:: Christ Church of Easton ::
Christ Church of Easton
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 16:18-20

  

Building Bridges

 “What is born of the flesh is flesh,
and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
John 3:6

 

Pentecost celebrates the gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the longest season of the church year, beginning 50 days after Easter, as  spring softly turns into summer.  Pentecost embodies a sense 
of growth, of slow and deliberate movement, of journey.  It is 
a time to look within, to find and deepen our spirituality; but 
mere contemplative reflection is not enough.  The Archbishop 
of Canterbury Rowan Williams believes that Pentecost is a 
“moment when the friends of Jesus discover that they can communicate to all sorts of people they never thought that 
they would be speaking to…  They can actually build bridges 
with strangers…”
 
We do not have to cloister ourselves away from the rest of 
the world to find a deeper spirituality.  We should not think 
of spiritual growth as another obligation. Rather our spirituality should be woven intricately into the fabric of our daily lives.
 
The early disciples were charged by Jesus to “make disciples 
of  all nations.”  We also must reach out to make connections 
with others.  This past winter our community worked together 
to help shelter the homeless.  We did build bridges with strangers. 
As we reached out to those in need, we made connections and were transformed as the Holy Spirit worked through us.
According to Rowan Williams, “It is the Holy Spirit that brings communion relationship between Christian believers.”
 
In her poem When Death Comes, the contemporary poet 
Mary Oliver has a similar message:
           
When it’s over, I want to say all my life
I was a bride married to amazement.
I was the bridegroom, taking the world into my arms.
                           …
I don’t want to end up simply having visited the world.
 
 
In the months ahead, embrace the unfamiliar.  Marry yourself 
to amazement.  Take the world into your arms.  Do more than 
visit the world. 
 
 
Kaye Dutrow     
 

 

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