About 2000 years ago during Pentecost, a Jewish festival celebrating 50 days after Passover, a small group of Jews who followed a teacher named Jesus experienced a shift in their perception of their power which precipitated the beginning of the Christian Church. A few days before, Jesus had left this small group (the Ascension) leaving them leaderless and powerless. Certainly no one would expect them to be spokespersons for God. But on that Pentecost day, they prophesied and at the end of that event, over 3,000 people heard the message that "cut to their heart" and were baptized. (Acts 2:37-41) To reach that many people without electrical amplification was a major accomplishment in those days.
With the advancements in computer technologies, specifically the digitizing of images, sounds and information, and the lowering costs of electronic wireless devices, we are experiencing a kind of '"pentecost" today. The powerless and voiceless are, for the first time, able to broadcast their images and voices to millions of people through these devices without permission from the traditional powerful establishments. The Arab Spring movement is an example of this revolutionary redistribution of power. More recently, the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case gained national attention through the use of social media by millions of people forcing the system to reopen the case.
Whenever there is a shift in power, the existing power system reacts. One of these reactions is the constant reporting of the super PAC spending millions of dollars buying TV advertisement for the presidential candidates of their choice. Of course the information is reported by the traditional broadcast media which held the power for many years. The last few times I watched TV with my friends, we sped through all the commercials, and paid no attention to them at all. The TV shows were either recorded by the different devices that we owned, or we just got them through different websites through our computers. The fact is, there is a very large population who are watching TV very differently. Gone are the days when we were subjected to TV advisements without control. We not only have control in what we see and when we see them, we also have the power to create and share our images and voices.
We are at the crossroads of this power shift. It will be very interesting to observe how the power struggles between the traditional power holders and the empowered grass-root movements work themselves out in the upcoming presidential election. Human communities in history, often evolved into systems that centralized power and resources favoring a powerful minority, even with a system that proclaimed the equality of everyone. So, everyone once in a while, needs pentecost to help reclaim our calling to be a society that truly values equality and freedom for all.
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Gather your community and watch the Youtube video: When I Pour Out My Spirit
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Reflection Questions for Day of Pentecost (Year B): Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:25-35 Roman 8:22-27 John 15:25026, 16:4b-15 |
Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org
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Upcoming Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist: July 13-20 Homecoming for Friends of Kaleidsocope Institute St. Paul’s Cathedral Center, Los Angeles, CA July 16-20 Kaleidoscope Summer Institute: Missional Ministry in the Grace Margin, Holy Currencies and Community Transformation St. Paul’s Cathedral Center, Los Angeles, CA August 13-17 Holy Currencies: Creating Sustainable Missional Ministries Rainbow Lodge Retreat Center, North Bend (near Seattle), WA Register at: www.kscopeinstitute.org |
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