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Pentecost Sunday Prayer by Peter Menkin
by Peter Menkin Notes from Peter Menkin blog as introduction: If you recall, I wrote a poem about Pentecost and referenced the God of the Old Testament. One would usually make the poetic statement I made referencing the Trinity or Christ. I feel I need to explain myself, and here is a quote from a book titled, "Introduction to Theology" by Owen C. Thomas and Ellen K. Wondra. It is a book one would find in an Episcopal Seminary course, and was suggested by Father Tierney who is an Episcopal Priest. The poem I refer to is "Pentecost Sunday Prayer." The quote: "First, it is clear that the God attested in the Old Testament is one, a unity, and not a plurality. But second, it is also clear that God of the Old Testament is not a simple unity, but a complex, organic, or differentiated unity. All the anthropomorphisms of the Old Testament interpret the unity of Yahweh on the analogy of the unity of the human self. Furthermore, certain divine attributes or powers, such as Spirit, Word, and Wisdom, are distinguished and tend to be personalized and hypostatized. These terms refer to extensions of God's personal presence and powerful activity in relation to the world. They are not systematicallyrelated in the Old Testament, and they overlap in function. But they point to a differentiation in the Godhead that is to some extent analogous to the New Testament differentiation among the terms Father, Son, and Spirit. In the New Testament, the Old Testament terms Word and Wisdom are applied to Christ, and Old Testament texts concerning the Spirit of God are applied to the Holy Spirit. In other words, the New Testament authors were able to understand the relation of the Son and the Spirit to the Father in a way roughly analogous to how the Old Testament authors understood the relation of Word, Spirit, and Wisdom to Yahweh." I chose the imagery of the Exodus from the Old Testament to say that we are liberated by our God, Christ, and that he brings us to freedom. In any event, I hope you enjoyed that poem "Pentecost Sunday Prayer" about the Holy Spirit bringing us a new freedom in Christ, liberating us. It is not my usual thing to make a sermon or homily in these notes, so I will stop here and let that poem posted previously speak for itself. "Pentecost Sunday Prayer" Spring has certainly come to this town where I live, North of San Francisco across the Golden Gate Bridge. The second poem posted today is about Spring, and though this month will mark Summertime, I can still feel Spring. The poem itself was written in 2001, and it has never been published but is now here for you, reader. The first poem is one from 2002 and though posted on a writer's workshop, elicited no comments. Otherwise, I would fill you in on the comments and maybe post those with the poem on Pentecost. By the way, I have trouble spelling "Pentecost" every year. And every year I look it up on the Brittanica website because they have a Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Because I spell it wrong, it doesn't find the word. I suggest to the publishers of the Brittanica site that they create the dictionary so that misspelled words can find the right spelling. Is that so hard? It is by a process of ellimination that I get the right spelling. by Peter Menkin -- 2002 For I am empty and forlorn, so I hope and pray. Tongues of language and flames. Lord. I search; let me welcome the Holy Spirit. The God who brought us out of Egypt to freedom; let God do this emancipation: accept and welcome, and let us receive the Spirit. Reach out, lift the heart, have faith that the Spiritfire comes settling in, penetrating us: Goodness. Tongues of language and flames. Dance in our hearts. Let it be me in Church, let it be me, let it be others. Come Holy Spirit. Consuming fire; burning yes. Augio reading of poem by the poet is here: http://www.archive.org/details/PentecostSundayPrayerrevise2002ByPeterMenkin Peter Menkin, an aspiring poet, lives in Mill Valley, CA USA where he writes poetry. He is an Oblate of Immaculate Heart Hermitage, Big Sur, CA and that means he is a Camaldoli Benedictine. He is 64 years of age as of 2010. Copyright Peter Menkin http://www.petermenkin.blogspot.com Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |