Voices of God

And this is eternal life, that they may know you . . . .

These words are in Jesus’ parting prayer at his ascension, according to John. The Ascension is a door closing, it is when the Easter sightings of him, the surprising visions, and the conversations came to an close. There will be no more of this. The familiar face, the voice, the renewing of his acquaintance, are over – forever.

Ascension is the second step of the three steps into eternal life. For we are not to be bereft, the greatest of doors has yet to open. All along, and again then, he has promised the final act of Easter and the fulfilment of resurrection – Pentecost.

The Spirit comes, pouring over the swarm of people from many lands who are gathered in Jerusalem that morning. And now, and always, there are and will be an endless array of voices, of deep understanding. All speak. And all listen. Hearts and minds are deeply open.

John tells us, that the wisdom of Easter is peace spoken and received, and in that is joy. But -– what are the tongues, whose voices speak for God, what is the sound – how do we know its tale and tone?

We are preoccupied with assessing the virtues and vices, the style and the courage, the demeanor and the experiences, of public voices. Yet – those we know who speak for God often come to us from lives we would reject. Here are some:

From the tongue of Maya Angelou, molested child, shuttled between her grandmother and her mother, then an unwed mother at 18, trolley car conductor, nightclub singer, pimp, prostitute, and thanks to mentors like Langston Hughes, author, professor, US poet laureate, a Presidential Medal of Freedom awardee, comes this prayer:

Father, Mother, God

Thank you for your presence

during the hard and mean days.

for then we have you to lean upon.

Thank you for your presence

during the bright and sunny days,

for then we can share that which we

have with those who have less.

And thank you for your presence

during the Holy Days, for then we are

able to celebrate you and our families

and our friends.

For those who have no voice,

we ask you to speak.

For those who feel unworthy,

we ask you to pour your love out

in waterfalls of tenderness.

For those who live in pain,

we ask you to bathe them

in the river of your healing.

For those who are lonely,

we ask you to keep them company.

For those who are depressed,

we ask you to shower upon them

the light of hope.

Dear Creator, You, the borderless

sea of substance, we ask you to give to

all the world that which we need most —

Peace. Amen.

From the tongue of Wendell Berry, Kentucky farmer and poet, novelist, environmental activist, cultural critic, and a man who says of himself that he takes the gospel seriously, these words:

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

From the tongue of 12th century German mystic, Hildegard of Bingen, who chose life in a cell over the other options available to her in her culture and time, these words:

Fire of the Spirit, life of the lives of creatures,

Spiral of sanctity, bond of all natures,

Glow of charity, light of clarity,

Taste of sweetness to the fallen,

Be with us and hear us.

Composer of all things, light of all the risen,

Key of salvation, release from the dark prison,

Hope of all unions, scope of all privacy,

Joy in the glory, strong honor,

Be with us and hear us. Amen.

We are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, wrote Paul, on one of his better days.

________________________________________________________

Illustrations:

1.  Pentecost, by The Rohan Master, 1340, Bibliotheque Nationale de France, Paris. Vanderbilt Divinity School Library, Art in the Christian Tradition.

2.  Maya Angelou at York College, 2013.  Wikipedia Page image.

3.  Wendell Berry.  At his Kentucky farm, showing his solar panels.  Wikipedia page image.

4.  Hildegard of Bingen. b. 1098. Sibyl of the Rhine, O.S.B., Doctor of the Church.  Illumination from Liber-Scivias, showing her receiving a vision and dictating to her scribe.