Today’s gospel, in which John describes the appearance of the risen Christ to his disciples reveals three basic skills or spiritual practices to follow in order to strengthen our soul, our well-being and our connection with God and with each other.

1. 19 May 2013 Penetcost Princeton, NJ
Whether you see yourself as a high achiever or not, whatever personal goals you set for yourself at some
point in time we have all learned that proficiency in whatever you do requires that one practices certain
basic skills. Today’s gospel, in which John describes the appearance of the risen Christ to his disciples
reveals three basic skills or spiritual practices to follow in order to strengthen our soul, our well-being and
our connection with God and with each other.
First - we are shown the value of practicing silence:
St. John’s account of Pentecost begins on the evening of the first day of the week – Sunday - the same
Sunday that Mary Magdala, early in the morning, finds the tomb of Jesus empty. Imagine sitting with the
disciples in that Upper Room. During the past three days they have seen their Lord tortured, crucified,
buried and his tomb emptied. They are frightened… worried… tired… overwhelmed…. lost… and
angry…common emotions that we face each day. We find the disciples sequestered in this Upper
Room…away from the daily commotion of the street, the buying and the selling, the bantering and the
bartering. I have to think that they are spending their time quietly reviewing all the events of the past days
and praying for comfort…and for the knowledge of what to do, where to go. I want to believe that they can
hear God in that silence.
How about our lives? It is really incredible to walk through town and see how many people are connected
to their phones or other electronic devices. They are plugged into something other than what is around
them. The chatter and the din of our lives are increasingly deafening – especially when we remain
plugged into unending distraction. So how, with this constant barrage of noise does God have half a
chance of getting through to us? The only solution is the practice silence. Overall, I do not think we are
very good at it (I know I am not!) Most of us really make little time for it - and for some, it can even be very
uncomfortable. But without silence how can we hear what we are called to do?
My friend Fr. Richard Rohr writes: “We need to waste time with the Lord – this is the foundation of our
prayer lives. You are not being unproductive when you wait in silence for God…when you listen for and
seek the Holy One. This is why our tradition gives us the Sabbath – one-seventh of our life needs to be
empty and available for God.”
So what would happen if we simply shut down all of our electronic distractions one day per week…or how
about 10 hours a day…or how about 10 minutes a day? Ten minutes to create quiet space, create
emptiness, create the vacuum - in order to be open to the presence of God? And then allow God to fill
that space and to speak to us - you may be surprised at what God has to say!
Then, on that first day of the week, Jesus said to his disciples: “As the Father has sent me, so I send
you.” Christ asked his disciples to do more than gather and pray in the Upper Room – his message was
clear – they were to be sent forth! They – and we – are called to be a people of action….the second
practice.
Pentecost calls us forth as a people of God. We are called ‘ekklesia” – which is the Greek word meaning
‘to call out’. And St. Paul, in our second reading, makes it very clear that there are no exceptions as to
who is called forth, when he writes: “We are all baptized into one body, whether Jew or Greek, slave or
free persons.”
Translated for today this means rich or poor, black or white, Catholic or Protestant, married or divorced,
straight or gay, lay or cleric, and so forth – for we are ALL called out of our personal worlds….all called
out of our comfort zones….all called out of our “Upper Rooms”…all called to be sent forth to use the
individual gifts God has given to each of us.
I had lunch with a good friend this past week whose basement was wiped out by Sandy. A lifetime of
records and belongings were destroyed. Then one Monday morning as he was wondering how he would
1 Deacon Jim Knipper

2. even begin to clean up the mess, a father and two sons showed up at his door. They told my friend that
when they were at their Sunday services the day before they decided they should go out and help others,
rather than just keep talking about it. So after a two hour drive, there they were and for eight hours they
carried wet and moldy material out of the basement….and as the sun set, they gave a hug and left.
This is what Pentecost reminds us - that we are all called to be a people of action for others – a practice
that takes practice.
And so it is that these practices of contemplation and action lead us to the 3rd practice, which, to me, is
the glue that binds the three together. So, it was, on that first day of the week when Jesus said: “Whose
sins you forgive are forgiven them and whose sins you retain are retained.”
Coming out from the Council of Trent in the mid-16th
century this passage formed the foundation for the
sacrament of reconciliation. But the message is much broader – for the risen Christ reminds us that we
are all called to forgive and called to forgive all. We are called to forgive our spouses, our children, our
parents, our co-workers, our priests, our deacons, our church, our government and even those that
violate us and our society.
But probably the most important and the most difficult person to forgive: is ourselves. Without fail, no
matter what we have done, God loves us and forgives us with unconditional love…..but yet we hold onto
our own egos our own anger….unable to let go of our own wounds and refusing to forgive ourselves.
And yet Christ tells us through today’s Gospel that those trespasses, those debts we are willing to let go
of…that we forgive in ourselves and others…are forgiven. They are released from being part of
us….while those that we hold onto and bind within ourselves will erode our well-being thereby blocking
relationships with others and with God.
So as we gather on this first day of the week we are called through the Gospel to practice three spiritual
skills:
1. We are all called to create time for contemplative silence; to create empty space for God to fill
2. We are all called to action: to share our unique gifts with others
3. We are called to be a forgiving people…to others and to ourselves.
And we may ask, “How am I supposed to do all this?” And this gospel reading provides the
answer….when our risen Lord breathed onto his disciples and said: “Receive the Holy Spirit” and so it is -
on this day each and every one of us, without exception, bears this constant grace – the indwelling of the
Holy Spirit sent by God to be with us, at our side.
It is a presence of God that is real and within all of us - the spiritual glue that binds us together with Christ.
It is a presence that is everlasting…that knows no exceptions, is not earned, but freely given to each of
us. It is a presence that speaks to us in silence, calls us forth from our personal upper rooms – and
equips us for forgiveness.
Indeed – this is what Pentecost is all about! This is why we celebrate the birth of the church, not as some
abstract building…but rather as a people….as a community gathered together. And this is why we end
our Easter season today with a great Amen and Alleluia! So as we go forward from our own individual
“Upper Rooms” and continue on our personal journeys, may we remember that we are truly blessed with
the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which bring to us…the silence to hear God’s breath…the courage to respond to
the call for others…and the graces to be forgiving people this day…always and forever.
2 Deacon Jim Knipper