Pentecost reflections

I am most certainly glad that they haven't found out about this one.

The most important date on the Christian calendar is Easter. I think of Easter Sunday in conjunction with Good Friday. Had Jesus died in his sleep at a good old age, there would have been nothing demonstrably salvific about his death. The cross is critical to an understanding of what Jesus did for us. The gospel writers described Jesus' manner of death at great length; they obviously meant to emphasize it. Paul, in his letters, acknowledged the absurdity of the worship of a crucified God - unimaginable to Greeks, Romans, Jews, or anyone else - yet Paul proclaimed "We proclaim Christ crucified."

I do remember a time when Good Friday was a day off for most. Now, it's nothing special. You can have the day off - if you use your floating holiday for it.

And what has Easter become? Absent the event that Easter celebrates, terms like faith, hope,  love take on a very different meaning for me, if they maintain any meaning at all. My faith, my hope, my love, the whole structure of my life and thought process, is centered on Christ crucified, and Christ risen.  But now - it's a day for candies (gee, Easter ranks right up there with St. Valentine's Day, doesn't it?)  It's a day for Easter eggs and organized hunts for them. And please, please, don't anyone mention that there's a religious dimension to all of this. Let's not call it Easter. Let's call it our "Spring Holiday".

When pigs fly, I will.

And about Christmas. It's not about the birth of anyone special. Nope. It's about new razors and luxury cars with great big bows tied on them and pajamas and you name it. So let's don't call it Christmas. Let's call it the Winter Holiday.

Does it feel to you like we are getting squeezed out of the public square? And maybe - just maybe - part of the cause is our own timidity?

A short time ago Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago, addressed an audience at Brigham Young University, a Mormon institution. Catholics are not Mormons, and Mormons are not Catholics. There are theological differences that are real. But Cardinal George's address concerned an issue that is common to Catholics, Mormons, and, I would think, the rest of Christendom: our right to have a place and a voice in the public discourse. I found his remarks inspiring, and I was pleased to see the LDS press' favorable coverage.

So, that brings me to today - Pentecost Sunday. The birthday of the Church. The day when the Holy Spirit moved over the disciples. The day when each person in a crowd that was there heard the Good News - each in their own language. (And, please note that this "gift of tongues" was as much about the hearers as it was about the speakers.) From that point, the progress of this faith was an unstoppable force.

This is also one of the major celebrations of Christianity. Thank God that the marketers haven't figured out what to do with this one yet.

Thanks for hanging out for a few! Love your thoughts.