Sermon for the day of Pentecost — May 20, 2018 The Rev. H. Elizabeth Back, Rector, St. James Episcopal Church

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the , and shun The frumious !”

He took his in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree And stood awhile in thought.

And, as in uffish thought he stood, The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame, Came whiffling through the tulgey wood, And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through The vorpal blade went snicker-snack! He left it dead, and with its head He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock? Come to my arms, my beamish boy! O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!” He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.

Did that all make sense? For those who may be unfamiliar with the adventures of one in I wasn’t speaking in tongues. I was speaking Looking Glass language.

Lewis Carroll wrote that childish story in 1871 for a book titled Through the Looking Glass, a kind of sequel to The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. It’s called the . When Aidan was an infant I would recite it to him every night along with the Lord’s Prayer. I memorized it for his sake because I wanted to be sure he understood some things cannot be surely understood. So we’ve arrived at one of the most mystical days in the church calendar, the day of Pentecost.

To observe their day of Pentecost disciples of Jesus gathered together inside a room to celebrate the fiftieth (Pentecost) day of the harvest. And to tell again the story of the Passover. Everyone can understand a harvest festival, right? But then the bizarre happens. Tongues of fire get on their heads and they start talking in languages they never learned in school and what is even more odd, others can understand them. The Holy Spirit is no nonsense. But she can sound silly unless you’ve learned her language.

I learn her language best when I see her work in the actions of others. The consequence of her silly sounds is the serious transformation of lives. For example, in the story of Acts a bunch of fisherman are given heavenly power in the form of love. And they take that power as far as they can take it. From this day on the disciples wear their new power suits out into the whole world to feed the hungry, heal the sick, care for the poor, raise the dead, and proclaim the good news of God in Christ.

Those disciples went into the same world we go into, a world full of things that don’t make sense. How can there be a beautiful royal wedding within in the same news cycle as another brutal school massacre? That doesn’t make sense and nothing about it is silly.

Nonsense is the wave we surf when we sign up for the ride as a Christian. There’s no sitting on the seashore watching waves. Christians live in the drink. Belonging to a community like this one is going to put you in a room frequented by the Holy Spirit.

When you walk in here you are going to come to terms with the power bestowed upon you by the waters of baptism — the same power Bishop Michael Curry described from Windsor Castle yesterday when he said to those whose hands are filled with power, “I’m talking about power. Real power — power to change the world. Love.” While you and I may not possess the power to sit in castles and courts, we are in a unique position to wield the power of love as made known to us in sacrifice of Jesus. In this room. In our homes. In Oldham County and beyond. Whenever we walk out of here and engage one another in love we are wielding a power greater than any held on royal thrones.

When started writing the work that would come to include the Jabberwocky he did so for his three goddaughters. They were picnicing on a warm afternoon and the three young girls demanded a story. They refused to let him doze in the sunshine so he wove a tale long enough to put them to sleep instead. Later he would write it down and expand upon it. The adventures he describes may sound like nonsense. Indeed they were born in imagination. Soon after his silly words would become meaningful. Invented words from the Jabberwocky would become so well known you can find them in the dictionary. Entertain God’s imagination for the plans and purposes God has for you in God’s life. You never know when what may sound like nonsense is the transforming power of love uniting people of every language. When Carroll introduces the story of Alice, he compares it to a pilgrimage, a journey to a far off place that would enthrall three young children who had never traveled beyond their garden wall. If you have ever been on a pilgrimage you expect to be transformed don’t you? The pilgrimage I took to England in 1989 didn’t have to make sense, it did make me a different person. In 19th century England the custom was that people who visited far off lands would make a wreath of the flowers of that land and bring them home as a reminder of their transformation. Of course the flowers would dry out, but the memory would not. Sometimes things that don’t make sense are still able to be sensed by our senses. Sometimes things that are far away can feel as close as our own breath like the way the scent of even a dried flower can evokes a powerful memory. For example when I smell hyacinth I can feel my grandmother’s presence. Every time we gather to tell the stories of God’s love we are testifying that even things that are senseless can be transformed by the hearable, touchable power of love. The transforming power of the Spirit is beautifully encapsulated in words Lewis Carroll used to open Alice’s adventures. I use them as my closing.

“Alice! A childish story take,

And with a gentile hand

Lay it where Childhood dreams are twined

In memory's mystic band,

Like pilgrim's withered wreath of flowers

Pluck'd in a far off land.”

AMEN.