Learning more about the Time (and Timing) of Pentecost in Early June, or 90 Days after Easter (so a few more days than that after Passover)

 

 

 

Having grown up in a small Catholic Church but with the Baltimore Catechism I am familiar with these terms over my almost 6 decades of living. I learned a lot more about Protestantism as I went to Vassar College and realized there was a College Chaplain, Allison Stokes, who was happy enough to let us go to her talks even if we were part of Catholic group. She helped organize the Before School Conference to welcome students to campus at a camp setting nearby (the Vassar Farm as we knew it then.) I recall one of the leaders who really seemed to have an amazing love for everyone was of the Jewish faith. I met a few others who were always nice to be friends with from the first days on. Many went on to do impressive things whether teach (including that woman I was impressed with,) arts and film..plus lots more. Some were my dance friends so they were great to know as fellow dancers and I am just thinking now about their 'Jewish connections.'

 

I feel before sharing more about 'the Holy Spirit or being a Christian over my lifetime...' it is important to realize the legacy of harm, killing and misery the Catholic and other forms of Christianity have been directly or closely involved with. That would include The Crusades which likely resulted in killing off thousands for 'almost any reason' and doing away with as many midwives and elderly people as well. Then there was the more recent Holocaust which the world over should be reflecting on more regularly to realize that tragedy has not been clearly processed. In its place the fundamentalist Christians and others have railroaded a variety of laws and policies that continue to jeapordize people in the name of doing good.

 

The first ten commandments became the basis of the laws of the land. Anything having to do with honoring the Sabbath (which was traditionally Saturday but got changed to Sunday due to Easter being on a Sunday), or a day of rest to devote to prayer, community and rest is a foggy notion for most of society. The remnant of course in in the Jewish and Christian faiths. Then there are the various efforts to bridge the gaps, with Judeo-Christian culture and laws, mostly aiming to influence society and yet without a clear way to interface even online to see what is similar and what is really different or possibly in conflict.

 

As I was hearing in a congregational church recently, Pentecost is the time when the Holy Spirit visited a diverse group of people who spoke different languages in Jerusalem. The minister shared that Jesus died on Good Friday, after the Last Supper where he shared bread and wine with his disciples (which is what communion represents when bread and wine or juice is shared weekly or monthly etc in a church setting.

 

The Catholic view is that is a kind of transforming of those earthly elements to be in essence Jesus' body. I think the word is transubstantiation but I'll have to check. The Protestant view is that the elements are representative of his body and blood.

 

The timing the minister relayed was that Jesus was resurrected on Easter (and while she said some ministers say he did that on his own, she asserted that God the Father resurrected Jesus. I don't think I had given it much thought exactly.

 

There are of course many theories such as that Jesus hadn't really died on the cross, that he had been switched at birth to avoid Herod's order of having all male infants killed and plenty more (that is part of Eckankar theory I heard a few months ago.) But given that Jesus died and rose from the dead, the minister said he was with his disciples for forty days and then ascended up to heaven. Now that would be another aspect to consider further sometime.

 

Then fifty days after that is when the Holy Spirit descended upon the people with Peter speaking to people in one language yet each hearing the message in their own tongue or language. Now how could that be? This is long before the days of Google Translation, yet 'nothing is impossible with God.'

I am reviewing this to consider getting more people tuned into these aspects of our history, however they occurred or didn't occur, but have been longheld influences on the formation of religions and influencing people for hundreds of years. How do the various scenarios and 'realities' play out in modern times, religions and practices. What are some key points to consider and ways for our next steps to be ordered in light of the possibilities.

 

With a handful of people I met in the past weekend, I had a chance to share that marianne.com is running for President and about what The Course In Miracles (TCIM) is about which anyone could google now. Maybe that would be a reasonable or inspired thing to do regarding any of these topics..to learn a little more and some of the various views.

 

Here is a post I put on Facebook in terms of feeling God sees us through and the Holy Spirit resides in us and through us, especially when 'two or more are gathered.' Hope this is helpful even if a bit abstract. It's raining heavily today...and the 10th year since the passing of our teen son Kaelan Alexander Palmer Paton is coming up as it happened in mid-June when school was letting out. I hadn't give much thought to the timing as also reflective of the time the Holy Spirit came to earth.

 

It's raining hard today on and off, as it did much of that June 2009...and I am doing outreach with schools and newspapers and through this blog to promote more safety and supervision of youth and others in the summer months. Maybe that's all the Holy Spirit's bidding for humanity.

 

The idea that you need to accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior is shared widely..and it that is 'the only way to the Father' that is a gap that is hard for many who don't believe Jesus was or could be the Messiah to cross. There are likely many other candidates and basically the Jewish people are still waiting for the Messiah to deliver them and possibly more of the earth from challenges.

 

Another school of thought is that there is a Christlike aspect to everyone. As more people see others as reflections of a divine presence and as mirrors of themselves in a healing, open-hearted way, good things will be ushered in. That is in contrast to the view that without a clear understanding of God, one is doomed. That thought worried Kaelan and helped me consider the importance of what that meant.

 

Learning more over the last few decades about how political and really secredive much of the world dynamics are is something I am braving more and more. Much of that I feel is a kind of guiding of the spirit, including being willing to listen and reflect on what I hear, talk over with others and consider our shared realities.

 

Many ministers and leaders will not allow for such consideration or discussion. There are groups like The Heritage Foundation which get many ministers to DC and influence the policies far and wide, much to be pro-Israel and in much of our everyday politics. The Derek Prince Foundation which spread far and wide from North Carolina over the radio and in print, contended that if the Jews of Israel accepted Jesus as Savior our world would be saved through that process. While he passed in his mid 80s over a decade ago, that idea was central to how he saw the world scene unfolding. I heard him for about a year on the radio.

 

The many insights he shared were worthwhile yet the reality of considering what the real causes for tensions over the millenia and that there is not exactly enough land to go around easily in Israel is concerning. What if an earthquake or other climate problem caused an upset in that part of the world. It seems everyone should have some additional 'back up plans.' Now talk of a two-state solution can be deemed 'anti-Semitic' or against Israel.

 

More Christians need to realize that just picturing a happy world if Israel accepted Jesus or did not have to share with the Palestinians or other way of framing a complex matter in simplistic terms is not a guarantee that God will be happy with that. Who are the political players, the financial and military backers?

 

At what point will we be looking at the practical problem of our world population double in the past 55 years..with news of increasing more in the future. Sometimes it seems we are spoiled with modern abilities and at the same time the dire pressing problems seem insurmountable.

 

So what would make sense for our modern times with so many able to communicate online and with safe ways to gather, even in our faith or local social communities. Thinking of how we would handle not only living but migrating inland would be practical given the complexity of the modern world. Using buddy systems, maybe in groups of ten and then ten groups up to 100 people would make sense.

 

Edgar Cayce shared many insights about how the world was organized before modern times. We need to be ready to look at ideas on Transition Town about permaculture and working with the earth, social and other resources in practical, sustainable ways.

 

Okay, so here is my post and good luck with thinking these things through with or without religion or politics but hopefully not all alone long term unless that's working fairly well for you.