Come, Holy Spirit

Pentecost, celebrated this Sunday (fifty days after Easter), commemorates the "descent" of the Holy Spirit into humankind and the beginning of the Christian church as a bearer of the divine breath. I have heard it described as a "reversal" of Genesis'  tower of Babel -- the story of the scattering and confusion of the earth's people who, suddenly many-tongued, could no longer understand one another.

There is a kind of confusion at Pentecost also -- but it is of a different variety, a kind of holy surprise, a great astonishment:

When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they [the apostles] were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house ...

Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled wih the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim.

Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven staying in Jerusalem. At this sound, they gathered in a large crowd, but they were confused because each one heard them speaking in his own language. They were astounded, and in amazement they asked, "Are not all these people who are speaking Galileans? Then how does each of us hear them in his own native language? We are Parthians, Medes, and Elamites, inhabitants of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphlia, Egypt and the districts of Libya near Cyrene, as well as travelers from Rome, but Jews and converts to Judaism, Cretans and Arabs, yet we hear them speaking in our own tongues of the mighty acts of God." They were all astonished and bewildered, and said to one another, "What does this mean?" ... (Acts 2: 1-13).

                                             

What does this mean?

I think it means that Spirit always seeks ways to "speak" to us (and through us), no matter our tribe, our station in life, level of intelligence, spiritual path or non-path, sense of worthiness ... Spirit communicates with us through the languages available to us. All that is required on our part is an open heart and receptive mind. (And -- I hasten to add -- wise and discerning guides, seasoned elders, lest we fall for the devils appearing as angels of light ...) But even the tiniest crack of an opening in the soul is all the Spirit needs for entry.

In his book The Mystic Heart, Wayne Teasdale spoke of an event that he termed "the second Pentecost" -- a gathering convened by the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago, Illinois, in 1993. He suggests that the spirit worked through its atmosphere of cross-religious sharing to give birth to a sense of community among the religions:
 
Initially designed to commemorate the centennial of the first great Parliament, the founders quickly realized that they had an opportunity to contribute something more substantial -- to address the critical issues plaguing the planet: the environmental crisis, social injustice, poverty, malnutrition, disease, the plight of refugees -- 80 percent of whom are women and children -- the need for better education in developing nations, and numerous other threats to peace. . . . 

The Parliament represented the most diverse group of people ever to meet in one place in the history of humankind. Before the event's eight days, I assisted in the planning and served on four committees. During the Parliament itself, I participated in a number of forums, including the Buddhist-Christian Dialogue with the Dalai Lama and in the Assembly. I hoped, prayed, and even knew intuitively that it would represent a turning point. But it greatly exceeded everyone's expectations .... 

                                

Something extraordinary happened during the Parliament's days. The divine showed up and opened everyone, inspiring enthusiasm, mutual trust, receptivity, and a wonderful sense of joy, spontaneity, community, and urgency. We were not of one mind but of one heart. For me as a Christian, the word that best describes this historic moment is Pentecost: the birth of the Christian church, when the Holy Spirit opened the minds and hearts of Jesus' disciples, uniting them in a corporate mystical knowing that illumined their path during the fledgling years of the apostolic age. The Parliament represented a second Pentecost because the spirit was tangibly present, prying hearts and minds open to receive the impulse of new vision. Community was born among the religions. The spirit gave us a whole new paradigm of relationship in the existential experience of community, replacing the old model of separation, mistrust, competition, hostility, and conflict. By supplanting the approach responsible for thousands of wars throughout human history, this new paradigm has enormous meaning. The advent of community between and among members of differing faiths is without parallel; its opportunity is extremely precious, not to be squandered but carefully cultivated and applied to the tasks of building a universal civilization. 

Interspirituality and intermysticism are the terms I have coined to designate the increasingly familiar phenomenon of cross-religious sharing of interior resources, the spiritual treasures of each tradition. Of course everyone isn't participating; really it is only a minority, but its members are the more mystically developed in each tradition, and they each hold great influence. In the third millenium, interspirituality and intermysticism will become more and more the norm in humankind's inner evolution. Europeans often say a person isn't truly educated until they know more than one language. This can also be said of religions: a person is not really fully educated, or indeed "religious," unless they are intimately aware of more than their own faith and ways of prayer...

Here at Zaadz interspiritual journeyer Balder is presenting a wonderful integral exploration of this subject over on his blog -- check out Steps Toward Integral Deep Dialogue!

Welcome, Holy Spirit!