Scripture: John 13:7
Jesus replied, search “You do not realize now what I am doing, healing but later you will understand.”

Thought for the Day:  The Pentecost story we remember this week is a story about understanding. It’s a miraculous moment in time when people of all nations, with many different beliefs, actually understood each other and the mysteries of the universe. For one brief blink of God’s metaphorical eye, people knew they were connected more deeply than they’d ever imagined. Then of course, our human brains regained control and everyone ended up in a confused frenzy, in which we continue to exist today. Confused. Frenzied.

The confusion can end though. This time-out-of-sync existence, this rush to compete and win nothing, the walls we build between us: racism, sexism, ism, ism, ism—all of it is illusion created by the confused minds of our (supposedly limited) human being. I am horrified by the fact we continue to kill each other over our diversity, rather than embracing and understanding our differences as important and necessary pieces of the glorious creativity and imagination of the Eternal Creative force.

None of us will truly understand the mysteries of the universe until we understand that every single one of us is an important part of the puzzle. Progress is a group effort that should benefit the entire group. But I suppose that requires a level of understanding few people are willing to undertake voluntarily. So I will continue to pray for the hard hearts of human destruction to be softened by the unconditional love and wisdom of the Holy Spirit, always patiently waiting for an opening into our souls to change our lives.

Prayer: Holy Teacher, make our understanding of unity in you blossom in all of us, as the summer wildflowers bloom in a dizzying array of color, shape, and size. End our discontented winter, Holy god, and awaken us to the colorful, creative beauty of humankind’s rebirth—many people, one spirit, moving ever closer to life in you, now and forever.  Amen.