We give thanks
today for the coming of your holy spirit of wind and fire; for the
spirit that moves us to come together and be a church, a
community, a family, a nation. We give thanks for your wind that
rustles our magnificent trees and raises up eagles and seagulls
and lowly pigeons; wind that dries our vain, regretful tears. We
give thanks for the fuel that heats our homes, runs our cars,
lights our path through dark west end streets or evening forest
glades; for the light that shines in the darkness of poverty, and
war and inspires activists and disciples to nurture its growth
into a bonfire of social justice.
Veni Sancte
Spiritus.
How wonderful
is your creation and how diverse. We marvel at the millions of
varieties of things you have made: insects, birds, whales, dogs,
rats, leaves, flowers, raindrops, mountainsides, stars, boys,
girls, Muslims and Christians. We know you more from your
diversified creation, but we also fear your diversity. We argue
and compete and try to drown out each other such that Babel must
have been quiet by comparison. We fail to see how your greatness
is reflected in our differences: our different shapes, our
different colours, our different voices, our different ideas. We
see you more clearly through multiple lenses.
Veni Sancte
Spiritus.
Gracious One,
we pray that we can be aware of and touched by your holy spirit
now as we await the handover of sovereignty to Iraq - the voices
of the U.S., the voices of the religious leaders, the voices of
the Iraqi people - let June 30th be a Pentecostal
moment in Baghdad.
Veni Sancte
Spiritus.
We seek your
holy spirit in other areas of strife in our world: the languages
of globalization, agribusiness, peace, clean water, independence
clamour without hearing each other. Send your flame of
understanding that we may have a day of Pentecost in our search
for global justice.
Veni Sancte
Spiritus.
Gracious God,
we are in a federal election campaign. The voices of neo-liberal
economists, public health supporters and reformers, teachers,
labourers, stock brokers, social conservatives and fiscal liberals
are clamouring for our attention. We pray that Babel becomes
Pentecost that we may listen with understanding and discern your
calling for Canada as a nation.
Veni Sancte
Spiritus.
And, Gracious
God we thank you for the United Church of Canada in whose Babel we
also seek the day of Pentecost and reflect on our different ideas
about the role of the church and its members. Allow us to see
your glory more clearly.
Veni Sancte
Spiritus.
God, we thank
you for the community of family and friends that is Canadian
Memorial and for the myriad and beautiful music we can create out
of our own Babel - for the Pentecost we experience every day.
Veni Sancte
Spiritus.
“I
will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God
While I have being.
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
For I rejoice in the Lord.” Vs. 33-34; Psalm
104
