Pentecost highlights Jesus’ impact on people’s sense of public place. Hierarchs – Roman officials and soldiers, high priests and Pharisees – forcibly controlled the place commoners were allowed to occupy in public life, if any. Hierarchs thus limited people’s ability to effect change. At Pentecost different people came together as one in public space. People simply occupied public space together and thus, began changing public life.
Hierarchs, no matter their era or field, are inclined to do everything they can to control people’s place in public life. They know change happens when people come together. Thus, the evolving Occupy Movement is Pentecostal, meaning Spirit filled, because it successfully opened up public space. Occupy opens public space for dialogue, for communion, for reimaging public life. As such it was targeted for destruction. Hierarchs, through their armed police forces, attacked it and thought they shut it down. They intended to deny commoners public space as they intend to deny commoners political participation. Instead, many of the occupiers, acting as tongues of fire, have spread out in mission. They’re active in housing justice and disaster relief, including student loan debt relief. They’re creating “Rolling Jubilee” campaigns to highlight and eliminate exorbitant interest rates in tuition rates and also in medical bills. Occupiers are forming political and economic alliances to restore the integrity of personhood for human beings as they try to end it for corporations. Members of the 99% are building communion by inviting members of the “1%” to leave their elite control and join them. Together they can accomplish these and other tasks for the common good. 1% members may not accept the invitation to make changes. If they do, they can together help build a 100%. Any and all creative possibilities are opening up as public space is opening up. True Pentecostalism has never been a proclamation of personal salvation. It has always been a movement of social communion. Pentecostal movements have always been creative public movements.
We are all responsible for occupying and creating public life. We bring different gifts to that endeavor but we are one human family needing to renew the face of the earth, together.
Prayer: Spirit of Pentecost, help us to all come together as one human family.
Question: How can I re-create public life?
June 8, 2014 Gospel John 20:19-23 Pentecost