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Background: The reading from the Acts and from St. John’s Gospel ought to be seen as part of the same event, the anticipation of Pentecost and his fulfillment, or perhaps even two accounts of the same event, the inspiriting of the apostles after Jesus went home to the Father in heaven, the beginning of their mission – a mission of peace and forgiveness and enthusiasm and respect for variety. It is worth noting that this speaking in tongues is not like what would later be called the gift of tongues. They were not speaking in a language that no one could understand. Rather they were speaking in their own languages and were understood by everyone even those who did not speak Aramaic. The lesson is that there is room in the new community of the followers of Jesus for everyone that the spirit calls , no matter what their “ethnic” background |
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Story: Once upon a time there was a grammar school boy’s football team that had a good chance of winning the championship of their league. They had a great quarterback, a couple of good pass receivers and some superb defensive lineman. Their only real weakness was that they had no good PAT kicker. The other teams in the league usually converted a touchdown into seven points. Our local heroes had to settle for six. Moreover they were so spooked by their inability to score a PAT that invariably their attempts by passes or runs turned into flops. Now it just so happened that there was a girl in their class who was a great soccer player and had a wonderful kicking foot. As the season wore on, the guys worked up their nerve to ask her whether she would do their PATs for them. I thought you’d never ask, she said. Well, the first week she played they scored four touchdowns and ended up tied at 28-28. So she kicked a ten yard field goal and they won. She’s really one of the guys, the guys insisted. But a bunch of parents got together and complained to the Monsignor. Trying to keep everyone happy, he put his foot down (and into his mouth) by making a rule that no girl could play on the boys team. That made the parents very happy, even the girl’s parents who were afraid she would get hurt. The team lost the playoff game by one point. (And this is NOT a story about whether girls should play football.)
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