pentecost: the first fruits (of the spirit)

at soup night thursday, which was a fruit salad night in a pun on some of the meanings of the feast of pentecost, a fruit salad served on a bed of newly-harvested grain, we discussed some of the layers of meaning of the feast.  as "scholars" these days are so happy to point out, it started as an agricultural festival, to which they say were "added" religious meanings.  as if harvest is not religious, as if the holy one does not bring from the earth grain to strengthen our heart, as if really religious people do not hold the parts of their lives together--that, to bind back together, being the basic meaning of religion.

the second layer of meaning is the giving of the law on sinai's height, graven on tablets of stone by, as the advent hymn reminds us, by the lord of might.  but ezekiel prophesies that the laws will eventually be graven on our hearts, our living hearts, by the lord of love.  we read, many of us, that prophesie about fifty days ago at the paschal vigil.

and on the feast of pentecost, when it is, as s. luke writes, 'fully come,' suggesting that the events in the upper room in jerusalem is the climax, ezekiel's and joel's prophesies are fulfilled. 

but of course what is true for the church in the first century must be true for us today, and for each of us.  as s. gregory the great reminds us, it is when we ascend to the upper room of our own hearts, in the communion of all the saints gathered about the theotokos, we too wait for the gift of the spirit, and we will not be disappointed.

but there is a smaller part of pentecost that struck me this year, although in many ways it is the most important.  it is the conclusion of the epistle for the feast in the western lectionary:  'we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of god.'

if as s. john reminds us so often in his many writings that we have heard over the fifty days, the most important, indeed the decisive, the definitive, gift of the spirit is love, then it is love which let the church speak in the tongues of all the assembly in jerusalem, and which will allow the church to speak to the world today.   love involves patience, as s. peter's epistles remind us, and waiting, as s. luke reminds us.  when the church speaks in the love of god, she will witness to the resurrection of christ and people will hear the good news of 'the wonderful works of god.'  when she speaks in any other voice, whether it be condemnation or revenge or simply impatience, she stifles the spirit.  how are we doing today?