| Notes from Peter Menkin blog as introduction: | | | | freedom in Christ, liberating us. It is not my usual thing to |
| If you recall, I wrote a poem about Pentecost and | | | | make a sermon or homily in these notes, so I will stop |
| referenced the God of the Old Testament. One would | | | | here and let that poem posted previously speak for |
| usually make the poetic statement I made referencing | | | | itself. |
| the Trinity or Christ. I feel I need to explain myself, and | | | | |
| here is a quote from a book titled, "Introduction to | | | | "Pentecost Sunday Prayer" |
| Theology" by Owen C. Thomas and Ellen K. Wondra. It | | | | |
| is a book one would find in an Episcopal Seminary | | | | Spring has certainly come to this town where I live, |
| course, and was suggested by Father Tierney who is | | | | North of San Francisco across the Golden Gate |
| an Episcopal Priest. The poem I refer to is "Pentecost | | | | Bridge. The second poem posted today is about |
| Sunday Prayer." | | | | Spring, and though this month will mark Summertime, I |
| The quote: | | | | can still feel Spring. The poem itself was written in |
| "First, it is clear that the God attested in the Old | | | | 2001, and it has never been published but is now here |
| Testament is one, a unity, and not a plurality. But | | | | for you, reader. |
| second, it is also clear that God of the Old Testament | | | | The first poem is one from 2002 and though posted |
| is not a simple unity, but a complex, organic, or | | | | on a writer's workshop, elicited no comments. |
| differentiated unity. All the anthropomorphisms of the | | | | Otherwise, I would fill you in on the comments and |
| Old Testament interpret the unity of Yahweh on the | | | | maybe post those with the poem on Pentecost. By |
| analogy of the unity of the human self. Furthermore, | | | | the way, I have trouble spelling "Pentecost" every year. |
| certain divine attributes or powers, such as Spirit, | | | | And every year I look it up on the Brittanica website |
| Word, and Wisdom, are distinguished and tend to be | | | | because they have a Merriam-Webster Dictionary. |
| personalized and hypostatized. These terms refer to | | | | Because I spell it wrong, it doesn't find the word. I |
| extensions of God's personal presence and powerful | | | | suggest to the publishers of the Brittanica site that they |
| activity in relation to the world. They are not | | | | create the dictionary so that misspelled words can find |
| systematicallyrelated in the Old Testament, and they | | | | the right spelling. Is that so hard? It is by a process of |
| overlap in function. But they point to a differentiation in | | | | illimination that I get the right spelling. |
| the Godhead that is to some extent analogous to the | | | | Pentecost Sunday Prayer (revise)by Peter Menkin -- |
| New Testament differentiation among the terms | | | | 2002 |
| Father, Son, and Spirit. In the New Testament, the Old | | | | For I am empty and forlorn,so I hope and pray. |
| Testament terms Word and Wisdom are applied to | | | | Tongues of language and flames. |
| Christ, and Old Testament texts concerning the Spirit | | | | Lord. |
| of God are applied to the Holy Spirit. In other words, | | | | I search; let mewelcome the Holy Spirit. |
| the New Testament authors were able to understand | | | | The God who broughtus out of Egypt to freedom;let |
| the relation of the Son and the Spirit to the Father in a | | | | God do this emancipation:accept and welcome,and let |
| way roughly analogous to how the Old Testament | | | | us receive the Spirit. |
| authors understood the relation of Word, Spirit, and | | | | Reach out, lift the heart,have faith that the |
| Wisdom to Yahweh." | | | | Spiritfirecomes settling in, penetrating us: |
| I chose the imagery of the Exodus from the Old | | | | Goodness. |
| Testament to say that we are liberated by our God, | | | | Tongues of language and flames. |
| Christ, and that he brings us to freedom. In any event, I | | | | Dance in our hearts. |
| hope you enjoyed that poem "Pentecost Sunday | | | | Let it be me in Church,let it be me, let it be others. |
| Prayer" about the Holy Spirit bringing us a new | | | | Come Holy Spirit. Consuming fire;burning yes. |