1When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes 11Cretans and Arabs — in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘In the last days it will be,God declares,

18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

19 And I will show portents in the heaven above

20 The sun shall be turned to darkness

21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’”

I recently learned about The Future Library Project, based in Norway. The project began in 2014 and seeks to gather stories from famous, influential authors each year for 100 years when the stories will be published in 2114. As part of the project, trees have been planted, which can be harvested for the paper to print the stories. In an attempt to attend to all the details, instructions on how to make paper and how to print on paper are included for the future humans who receive this literary time capsule.

Margaret Atwood was interviewed about her participation in the project. I found her thoughtfulness about writing for a future audience to be disarming. I had expected Margaret Atwood, known for her dystopian novels, to have a dismal picture of her future readers, but in fact she was rather optimistic about the future. We’ve had nuclear bombs for a long time and have not yet blown up the planet, she observed. She pointed to human commitment to rebounding monarch butterfly populations and the cod fishery has rebounded. There are hopeful glimmers.

Breathe on us, breath of God. Awaken us to be the future people you have visioned us to be. Help us fan the flame within to warm us, and others, with hope for tomorrow. Amen

Amy can be reached by email at: agape@westfieldpc.org.