Plants, Pentecost, and Playoffs

Sometimes, try as you might to make sense of how everything fits together — wanting one thing to be the piece that fills the empty space next to another piece, complementing it and maybe even lending additional meaning — you end up having to recognize, probably with a sigh, that it’s all really more of a jumble. Completed puzzle with straight edges all around, making one appealing picture? Nope. You’re better off granting each squiggly thing its own integrity, without jamming it into anything else, hoping for some kind of snap.

Hey, we all need our space.

May has been that kind of month for me: blobs of very different kinds of raw materials, little worlds even, not congealing to make a sensible whole, but persisting in whatever they are. If we were afloat, they’d each be separate buoys, bobbing away. I’ll describe three of these here. When you finish reading, maybe you’ll be kind enough to offer a few of your own. That will be fun, in a chaotic kind of way.

Lettuce Praise the Earth

The past few weeks has brought an explosion of grass, birds, bugs, and sometimes garish flowers. A few days ago my husband discovered this peony plant bursting with pink, right under our deck. When he brought in one of the enormous blossoms and put it in a vase for me, I was amazed, and went right out to look at the source, having no memory of that plant being there before. It must have established itself, shouting, “Look at me all alone here, right now before all these petals are gone! Did this all by myself, case you’re wondering!”

And then many of us have paid our visits to the local nurseries recently, filling our carts with vegetables and perennials, hoping to be able do some nurturing back at our maybe otherwise Empty Nests.

Now that these two kinds of lettuce are in the ground, we must be sure to feed (won’t repeat the colorful language the nursery proprietor used when he urged us to buy fertilizer) and cherish those growing leaves before they start bolting, hoping that the arugula, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and herbs will like where they’re planted, too.

One Special Sunday Followed by Another

Meanwhile, even though Easter was last month, the liturgical calendar followed by Christians is still rich with meaning. As usual, it’s easier for me to dig in the dirt than to get a firm grip on this material, but as a longtime clergy spouse, I try to maintain something like a Level One understanding of some quite complicated concepts.

The Sunday before last — many of you will know this already — was Pentecost Sunday, also known as the birthday of the Church. Only after Jesus has been crucified and resurrected does the Bible depict how regular people will join together to keep his story alive.

On this day, the Holy Spirit — often depicted as a white dove — is prominently featured, appearing in a dramatic way to the apostles.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 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 and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (Acts: 1-4)

Now I don’t know about you, but the idea of what the Holy Spirit actually is and can do — not just in this scene but in perpetuity — stretches my understanding of what’s real, or at least what we commonly think of as real. I mean, this is a whole different sphere than the one in which we weed, plant, feed. Or is it?

Yesterday was Trinity Sunday — another major event for the Church, emphasizing the Three in One nature of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through the past few decades, I’ve become reasonably familiar with this doctrine (that’s what it is), but being familiar with it is still a far cry from fully absorbing the significance through all of my pores.

A small replica of this very icon, showing three angels who have come to visit the house of Abraham, is hanging in our own kitchen; but I have to admit that until a few days ago, I hadn’t looked very closely at it.

Don’t for one minute think I’ll even TRY to explain everything that’s going on here. What I can see, with my own untrained eye, though, is that it’s a beautiful scene; and that Hospitality is exactly what we want conveyed in our kitchen. I’m glad that it’s hanging right above a photograph of my brother (whom we miss every day) and his wife, in front of their Vermont barn.

Feasting on Winter Sports in Springtime

Then, along with the plants in a riot of activity outside; the rich depictions of a faith tradition that unfold each Sunday; we have something else entirely, happening on almost a nightly basis on our TV set: NBA and NHL playoffs. Have you been watching 1) either? 2) neither? 3) both? Put our household down for Number 3, please.

The Celtics have now moved on to the Finals after dispensing with both the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers. Meanwhile, and by serendipity perhaps, or maybe fan base planning, the NY Rangers gave gotten past the Carolina Hurricanes and are now engaged in a mighty battle with the Florida Panthers. Those of you who don’t follow hockey might be shocked to learn that there are now actually TWO professional hockey teams in the Sunshine State. Ridiculous? Yes, as is much about professional sports, I’ll readily admit. But the games have been thrilling and even, I daresay, elevating to the sometimes downtrodden spirit. Jaylen Brown’s powerful drives to the basket! Derrick White’s relentless defense! Igor Shesterkin’s brilliant goaltending! Look what they’ve worked so hard to be able to do.

On Sunday, a few hours after the Rangers clinched a Game Three victory in overtime, my husband happened upon another fabulous playoff hockey game — a total surprise. Women flying across the screen! Boston vs. Minnesota, in the new professional league; they played two 20-minute overtimes, Boston finally taking the game to even the series to two games apiece.

Good thing our schedule’s clear tonight for Game Five. I’ll spend a little time watering the garden first, hoping that if Three Angels do decide to drop in, draped in flowing robes, they’ll happen to be hockey fans.