Today we celebrate — I trust with great hope and expectation — the wonderful feast of Pentecost, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus’ disciples. It’s an event which can be thought of in many different ways; even in the four years of this blog, I’ve discussed it in terms of the … Continue reading A Gift for All: A Reflection for Pentecost 2022
Once upon a time, the whole earth had one language, one culture, and all of the people lived in the same land. When the people came to a beautiful plain between two rivers, they said to one another, 'This is a beautiful and rich land. Let us settle here,' and so they did. The people … Continue reading Babel’s Curse, Babel’s Blessing: A Narrative Reflection for Pentecost 2021
There's a strange story in Genesis 11 that goes like this: The peoples of the earth, wanting to gain fame and power, decide to build a tower that stretches up all the way into heavens. But God confuses their speech, so their venture fails and they scatter across the earth. The whole story of the … Continue reading Babel Revisited
Happy Pentecost! It's a brilliant, beautiful feast. And it's also an important feast for us, this year more than ever. But, before I begin, I have two confessions to make: I came to the readings weary from a week of horrible, frightening, heart-rending news, searching for words of peace and comfort. I didn't find them. … Continue reading Winds of Change (A Reflection for Pentecost 2020)
The weather here in Toronto has finally turned. After a long and unusually cold Spring, warmth has finally returned. Suddenly, almost as though someone flipped a switch, all that greening potential in the trees and flowers that had just been a blush of colour has exploded into full view. Gone are the drab greys and … Continue reading Come, Holy Spirit, Come
Matthew Root 