone practiced mindfulness of their breathing and listening in such a way that the other person felt heard and understood.

"When a person spoke, they refrained from using words of blame, hatred, and condemnation. They spoke in an atmosphere of trust and respect. Out of these dialogues the participating Palestinians and Israelis were very moved to realize that both sides suffer from fear. They appreciated the practice of deep listening and made arrangements to share what they had learned with others upon returning to their home countries.

"We recommended that the Palestinians and Israeli talk about their suffering, fears, and despair in a public forum that all the world could hear. We could all listen without judging, without condemning in order to understand the experience of both sides. This would prepare the ground of understanding for peace talks to occur."

When asked "What do you think would be the most effective spiritual response to this tragedy (of September 11)?" Thich Nhat Hanh answered:

"We can begin right now to practice calming our anger, looking deeply at the roots of the hatred and violence in our society and in our world, and listening with compassion in order to hear and understand what we have not yet had the capacity to hear and to understand. When the drop of compassion begins to form in our hearts and minds, we begin to develop concrete responses to our situation. When we have listened and looked deeply, we may begin to develop the energy of brotherhood and sisterhood between all nations, which is the deepest spiritual heritage of all religious and cultural traditions. In this way the peace and understanding within the whole world is increased day by day.

"To develop the drop of compassion in our own heart is the only effective spiritual response to hatred and violence. That drop of compassion will be the result of calming our anger, looking deeply at the roots of our violence, deep listening, and understanding the suffering of everyone involved in the acts of hatred and violence."

On the day of Pentecost, some scoffed and said the people were drunk. Peter was convinced it was the presence of God's Holy Spirit being poured out upon humanity to give new dreams and new visions for the healing of the world.

Lowell
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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

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