When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddently there came from the sky noise like a strong driving wind./Al llegar el día de Pentecostés, estaban todo reunidos en el mismo lugar. De pronto, vino del cielo un ruido, semejante a una fuerte ráfage de vienta.—Acts 2:1-2
Last week we focused on silence. This week we’re going in the opposite direction, encouraging you to be noisy. More accurately it’s Pope Francis who is calling us to be noisy. When he met with the Jesuits during his visit to Indonesia in September this is what he called them to do; being noisy was part of the Pope’s answer when asked how they should help those who are marginalized and excluded. Like last week we’ll adapt it to serve our needs here:
“I want you to make ‘noise.’ Read the book of the Acts of the Apostles to see what they did at the beginning of Christianity! The Spirit leads us to make ‘noise,’ not to leave everything standing still; this is, in short, the way to deal with important issues...It is our way of ‘going beyond’ for the greater glory of God.”
In reading the Acts of the Apostles we will see, “everyone is called to proclaim the Gospel given their own age, experience, and culture...discernment is dynamic, it helps us never to be able to hide behind ‘it has always been done this way.’”
When Francis calls us to be noisy, it’s not noise for the sake of noise but a call to go out and make a better world by standing up to injustice and other problems. Reading the Acts of the Apostles is a good starting point as it shows us the enabling power of the Holy Spirit, that the story of Jesus has not come to an end but lives through us.
Showcasing SHA talent: Ian and Owen in 7th know that fans at a baseball game can be noisy.
God bless,
Mrs. Alhadef
Campus Minister
4th Grade Aide