Pentecost─Shavuot:
A Celebration of God’s Presence in the World!

On the third day, as morning dawned, there was thunder and lightning, and a dense cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud blast of the horn; and all the people who were in the camp trembled. (Exodus 19: 16)

All the people witnessed the thunder and the lightning, the blare of the horn and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they fell back and stood at a distance. (Exodus 21: 15)

And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit... (Acts Il; 2 - 4)

Every spring, as the world comes into bloom, we celebrate our communal rebirth and re-affirm the connections with our historical roots. The Exodus from Egypt celebrates freedom and the re-connection of the ancient Hebrews with the God that made the covenant with Abraham. The Resurrection marks the beginning of the expansion of that covenant. Both events celebrate freedom and the opportunity for each of us to re-commit more fully to life. Like the buds of spring, we are able to sense our potential more clearly and open more fully to the opportunities and joys of life.

The “paschal” celebration in both Judaism and Christianity is followed by a forty-nine day period that ends with the celebration of the manifestation of God on the fiftieth day-- Pentecost. Jewish tradition teaches that Moses received the Torah at this time and shared it with the Children of Israel. Christian tradition teaches that this day marks the sharing of the Holy Spirit with all the people of the world and the birth of the Church.

This seven-week period between Passover and Shavuot (Pentecost) is a time of mindfulness and anticipation. Jews bless each of these days with a special counting formula. Mystics have invested each of these seven weeks and each of the forty-nine days with the name of one of the special attributes of God. This system names the forty ninth day malchut sheh’b’ malchut; the day of the kingdom that is within the king(dom); a time when all of the other forty-eight aspects of God can manifest in our daily lives. Hopefully the paschal celebration and the conscious numbering of days which follows it can lead each of us to re-commit to the work of making God’s kingdom real for ourselves and all the people of the world.

Over these past five years that we have joined in witness for justice for Palestinians and security for all in the region, there have been many times when I have felt that the synergy of our group has made us an active part of the process of helping to make God present in this world . Although the U.S. government policies continue to arm Israel and supply her with powerful weapons, there are some signs of change. But there not enough change has been made yet!

Grandparents for Peace in the Middle East is one of the several local organizations that are actively supporting the national march on Washington that has been called by the U.S. Campaign to End the Occupation for Saturday, 9 June. (This is one of a number of events that will be taking place all over the globe to mark the fortieth anniversary of Israel’s Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.)

By the time you read this, I hope that you will have booked a space on one of the buses that we are planning to charter for this event. Together we can make God’s kingdom real through the expansion of our witness and active collaboration with the many others who will be part of the Saturday demonstration and the many meetings that will take place on Capitol Hill on Monday 11 June.

Cy Swartz

Cy and Lois Swartz, Grandparents for Peace in the Middle East, and their friends vigil every Friday at the Israeli Consul, 15th & Locust─east side, 12 to 1:00 p.m.

return to 4/07 CPF Newsletter