Innocent Reflections (15/2021) - Listen sweet Dove unto my song
Dear Friends,
Listen sweet Dove unto my song,
And spread thy golden wings in me;
Hatching my tender heart so long,
Till it get wing, and flie away with thee.
So begins George Herbert's poem for Whitsun, or Pentecost as we know it today, which we celebrated on Saturday Night and Sunday. It was beautiful to gather together and pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit with such verve and joy. The first lines of Herbert's poem remind me of the wonderful Gospel song:
Some bright morning when this life is over
I'll fly away
To that home on God's celestial shore
I'll fly away
I'll fly away, oh glory
I'll fly away, in the morning
When I die, Hallelujah by and by
I'll fly away
When the shadows of this life have gone
I'll fly away
Like a bird from theses prison walls I'll fly
I'll fly away
You can listen to a version of the song here.
There are moments in life - and especially over the past year - when I guess we've all had this urge to fly away - to leave the worries and endless greys of our current situation behind for some brighter shore. It was certainly an emotion that the psalmist knew, as we find in Psalm 55:
Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
And I say, ‘O that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
set so beautifully to music by Mendelssohn - you can listen to a version here.
In the midst of this urge to escape, it can be easy to ask where the Holy Spirit is? Certainly George Herbert asks
Where is that fire which once descended
On thy Apostles? thou didst then
Keep open house, richly attended,
Feasting all comers by twelve chosen men.
Such glorious gifts thou didst bestow,
That th’ earth did like a heav’n appeare;
The starres were coming down to know
If they might mend their wages, and serve here.
The sunne, which once did shine alone,
Hung down his head, and wisht for night,
When he beheld twelve sunnes for one
Going about the world, and giving light.
But the wonder of that first Pentecost was marred by human sin. The apostles were nearly all killed for telling the world the good news of the resurrection.
But since those pipes of gold, which brought
That cordiall water to our ground,
Were cut and martyr’d by the fault
Of those, who did themselves through their side wound,
Thou shutt’st the doore, and keep’st within;
Scarce a good joy creeps through the chink:
And if the braves of conqu’ring sinne
Did not excite thee, we should wholly sink.
Lord, though we change, thou art the same;
The same sweet God of love and light:
Restore this day, for thy great name,
Unto his ancient and miraculous right.
With such a dramatic vision of Pentecost, of the disciples in the midst of the rush of wind, with tongues of fire resting upon them being understood by people of different languages, it can be easy to look at our own lives, circumstances and churches and feel disappointment. Where is the work of the Holy Spirit today? But alongside Luke's story, John gives another version of the disciples receiving the Holy Spirit, of the risen Jesus appearing among them, saying 'Peace be upon you' and breathing the Holy Spirit upon them. A quieter, less dramatic story, but just as beautiful in its peace and tranquility. St Paul tell us in his letter to the Galatians that the fruits of the Spirit are not so much the big dramatic gestures, but the simple qualities of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And if we look for these fruits, in almost any circumstance of human life, I believe we can find them because the Holy Spirit is at work everywhere, quietly calling us towards love.
So the challenge of Pentecost is not so much to fly away - the disciples do not immediately ascend with Jesus up to heaven - and not to search for another place that seems nearer to what we are looking for; but rather to find the fruits of the spirit in our own lives and communities, to find a piece of heaven where we are as we await for the moment when we will fly away and join our friend Jesus in heaven forever.
With love and prayers,
Fr Ben
You can find our APCM reports, in preparation for the meeting, here,
|
