The Religion Works

Sermons by Harry T. Cook May 11, 2008 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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To read this week’s sermon “Spirit Is As Spirit Does” just scroll down. The legend of Pentecost is that assembled multitudes from many ethnic groupings, each able to speak and hear only its own language, were nonetheless able to understand and communicate with people of other groupings. If they did, in fact, communicate, they were at least in that moment at peace. Big hint for the geopolitics of the 21st Century.

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Harry T. Cook

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Spirit Is As Spirit Does

By Harry T. Cook

Today in the life of the Christian church is known as “Pentecost” – a New Testament Greek term meaning “fiftieth day.” The church celebrates this 50th day after Easter as the anniversary of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the early apostolic community complete with the light and sound effects of blazing fire, rushing wind and ecstatic babble.

Except Luke would like us to believe that the babble was understood by every person present at the scene, no matter whence they had come – out of many nations and diverse tongues. They all spoke different languages, but heard the other as if he had spoken in their own language. The next time that phenomenon would be realized was when the United Nations developed the system of simultaneous translation so that the ambassador from Belarus could understand the ambassador from Brazil who could, in turn, understand the ambassador from Turkmenistan.

Would that it were so – that people from anywhere could understand each other everywhere, even with the help of translators. You and I sometimes don’t understand each other. Sometimes, in fact, we go out of our way NOT to understand each other.

Who would not long for the gift of a spirit or force or anything (call it whatever)

that would enable, empower and mandate our understanding of one another?

Animals in the wild seem not to negotiate very much. They just circle one another until an opportune time to lunge and sink their teeth into whichever one of them is the prey. I think that’s why it is called “the law of the jungle.”

Somewhere on up the evolutionary chain emerged a creature called Homo sapiens, which is Latin for “wise man or person.” Despite the ways in which we sometimes conduct ourselves, we are representative of the species Homo sapiens. What makes us wise or wiser than the wildebeest or the lion? Among other things, it seems clearly to be our ability to communicate in more complex and nuanced ways – especially when we can understand the language being used.

Here’s a story for you. A temporary replacement prompter at the Metropolitan Opera did not, as it turned out, speak Italian. His job, among other things, was to pick up the phone in his little booth beneath the stage and call the singers when their time of coming on stage was near at hand. So on this one occasion during a performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, he picked up the phone and dialed the number of the tenor waiting below in his dressing room. The tenor, who spoke no English, picked up on the first ring and said, Pronto. With great relief the prompter hung up, but eventually did not see the tenor waiting in the wings when he should have been. So he called again. Pronto, said the tenor. “You bet!” said the prompter.

Well, when a person answers a phone in Italy, he or she says, Pronto, which means “Ready,” as in “ready to talk at this end.” To the non-Italian speaker in America, pronto means “right now.” The tenor did not arrive in timely fashion for his entrance, and the mystery was solved in a somewhat heated fashion after the performance by the stage manager who spoke both languages.

The lesson being that mutual understanding through speaking and hearing is the best way to achieve what needs to be achieved.

One of the major arguments in this marathon presidential campaign is whether the United States should be talking with Iran. The prevailing policy at present is not to talk. One candidate only wants to talk with certain pre-conditions. Another candidate says the nation should never decline an opportunity to talk, that being the better option when armed conflict is the other.

All I know is that when people sit down and talk, they are not standing up throwing spears or firing guns at one another. While we can speak and be heard, can and will hear others speak to us, there is hope. That ability is what the Bible says was given to the church at its birth.

Maybe that’s the gift the church has to give to the world – to prod its warring factions into talking, speaking, hearing, understanding. Pronto.

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© Copyright 2008, Harry T. Cook. All rights reserved. This article may not be used or reproduced without proper credit.