Red. How do I look in red? What do you think of when you see the color
red?
Watermelon? Firetrucks?
Why are firetrucks always red, never blue or green?
Or perhaps you
think of a stop light, a red traffic light?
Or do you think of
something more political? Red states vs.
blue states? Or if you are older, The
“Reds”? Red-China? Anyone remember “Better dead than red?”
Or do you think of
the opposite, as in “red-blooded American”? And the “red, white and blue”? Why is red first? Why not the white, blue and red????
Any members of the
red hat society with us today?
For our Asian
brothers and sisters red means joy and happiness. Some years ago I did a wedding in South
Carolina. The bride’s mother was coming
from Hong Kong, and the young couple asked me to wear red vestments for the
wedding, since in Chinese culture white signifies death, but red signifies joy.
So I wore red for the wedding.
In church we wear
red for several different occasions. Red
signifies blood; but not blood as a sign of death, like in some Hollywood
horror flick with gallons of fake blood over everything, but rather blood in
the scriptural sense as a sign of life.
So we wear red on the Feast of the Martyrs, like Sts Peter and Paul and
John the Baptist. Also for the Passion
on Palm Sunday and Good Friday.
But today we wear
red primarily for the symbol of FIRE. In
the first reading we heard that tongues as of fire came to rest on the
disciples, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit.
The result is that
the disciples went from frightened and confused people hiding in fear to bold
and effective proclaimers of the Gospel, of the wonderful things God had done
in Jesus Christ.
The symbols of
fire and the “strong, driving wind” are signs of energy, of life, of
vitality: and that is what the Holy Spirit brings to us. Just as when God formed man out of the clay
of the ground in the Book of Genesis, and blew into Adam’s nostrils the breath
of life and man became a living being, so in the Gospel today the Resurrected
Jesus breaths on the Apostles and says “Receive the Holy Spirit” and so
they came alive.
So when you see faith-filled
Christians who are alive, and filled with concern for others, and generous, and
actively putting their Faith into action, who look like they have heard Good
News and so radiate the joy of the Gospel, you recognize that these are
Spirit-filled Christians. Amen! And you praise God for that.
But when you see
Christians who look grumpy, and are stingy, and think of religion as all about
rules, and “don’t”s, and radiate an up-tight, constricted sense of
narrow-mindedness and small-heartedness, you recognize that they are
Spirit-lacking Christians. The life is just not there. They are dead in the Spirit.
The former are
bright, brilliant, bold, red Christians: so red it hurts your eyes: you need
sunglasses in their presence. The later
are nothing but dingy, insipid, beige Christians. They make you yawn, and put you to sleep.
Today, on this
Pentecost, we are called to be RED Christians, to open our hearts to the Holy
Spirit that we received at our Baptism and were sealed with at our
Confirmation. People should be able to
see the Spirit of Christ at work in us.
Look and act like you have heard Good News, not bad news. Act with courage in living the way of
Christ. Proclaim boldly by your deeds
what you believe. Jesus is Lord!
May you be on fire
with the Holy Spirit! Happy Pentecost!
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