Liturgist's thoughts on Pentecost 2010

Pentecost is my favorite season. As much as I love Advent with its quiet yet joyful expectation, Christmas with the carols everyone loves to sing, Epiphany culminating with the Transfiguration, that moment so ecstatic that Peter wanted to live in it for ever, Lent culminating with the great drama of holy week and Easter -- as much as I love those seasons, Pentecost takes the cake for me because it isn't a remembrance or observation of an event; in fact, we are still experiencing that same Pentecost that the Apostles experienced. We live in the time of the Spirit, the same Spirit that was experienced that day has been with and in us all ever since.

Have you ever been to Esalen Hot Springs in Big Sur, California? It is an unusually beautiful place in the forest above the Pacific, with sheer cliffs dropping to the sea. Just on the edge of those cliffs are natural hot mineral springs. Twenty four hours a day the guests may soak in the springs looking on one side at the waves crashing against the cliffs, and on the other, giant Redwood trees. I had the luxury of having a massage there one day, during which the masseuse spontaneously sang to me, "Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on you. Melt you, mold you, fill you, use you. Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on you." Of course I was sobbing as she sang, and for a long time after. I was so aware of the Spirit around me and within me, so aware of how blessed I am, so aware of the goodness of creation, and so thankful. I will never forget it.

So, you may ask, why is our Liturgist telling us intimate details about the best massage he ever had? Because events like this are what inspire my music and affect how I think about and plan liturgy. I had known that song since I was a child, but at that moment I heard it anew. That is what my goal is in my work: to help the community experience traditional things anew, so that they mean something now. So that they inspire us to love now. So that they give us real peace and happiness now.

This is the original text of that song written in 1926 by Daniel Iverson:
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me;
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.
Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.
Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me.

The event at Esalen inspired me to add 2 verses to that hymn:

2. Spirit of the Living God, help me let it go;
Spirit of the Living God, help me let it go.
Let all go dear, so comes love dear.
Spirit of the Living God, help me let it go.

3. Spirit of the Living God, spring afresh in you;
Spirit of the Living God, spring afresh in you.
Melt you, mold you, fill you, use you.
Spirit of the Living God, spring afresh in you.

Verse 2 came from this idea: the more I am able to let go of selfishness, the happier I am, the freer I am to be interested and concerned about others around me, the more I am able to love. I am sure all of you know what I am talking about; it is one reason we gather together on Sundays and commit to being a part of this Christian community. In small and large ways, we are inspired to exhibit the same self-giving love that Jesus showed throughout his life and ultimately with his letting go of life itself as he forgave even those who put him to death.

Verse 3 is the natural result, then, of verse 2: instead of continuing to ask that the Spirit fall on me, our deepest desire is for others' happiness. Therein will lies our own peace, our own happiness. We all feel it deep down: we are connected, we are brothers and sisters, one family, the entire earth.