Theologian John S. Dunne tells of a group of early Spanish sailors who reached the continent of South America after an arduous voyage. Their caravels sailed into the headwaters of the Amazon, an expanse of water so wide the sailors presumed it to be a continuation of the Atlantic Ocean. It never occurred to them to drink the water, since they expected it to be saline, and as a result some of the sailors died of thirst. That scene of sailors dying of thirst even as their ships floated on the world’s largest source of freshwater has become for me a metaphor for our age. Some people starve to death spiritually while they are surrounded by God’s very Spirit.
The Feast of Pentecost is this Sunday, June 5. In the great story of the Holy Spirit coming among the early followers of Jesus, we learn again of the Spirit’s constant presence, summoning us to give God’s shaping and sustaining love, visibility, and expression.
Each week at Bethesda we have the outstanding privilege and opportunity to make visible God’s abounding, forgiving, and sustaining Spirit.
Happy Pentecost!
Bob Dannals
Interim Rector