“When I behold the heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you set in place, who are we [humans] that you should be mindful of us?” [!]  Who indeed? My friends, the gospel verse for today from Psalm 8 really says it all as we ponder who our God is on this Sunday when we celebrate a “trinity” of persons in one God – a concept we can only really accept through the eyes of faith.  Most of us long-time Catholic Christians grew up believing and speaking of our God as “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” – some of the oldest among us probably even remember the Spirit as, “the Holy Ghost.” 

   Today, here, when speaking of the Trinity, we say, “Creator, Savior/Revealer, and Spirit of the Living God.  We have made that change so as to be more true to the fullness of who our God is – because as theologian, Sister Sandra Schneiders has said so well, “God is more than two men and a bird.” 

   The first reading today from Exodus is the familiar story of God giving Moses the Ten Commandments – in fact, this is the 2^nd try as Moses broke the 1^st set of stone tablets on the golden calf the people had constructed while he was up the mountain the first time. 

   During this second time of God reaching out to Moses, we learn some wonderful things about who God in fact is.  Our Scripture translation comes from The Priests for Equality and says of God, “I Am, I Am, a God of tenderness and compassion, slow to anger and rich in kindness and faithfulness.”  What else would any of us need to know about God?  God is basically promising to “walk with us,”  treat us with compassion, tenderness, and kindness – and when we fail in our part of the relationship, our God won’t become angry with us. 

   At this time of year, many young people are graduating from high school, college, as well as with advanced degrees, ready to begin their lives and hopefully make a difference in our world, for themselves, but also for others.  Those who rank highest in their classes are usually given the honor of speaking some “words of wisdom” to their peers.  It is always interesting, I think, to hear what these young people have to share – their bits of wisdom. 

   Many times, we hear the encouragement to “work hard,” and when you don’t quite accomplish what you had hoped to, “pick yourself up, and try again.”  Along with the above bits of wisdom, I read a comment that really stood out for me. It was shared by a guest speaker at a commencement exercise, and she was sharing, I believe, a life lesson that she had learned in living: “…in making your way in the world, she said – be kind.”  I believe this one stood out for me because it is something so needed in our world today. 

   If we are daily watchers and listeners of the news, we find much I think that is not only “unkind,” but down right, mean, and one has to ask, what is accomplished in being that way?  The past anchor for NBC Nightly News, Lester Holt, ended the nightly report with the tag line, “Please take care of yourself and each other.”  I seem to remember that he started doing that during COVID, and afterward, I think he continued doing it because people liked hearing it.  The present anchor, Tom Llamas, ends with, “Tonight, and always, we’re here for you!”  Perhaps a gimmick, but I don’t think so, and both always did, and do, give me a smile. 

   This past week, Cathy Wurser, host of MPR Morning Edition had a segment asking people to call in “with something good “ happening in  their life – the show was really appreciated, and even, “loved” by some. 

   Going back to the Scriptures then, I would like to lift up God’s words to Moses again:  “I am a God of kindness” … and so forth.  We are thus in good “footsteps” when we too choose to be kind.  Over the years, and through other translations of this Exodus reading, we have heard the above words translated, “I Am Who I Am.”  I have heard homilists try to make sense of these words to no avail, when really all that is necessary, is that we “go deeper” as I always recommend, and hear again, that our God is tender, compassionate, slow to anger, and rich in kindness and faithfulness.

   Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians agrees that the “God of love and peace will be with” [us] – “the grace of the Savior, the love of God, and the friendship of the Spirit.”  I wonder how many of us think about our God wanting to be “friends” with us – wanting to be in a relationship with us. 

    And we conclude today with John’s gospel where he speaks of our brother Jesus as, “the Christ – a form of God who is “big enough” as Franciscans, Father Richard Rohr and Sister Ilia Delio proclaim, “for all of us believers.”  Some in our Christian world, unfortunately, have come to believe that Jesus is the only one that all people must confess to believe in to be “saved.”  For us Christians, yes – but that is not what this reading says.  “God did not send [Jesus] into the world to condemn [it] but through [the] Christ, the world would be [shown] the way. 

   Now common sense tells us that through time, there have been many manifestations of God – Jesus, Allah, Buddha, the Great Spirit, and more – our banner here speaks to this mystery – there are many roads … The only way that all people, each of us, and all of us, can one day be one, is that we realize that the loving, tender, compassionate, kind, and faithful God wants to be in relationship with each of us and all of us, thus different ways will be needed – none of them wrong ways, as long as we get there!

   We all, in our world, were given assistance this past week in living our “best selves through Pope Leo XIV’s first encyclical letter, “Magnifica Humanitas.”  I have not read it in its entirety, but through a fine article in America magazine, by Jesuit, James Martin, I learned that Leo has taken on capitalism and addresses it through the message of Jesus, highlighting the dignity of the human person, and when looking at “economics,” “the human person is not expendable.” More on this in weeks to come, but for now, let’s all be kind… Amen? Amen!

My friends, this weekend is a special one in that today we celebrate Pentecost, 50 days, or thereabouts since Easter, which should remind us of our own confirmations, when we received a new name, and promised our almost adult “yeses” to live our best selves in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth.  We will come back to this later.

   This long weekend also includes Memorial Day on Monday – a day to remember all those who have lived and died for our country, some giving their all for their beliefs, through military service, but also all those who have gone on before us who have been models and mentors to and for us, for a better world.  I believe that Pentecost, the coming of Jesus’ Spirit and the remembrance of all those who have lived and died, bear a resemblance that it is good for us to consider today.

   In the purely spiritual realm, we know from Jesus’ words in Scripture that his physical work on earth was done and that he couldn’t stay on – but that he was entrusting us with his words, his actions, basically his life of love – God’s love for all – to see that this message lived on.  Quite a responsibility, and one that we shouldn’t take lightly. 

   In the social realm, Memorial Day, no doubt, calls up all kinds of images of those who have gone on before us, both good and not so good.  When I have done Celebrations of Life over the years, I have reminded families of “allowing” their deceased loved ones to “live on” through them as they try and emulate the good they saw in a loved one.  If the relationship hadn’t been a positive one, then there is the opportunity to make a difference in one’s own life going forward. 

   Now that we have established a connection between Pentecost and Memorial Day, let’s go deeper…  All three readings today proclaim well I think what we are to “be about” as Pentecostal people, and again, I think we can see similarities as we likewise try to emulate the goodness of loved ones who have passed on. 

   In the 1^st reading from Acts, for Pentecost, we see a wonderful truth – our God wants all people, each one of us to be “recognized and heard.”  Scripture says, [Everyone heard the apostles speaking in their own tongue]. Now, to me, this speaks of a God who wants to reach, in some way, everyone.

   Many times, in the past, today, and into the future, I have, and will continue to lift up for us the “fruits” of people’s actions, trying very hard not to be “political” or to take sides.  Our brother Jesus was always very conscious of watching “the fruits” of people’s actions in searching for the truth. 

   I just finished reading Kamala Harris’ book, 107 Days about her run for president in 2024.  Again, looking at “the fruits,” her book is full of her desire to first, listen to the people, and then work to make their lives better.  Checking “the fruits” then, we can compare this with verbiage coming out of Washington from the commander-in-chief, that “he doesn’t care about people’s financial troubles” [!]  Kamala Harris’ deep pain in losing the election was of all the things that she wouldn’t be able to do for our nation’s people. 

   Pauls’ letter to the Corinthians today is all about how the Spirit of that 1^st Pentecost was intended for all and that all, each one of us, in receiving the Spirit at our own confirmations, is given a gift, unique to us, to share with the world in Jesus’ memory.

   John’s gospel is affirmation of that – he speaks of how we will have the strength, the calm, and the peace to affirm the good and deny the bad we see in our world. 

   One of the symbols that we always see as part of Pentecost is “tongues of fire” – my stole today, and the banner are reflective of that – as John’s gospel speaks of “the fire of God’s love” and “this fire” always comes with peace – Jesus’ words to his frightened followers, we hear twice in today’s gospel, “Peace be with you!” 

   Reflecting then a bit further on the “fire of God’s love,” I think we could agree that “passion” for and about others in our world, is a quality that Jesus had in his earthly life and wants us to have as well in sending us his Spirit.  Someone said, in speaking about the combination of passion and peace,” [Come with the] “power of a tornado, and the gentleness of a whisper.”  Today’s Scriptures speak of “a violent, rushing wind.”  In the Old Testament, God comes to Elijah in “a whisper.”

   A special mentor of mine, Jim Fitzpatrick, an active priest in this diocese for 10 years, and one of my high school religion teachers, a man little more that five feet in height, had this wonderful combination of passion for word and action, and an acquired peace that came to him in following the Spirit’s lead. 

   Jim left active priestly ministry after he went to his bishop with the knowledge that certain of his brother priests were sexually abusing children, and the bishop’s response was to do nothing claiming that it was more important to protect the good name of the Church!

   It was ultimately a joy to be taught by this passionate man who when we as students weren’t responding with some of that same passion would say, “C’mon people, catch fire!” 

   My friends, Pentecost is all about that, “Catching the fire” of our faith and moving with strength, peace, passion and ultimately in love, in Jesus’ footsteps in our world.  Those at the first Pentecost were said to be “amazed and astonished” at what they saw – would any in our world be “amazed an astonished” at what they see in us? A good question to ponder perhaps on this Pentecost Sunday. 

   At Jim Fitzpatrick’s funeral a few years back, one of his colleagues, a religious sister did the homily for the service.  She used one of Jim’s favorite Scripture quotes to emulate him  — I learned that day that Jim lived and acted upon one of my favorite Scripture quotes too! These words come from the apostle Peter at the Transfiguration, [Rabbi] “it is good that we are here!”  In conclusion then my friends, “it is [indeed] good that we are here!” And because we are, there is the possibility that our world can be better…. Amen? Amen!