A Meditation for Pentecost: The
Enemy of Apathy
First they came for the communists.
And I didn’t speak out because I
wasn’t a communist
Then they came for the socialists.
And I didn’t speak out because I
wasn’t a socialist.
Then they came for the trade
unionists.
And I didn’t speak out because I
wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews.
And I didn’t speak out because I
wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics.
And I didn’t speak out because I
wasn’t a Catholic.
Then they came for me.
And there was no-one left to speak
out for me.
Apathy – it has
been called the greatest of evils, the behaviour that destroys peoples, permits
horrors, shuts out hope and is a blanket of uncaring doom on what could
be.
The Holy Spirit is
the enemy of this apathy, come to shake us out of our complacency, to enliven
our faith, to spur us into action, to give birth again and again to the church,
the people of God living and loving in the world.
The Holy Spirit is
the wind: come to blow away the cobwebs
that settle on our traditions, come to freshen our faces and awaken us to the
challenges of today. Come to fill our sails
and send us on a voyage of spiritual discovery, to blow strongly through the
church and remind us of the breath of God that enlivens us.
The Holy Spirit is
the fire: a fire to burn away the rubbish in our lives, a fire for spiritual
heat to ‘strangely warm’ our hearts, a fire to light a beacon of hope for
people in our communities. A fire to
blaze within the church and send us out to be a gospel people.
The Holy Spirit is
speaking out: speaking in a way that
people can understand, speaking to real needs, having something to say on real
issues, speaking so that our neighbours and our detractors want to listen. The words of the Spirit speak to us and
through us, the living word made known.
The Holy Spirit is
unrestrained joy: drunk on the new wine
of the kingdom of God, celebrating the birth of the church, inspiring and
exciting us with new possibilities as we
celebrate in worship. Empowering
the work and witness of the church today, inviting us to dance, unashamedly
rejoicing in the gift of love.
The Holy Spirit is
the enemy of apathy, the birth of the word, the church for the Spirit is
eternal love.
Hymn Enemy of Apathy by
John Bell and Graham Maule
She sits like a bird,
brooding on the waters,
hovering on the chaos of
the world’s first day;
she sighs and she sings,
mothering creation,
waiting to give birth to
all the Word will say.
She wings over earth,
resting where she wishes,
lighting close at hand or
soaring through the skies;
she nests in the womb,
welcoming each wonder,
nourishing potential hidden
to our eyes.
She dances in fire,
startling her spectators,
waking tongues of ecstasy
where dumbness reigned;
she weans and inspires all
whose hearts are open,
nor can she be captured,
silenced or restrained.
For she is the Spirit, one
with God in essence,
gifted by the Saviour in eternal
love;
she is the key opening the
scriptures,
enemy of apathy and
heavenly dove.
Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession - Andrew Smith
Ah, dear lord,
we come to prayer on this Pentecost Sunday.
We come to prayer to the god in the wood smoke. We come to prayer to the god in the coal
fire, the memory of forest trees millions of years old. We come to prayer to you, Lord, the god in
the moment of ignition: three two one – we have lift off! You are the god in the least spark, promising
the combustion of a world on fire and alive.
Your fiery holy spirit is abroad on the earth, beneath us, within us and
between us, in that moment of recognition when our eyes make contact and we
reach out to welcome you in, you who have always been here, always present,
always waiting on us, our first ancestor, setting the universe in motion.
And you are
present in the storm front, the cold of the world that follows the pentecostal
fire. Our season gives way to from reds
and golden colours to the icy blast that comes upon us. Keep us warm!
Keep us warm in our fingers as we share peace with each other. Keep us warm in feet and toes to bear the
gospel of peace. Keep us warm in our
breath as the spirit is alive and active among us.
As we proclaim a
gospel of peace and righteousness then we pray against the silencing of the
voices who speak for voiceless. We pray
for those who will speak out on their behalf.
May we become heralds of the kingdom of heaven. May we speak out on behalf of an economy of
salvation. May we live to see a kingdom
of the open table that welcomes all people in, a voice in the wilderness that
says yes to justice, yes to righteousness, yes to salvation, yes to all the
families of god's kingdom, yes to an upside-down Pentecost among an upside-down
people, yes to the struggling and the marginal, yes to the comfortable and the
rewarded. May we welcome all people
around our table, in this journey where we all travel together. The bird of the spirit that leads us is the
great white and black wings of the royal albatross, setting out into the
unknown waters, riding over the storms of the southern ocean. Lead us into adventure, dear lord.
We pray for the
leadership of our country, for our government.
Guide our leaders, use them as instruments of peace. Strengthen our households and our families,
strengthen our home-life, create happy and learning children, contribute to our
society. In all levels of society may
there be well-being. Unite our
parliament to bring about a society where all can flourish and develop. Lead us into a good place. As the Christ-child went down to Egypt so may
we also act to welcome the stranger and the refugee. May we work to make our world last as long as
possible.
We pray for our
city in the cold midwinter. Remember us
in the dark time of the year. Send your
spirit among us with light and fire and love.
Remember us who are here. Your
spirit makes us one and gives us words to speak and pray. Remember the prayers of our hearts for those
who are troubled and for those who are well, for those who are present and
those who are away from us. Holy spirit,
holy god, teach us the words to say.
We pray these
prayers in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, and the words
you taught your disciples, we sing together...
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your
name,
your kingdom come, your will be done, on
earth, as in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those
who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial and deliver
us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power and the glory
are yours, now and forever.
Amen, amen. Amen, amen. Amen, amen. Amen,
amen.
WOV 676
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