Pentecost 2016
Fr. Robert VerEecke, S.J.
When the provincial told me I’d be leaving St Ignatius, the first date he gave
me was January of this year. After tears and pleas, he agreed to let me stay
through Easter. I knew I needed to celebrate Holy Week once more with this
community. Then, Easter became Pentecost and here we are today.
I am so grateful that I was able to be here for Pentecost since it’s always
been one of my favorite liturgical celebrations. Pentecost is the day when
God pulls out all the stops, goes overboard, holds nothing back. I’ve always
felt that Pentecost more than any other feast gives us permission to be
“reckless”. Take risks, dare to dream, throw all caution to the wind! And
why is that? Because the Holy Spirit frees us from whatever binds us, holds
us back from God who is love, Christ who is love incarnate, made flesh.
For a few moments, we imagine the world the way God wants it to be, a
world where all “understand” each other without judgment or critique,
without distinctions that create barriers between “us and them”. Easter,
Christ’s victory over sin and death, becomes Pentecost, God’s Spirit
breathing that resurrected life into each of us, forming us into a community
of faith.
Reckless—it’s a word that has a negative connotation. People who are
reckless are not using good judgment. So why would I use that word? Hmm.
I guess it’s because there is something about Pentecost that wants to let
everything go and trust that it’s ok to let the Spirit be in charge. I guess it’s
because I’ve been reckless as your pastor, defying the gravity of the Church,
celebrating in ways that some would see as not grave enough, all that
singing and dancing. This religious stuff is serious, most would say! Your
eternal salvation is in the balance.
No, our salvation is not hanging in the balance and does not depend on us.
It’s gift. And the grave is just that, a grave. An empty reminder that our lives
are no longer about sin and death, but rather grace and life in Jesus Christ.
And there’s always something there to remind us of God’s seeking and
searching for us, liking and loving us, despite our imperfections.
I know I’ve been pretty reckless over these past 27 years saying “come one,
come all” when we know that the church has its codes and canons. God
wants you here no matter what. God really does delight in your presence and
your response to the call. It’s pretty reckless to claim that God doesn’t care
about whom you love or how you love as long as you love. That’s a very
irresponsible thing to say. Call me irresponsible, call me unreliable, throw in
undependable too.
If I have been “reckless” in my words and actions, I’ve learned from the
best. Isn’t our God the most reckless of all? How reckless was it to throw
one’s lot in with the bruised and battered human race? Would you call that
good judgment? To become one of us? To pitch your tent with a human race
that breeds war, hatred and cacophony when the Spirit of God breathes
peace, love and harmony? How reckless is it love completely, wholeheartedly, sacrificing one’s life on a cross?
But you must know what it is to love. Is there anything more reckless than
loving? Trusting yourself to the other, entering into another’s chaos. That is
what Pentecost is really about: It’s the release of love in its purest form
symbolized by fire, wind, sound and silence. When love is set free,
extraordinary things happen. There is reconciliation where none was thought
possible. There is hope where there was only disappointment and despair.
There is new life where there was thought to be only death. The animating
Spirit of God forms a word, sets a seal on our hearts. Amen! Yes, it is! And
this Amen resounds through our world and into the Kingdom of God. We say
“amen”, Yes. For Jesus Christ is always Yes!
I wonder if any of you have already figured out why I chose the word
“reckless” as a key word for my Pentecost homily. Soon and very soon you
will be “Ver-reckless” here at St Ignatius after 27 years and I wanted to leave
you with something funny and I hope poignant. We all know that life is
about beginnings and endings.
I can hardly believe all the days I have spent here, all of the people who have
been gift to me, all the Eucharists, baptisms, weddings, funerals I have
celebrated, how many dances I have choreographed for our prayer and
worship. But that’s life. Coming and going, beginning and ending, moving
and shaking with laughter and tears. That’s us but that’s not God’s Spirit.
The God of Love, the Spirit who reveals the wonders of our God in Jesus
Christ is always, always, Always and in ALL WAYS. With you.