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Pentecost 2015 “God Is Still Speaking”
Scripture Acts 2: 1-21

Mathematician Paul Erdos communicated in one language. It was math. Numbers. Yes, he spoke other languages, but he was only interested in speaking other languages so that he could communicate with other people about math. He was not interested in communicating about anything else. Math. Math. And only math.

Biographer Paul Hoffman tells us, “Erdos structured his life to maximize the amount of time he had for mathematics. He had no wife or children, no job, no hobbies, not even a home, to tie him down. He lived out of a shabby suitcase and a drab orange plastic bag from Centrum Aruhad. . . a large department store in Budapest. In a never-ending search for good mathematical problems and fresh mathematical talent, Erdos crisscrossed four continents at a frenzied pace, moving from one university or research center to the next. His modus operandi was to show up on the doorstep of a fellow mathematician, declare, ‘My brain is open,’ work with his host for a day or two, until he was bored or his host was run down, and then move on to another home.” [The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth, Paul Hoffman, p. 6]

Most of us are not as restricted in our areas of knowledge and interest as Paul Erdos. In fact, we are under a constant barrage of information about every topic under the sun! Print media, TV, radio, personal interactions, the check out line at the grocery store, and, of course, the internet, bombard us with information constantly whether we want to know it or not. Information is being constantly spat at us – even in line at the post office, and at the gate in the airport.

Yet for all of this information, what are we really hearing or finding out? What to buy? Where to shop? Who is having sex with whom? What the government is not doing? What an old friend from elementary school had for lunch? So, we have all of this information, but so what? People are feeling more alienated than ever. People are isolated. They feel disconnected and are more self centered. We wonder what all of this information is doing for us.

This morning we listened, as we do each year 50 days after Easter, to the story of Pentecost. People from all over the ancient middle east had come to Jerusalem for the annual harvest festival. Jesus’ friends were there, still reeling after his crucifixion; trying to make sense of what happened and trying to figure out how to go on. The Pentecost story tells us that Jesus’ friends, who were from the area of Galilee, and who spoke Aramaic, suddenly began speaking in other languages, languages they did not know, no Rosetta Stone provided, thank you very much. They simply started expounding in languages new to them. The crowds gathered for the festival heard these Galileans speaking their languages.

We aren’t told exactly what was said or heard. We are basically told that Jesus’ followers were there. They were foundering and afraid; lacking a sense of direction and still wracked by the grief and disorientation of Jesus’ death. There were people from all over the known world there to give thanks to God for the bounty of the land. And at the end of the day, the Jesus people had been preaching boldly to everyone, from all nations and tribes, and 3000 people were baptized becoming part of the Jesus community. This is a story of transformation. Fear is driven out. There is a sense of hope and purpose. The message is universal – old, young, different cultures, different classes – all have this experience together. We are given this amazing, astonishing, surprising, mysterious story of divine love breaking in and transforming the people.

We are not going to analyze the story and its many facets because that would defeat the purpose. What happens is inexplicable and it is supposed to be because when we engage the holy, it is beyond our full understanding and comprehension. I think what we are meant to hear is a story of God touching people in ways that lead to full and abundant life. Somehow, we become aware of something beyond us, or more than us. There is some kind of enlightenment. And people are moved toward reconciliation, peace, and wholeness. It is mysterious and amazing. And – it is happening all the time. We are being given experiences and information that have the power to transform our experience of living life as a human being.

Yes, we are surrounded, bombarded, infused with information, but this morning we explore how we commune with God, the holy, the sacred, the mystery in ways that are life giving and connect us to the source of universal, inalienable love.

To have an experience, to hear, to take something in, we need to listen, to be aware, to pay attention. That’s not always easy in our full and busy lives. And then there is the sorting out of the trash and the treasure. This morning, I would like to suggest a variety of ways that we may experience the divine. Interspersed with these ideas, we will be given time to reflect. During the times for reflection, a recording of the sounds of wind will be played. So, we will aim for a balance of speaking and listening.

One of the ways that we experience the sacred, meet the Divine, hear God, is through nature. This has been the witness throughout human history. In every age, in every culture, in every religion, nature plays an important role. Even for people in today’s world, perhaps living in a towering apartment complex surrounded by concrete, nature still speaks. In images. In sounds. In insects. And in our own bodies with their innate urges, processes, growth, and deterioration. In the Christian tradition, nature is seen as the self disclosure of God.

Day in and day out, we experience nature. The rhythm of day and night. Weather, temperature, seasons. The beauty of nature confronts us – colors, textures, interconnectedness, diversity, vistas of grandeur, a sunset, the multihued blues of the water around us in our coastal state. We should not be surprised when we stand on the rim of the Grand Canyon and our eyes well with tears. We are experiencing the holy, the divine. God is speaking.

In these few quiet moments, perhaps you would like to think about how you have experienced God in nature.

ONE MINUTE OF WIND

In the book of Genesis, we are told that humanity is created in God’s image. Indeed, we do experience the divine in people; in other human beings and in ourselves. Anyone who has seen a baby being born has had some kind of experience of transcendence. There is also the sense of the holy at a time of death. In our relationships, as we navigate the shoals of family, friendship, social bonds, and our place in the human family, there can be the sense of the divine. When there is reconciliation in a personal relationship, there can be a sense of grace, something beyond and more at work. When a rift is healed. When a sense of acceptance comes after great turmoil. When someone helps us, in ways unexpected and unsolicited. In all these things and more that are part of our relationships and interactions as human beings, we may sense the divine, a love, a power at work. When there is change and transformation in social contexts, we may feel a sacred power at work. People in the Civil Rights movement in this country had the sense that they were part of a bigger picture, a greater plan, a sacred movement. They could hear God speaking. And how about that vote in Ireland this week? I know that brought tears to my eyes.

In these next few quiet moments, perhaps you would like to reflect on how you have experienced God in your relationships and in the social context of the human family.

ONE MINUTE OF WIND

Another way that we may experience the Divine, sense the holy, may be through science. It seems like the more we learn about the world and life and the universe, the more amazing and miraculous it all seems. And the more we learn, the more we find out how tied together and interconnected everything is which is even more amazing. We are inextricably linked to each other and creation with thousands upon thousands of bonds holding it all together.

Science has helped us to understand the microscopic forces at work, in energy and light, for instance. It has helped us know about DNA, genes, and heredity as well as the workings of the cells of our bodies. Advances in medicine based on all of this information are amazing.

Science is showing us the universe. We are discovering that we are part of a far larger reality than we ever imagined. This influences our understanding of our identity as a species. Yes, we are amazing, wondrous creatures with tremendous power, of sacred worth, each and every one. But we are also specks traveling on a tiny blue marble through the vast expanse of immeasurable time and space. Not more than dust, really.

My husband calls his mother in Cleveland every night. She waits for his call. It is often the highlight of her day. Betty has macular degeneration and her vision is severely impaired. One night recently, Jeff called his mother and she answered, but then told him she wanted to get off the phone right away because she was watching something on TV showing pictures taken from the Hubble telescope and she wanted to get back to seeing them. She was captivated – this 90 something year old woman who can barely see.

In this quiet time, you may want to reflect on how you have experienced God speaking through science, how divine love is being revealed through scientific discovery.


ONE MINUTE OF WIND

Yes, we hear God speaking in science which may seem like an oxymoron to some, but it is easy to think about how divine love, the holy, God, is expressed in the arts. Music, visual arts, painting, dance, literature, poetry, these things reveal the depth of the human spirit taking us beyond our ourselves to something more fundamental. In images and words and movement and sound, in the arts, we endeavor to convey our deepest human sensibilities. These experiences captivate us, move us, speak to us, transform us. The arts also draw out our appreciation of beauty, creativity, and imagination. These are traits that define our human species in contrast to other species. Through the arts, we discover and share who we are as individuals as well as social creatures. Our son-in-law has no background or training in music. He has not studied the arts. And yet, Friday night, he was moved to tears at an orchestra concert. The arts have great power, a vast language, that can speak of divine love and universal human experience in ways that cross culture and and age.

In these quiet moments, you may reflect on how you have experienced the holy, the sacred, a glimpse of the eternal, through the arts.

ONE MINUTE OF WIND

While to some of us technology feels cold, remote, inscrutable, and unpredictable, it is still possible to see how even technology is a language for the expression of universal love that deepens our human experience and has the potential to bring people together and to strengthen our bonds as a human community in relationship to our environment. For good and for ill, it is technology that gives us access to boundless information. It is technology that has given us the tools and abilities to live in varying environments. It is technology that keeps us alive through advances in healthcare. Technology enhances our ability to communicate. When we think of Pentecost and how astounding the story is, today you can walk into a meeting of the United Nations and put on a head set and hear in your native tongue regardless of the language the person is speaking. Because of technology we can come to know one another, understand one another, and work together.

We must also note that in addition to being a tool for building community and supporting the health of the world, technology also has the power to destroy humanity. And we see this side of technology on a daily basis as well as the good that it can do.

Last week we had a memorial service at church for Ruth Ann Dudley. Her sister could not make the trip from Ohio to attend the service. But thanks to a computer and Skype, Marian Ball could watch the memorial service in real time. Yes, divine love can speak through technology.

In these quiet moments, you are invited to consider how you experience the divine love of God through technology.

ONE MINUTE OF WIND

We have considered many ways that God may speak to us. We have considered different modalities that enable us to experience the holy, the divine. We are thinking about the variety of ways that we feel something more, something deeper, in our daily lives that connects us to a more profound reality.

Another way that this happens, that we experience universal love and reconciliation, is through religion. Throughout human history, people have had some kind of spiritual expression; some kinds of beliefs and rites that integrate their understanding of life in a way that supports and promotes universal love and peace. In stories, in scripture, in sanctuaries, humans have sought to convey these deeper experiences of God, of the soul, of reality.

As humanity has progressed there have been differing understandings of religion. Given the diversity of humanity, it only makes sense that there are varieties of religions. Even within our one religion, Christianity, there are a multiplicity of expressions, beliefs, and practices, because religion, whatever the form, is always incomplete. There is always a dimension of mystery. That is part of the nature of religion: To remind us that we don’t know everything, that we are not completely in control, that we don’t have all the answers. Religion helps us to comprehend our finitude and limitations as well as our glorious potential. The reality conveyed by religion is more than the sum of its parts. And divine love, God, the sacred, speaks through religion.

Some of us were here in this very sanctuary on Mother’s Day. Each year, we have a ritual in which those who would like to may name those who have been a mother to them. It is always moving. This year, this ritual seemed to take on a new dimension. The sharing was more poignant somehow. I can’t really explain it. But that is the point. Religion reminds us that we can’t always explain and control things. There is more going on than we can know. And sometimes we are simply captivated by something that is sacred. And it can happen even in church.

In these moments for reflection, you may want to think about how God’s universal love has touched you through religion.

ONE MINUTE OF WIND

This service has given us a brief time to consider how God is speaking to us today. We are not an international group gathered and hearing foreigners speak in our language. But that ancient story invites us to consider the many ways that we access and experience the divine in our lives. It invites us to think about how we are able to listen and hear the message of divine universal love. It compels us to reflect on the messages of transformation and reconciliation that are blowing around us. It reminds us that we are being brought together for the good of the humanity and all of creation. God is still speaking. The divine, the holy, the sacred, infuses our lives and the world around us if we will but see, hear, taste, feel, and smell what is around us and within us.

The mathematician, Paul Erdos heard God speaking in numbers, calculations, proofs, and theorems. God will send the message in whatever form we will receive it! But Erdos was paying attention. Always. Intentionally. Focussed. Expectant.

Tom Trotter, a mathematician at Georgia Institute of Technology, and a friend and colleague of Erdos, remembers him this way:
“Paul Erdos was one of those very special geniuses, the kind who comes along only once in a very long while yet he chose, quite consciously I am sure, to share mathematics with mere mortals – like me. And for this, I will always be grateful to him. I will miss the times he prowled my hallways at 4:00 a.m. and came to my bed to ask whether my ‘brain is open.’ I will miss the problems and conjectures and the stimulating conversations about anything and everything. But most of all, I will just miss Paul, the human. I loved him dearly.” [Hoffman, p. 3]

I love that expression used by Erdos, “the brain is open.” He was always open to apprehending anything mathematical. He was always doggedly listening. When we think about Pentecost and the wind and flames and the people having that transforming experience, I think about how God is always around and within us: The power of love. The cohesion of unity. The liberation and freedom from all that prevents full life. Coming to us in ways we can apprehend and understand, whoever we are. Driving out our fear. Filling us with love. Fostering reconciliation. Fomenting unity.

Like those of the Pentecost story, like Erdos, may our brains always be open: To God – the sacred, the divine, Spirit, universal love – at all times and in all circumstances. For God is still speaking. Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.

Scripture: Ephesians 1:15-23
Pastor: Rev. Kim P. Wells

If you listen to “Science Friday” on National Public Radio, you know that they have been talking about the sun. The Science Club has a project going inviting people to explain the sun. They have been broadcasting some of the responses.

Dean Regas of the Cincinnati Observatory tells us: “The repetition of the sun rising, setting, and rising again became the primary cycle to life on Earth. Call that a ‘day.’ Our prehistoric ancestors imprinted this pattern into our very nature.”

So the sun is responsible for the rhythm of time and seasons.

Richard Friedman, Psychiatry Professor at Cornell Medical College describes how the sun brings joy: “There is a reason why the sun makes us happy, why we are drawn towards people with sunny dispositions, and why so many of us are deeply affected by the seasons: sunlight has a biologically profound effect on our mood.”

The sun influences our mood, our productivity, our outlook.

Someone who raises chickens tells us: “More sun = more eggs from my hens They stop in winter because of less daylight and resume as days lengthen”

Thanks to the sun, we have more eggs!

A backyard gardener offers this explanation of the sun: “Thanks to the sun, something amazing happens in every back yard garden each summer. I understand the science in a very basic way — the biology, photosynthesis, and chemistry at work — but there’s something more. Words fail me. Is it magic? A miracle? Those are nice words but they carry too much baggage. Let’s consider the humble garden variety tomato plant.
I love watching what happens in the garden every day. Pretty little yellow blossoms set fruit in an intricate dance with pollinators, evolved over millions of years. The pea-size green fruit grows fast — sometimes doubling its size every day. In a few quick weeks, the fruit is ready. There’s nothing better than eating a ripe tomato from a back yard garden. It’s all possible because we live on a speck of dust, 93 million miles from our sun; a typical star in a typical galaxy in a stunning Universe. Bon appetit!”

Because of the sun, we have food to eat. If this gardener lived in Florida, he could witness this miracle year ‘round as I do in my garden.

And, from the United States Secretary of Energy, Ernest Moniz, we learn: “What does the sun do? Let’s talk sun and energy. First, the sun’s surface temperature—you know, it’s about 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, so it’s a big energy source, driven by fusing together hydrogen. We’re trying to harness that fusion process on Earth, but it’s very hard and expensive. In the meantime, we use the light from the sun here on Earth to make energy directly. In one hour, the solar energy hitting Earth is enough to meet the world’s energy needs for about a year. Solar energy technology is making great strides, and we think it will be a major source of carbon-free electricity in the years ahead as the costs keep falling, and energy storage allows us to use the electricity even when the sun is not shining.” [The quotations come from: http://www.sciencefriday.com/blogs/05/07/2015/what-does-the-sun-do-solar-experts-respond.html?series=34%5D

As these explanations show, the sun has incredible power. Power to control mood, life, time, and much more. Plants, life, light and darkness it is all possible because of the sun. It would be hard to overestimate the power of the sun. It is not surprising, then, that the sun has been an important religious/spiritual symbol throughout human history. People don’t just worship the sun at beaches today. People have been worshipping the sun for eons. The sun is an important part of ancient Egyptian religions, Aztec religion, African religions, and Asian religions. Religions today still honor the sun. The sun has an important role in Buddhism, Hinduism, and, yes, Christianity. Just one instance of the influence of the sun on Christianity involves Christmas. In the Roman Empire, the Festival of the Unconquered Sun was held on Dec. 25. It was the date for celebrating the rebirth of the sun. This image was then given Christian connotations. Jesus was seen as the light which does not go out, the sun which still shines. So his birth date was established as December 25. Because of the sun. In many expressions of Christian spirituality, Jesus is imaged as the sun. He is imaged as light, as a life force, as illuminating and enlightening, as a source of power and energy, all like the sun.

In the scripture that we heard this morning, there is much talk of power. The power of God. The power of God made know in Jesus. The power of God which overcomes death. And the power of God which is now channeled into the church, the faith community.

This passage is assigned for this Ascension Sunday, the marking of when the risen Jesus stopped appearing to his friends and rose into heaven. His physical presence is gone. But the power that was working in him is still a force, and now, since he is gone, it is at work in Christ’s new body, the church. This amazing power of God is now energizing the communities of people gathered in response to the ministry of Jesus. They are given the same power that he accessed to love as he loved – their neighbor, those who are naked, hungry, homeless, forgotten. They have the same power of God working in them that was at work in Jesus making it possible for them to lay down their lives for others. They have the same divine power to resist, to persevere, and to confront the powers of domination and exploitation, that Jesus did. That’s incredible. These small groups, of diverse, ordinary people, now possess the greatest power imaginable working through them to heal and sustain the world in peace and harmony. And we are those people today. It’s astounding!

We are heirs of incredible, amazing power. All the power that was at work in Jesus. All the power made manifest in creation. In us. Today. Whew! But I think, that as it is with the power of the sun, the power is there, but we are not taking full advantage of it. We are not availing ourselves of what is being given to us.

While solar power could meet all of our energy needs and do so in a way that is not destructive to Earth and its atmosphere, we are really using very little solar power today. For a host of reasons, power, money, money, money, and money, we have continued to choose to use energy sources that damage Earth, the atmosphere, and are jeopardizing the future of the human species. And all the while, here is that power. The sun. Shining down on us in sunny Florida, each and every day, and we spend more energy trying to protect ourselves from the negative effects of the sun than harnessing its benefits.

A similar situation may be occurring when it comes to faith as well. The church has been given this amazing power source, the love of God, and yet how much to we really tap into it. Do we power up? Do we offer ourselves as conductors? Like the sun, the energy is there, but it has to be harnessed and channeled to be most effective.

What impedes this? What mitigates against our fully accessing the power of our faith, the power of love, the power of good that was fully evident in Jesus?

One perspective is that we associate power with evil and violence. We think of the power of weaponry and guns. We think of the abuse of power by people who can inflict their will through intimidation and violence. We talk about when ISIS came to power, when Assad came to power, when Hitler came to power. We don’t talk about when Bill Clinton came to power in the US. We are more likely to use the word “power” with regimes or people that we think of as bad. Randomly ask someone who they think of as a powerful person, and I think you will hear the name Hitler more often than the name Mandela or Gandhi. We tend to associate the concept of power with evil and violence so we are afraid of power.

In religion, this means that we are talking more about subduing the power of evil, and keeping the power of evil at bay in our lives, than about wielding power in the service of good. We are more concentrated on the harm power can do than the good it can do.

Here’s another reason I think we down play the role of power and faith. A lot of people who make a point about connecting power and faith are doing things we find abhorrent. And this happens not only in Christianity, but in Judaism, Islam, and other religions. Look at ISIS; the Lord’s Resistance Army in Africa; the rabid Zionists in Israel; and extremist Christians in this country who bomb abortion clinics, and protest against gays at military funerals, and burn the Qur’an. Yikes! We don’t want to be associated with that kind of religious expression. So we stay away from talking about the power of our religion.

Here is another perspective about power that I think holds us back from being more assertive in expressing the power of our faith. In the US, power has been largely relegated to complaining. People feel they have exerted their power when they have complained. About how they have been treated. About the government. About the economy. About the lover who dumped them. Whatever. We feel we have exerted our power when we have complained. Got that off my chest! On facebook, in a letter to the editor, in an email, Tweet, or phone call. That’s that. We have become weak kneed, entitled, whiners who are satisfied with spouting off, a few pats on the back or “likes” and that’s over and done. Complaining and whining is not necessarily constructive engagement. It is not necessarily trending toward transformation. It is not necessarily manifesting justice. We accept that by complaining we have done what we can do. Our obligation is fulfilled. Our work is done. We satisfy ourselves with self expression instead of working for meaningful transformation and change.

Another side to this concept of power is that we are afraid of power. It is convenient to think that we are powerless, that we can’t do anything. The problems are just too big. Then we are off the hook. There is an important explanation of this fear in Marianne Williamson’s A Course in Miracles, that has become associated with Nelson Mandela. Williamson is a spiritual activist working to get the US government to establish a Department of Peace. She writes:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
[A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of “A Course in Miracles”, Ch. 7, Section 3 (1992), p. 190.]

Yes, we can be afraid of power. Because we have seen it misused and abused. The power of the sun can burn and blind, as well as foster life and growth. Power can be dangerous. And we have seen where the power of love leads – for Jesus it led his to death on a cross. Who wants that? Better to steer clear of excessive use of force, even when the force is love!

So how do we deal with this cognitive dissonance? We want to celebrate the power of God, the power of faith, the triumph of love over death that can change the world and overcome evil within us and around us. But we are hesitant and afraid.

Here the verses from Ephesians help us. The writer tells the faith community that he is praying for them. And what does he pray? That they will have a spirit of wisdom. That God will reveal what they need to know. That the eyes of their hearts will be enlightened. These petitions deal with discernment. The writer is telling this community that he is praying that they will be discerning; that they will see the will of God and know hope. And then employ their power in the cause of divine love as Jesus did. We are being reminded that we are to address ourselves very carefully to the spiritual discipline of discernment. We are to think and pray carefully about how we are being called to exercise our power. We are to empty ourselves of our agendas and allow the spirit of divine love to fill us and work in us. In the second century of the Common Era, the Essenes, a Christian community in the wilderness of Palestine, referred to baptism as “enlightenment.” [New Interpreter’s Bible, Ephesians, p. 381] It was the opening of the eyes of the heart. With baptism came the clarity to discern, to know, and to take action and live based on that knowledge.

In today’s world how do we know? How do we know where we should be exerting our power? We look at the life of Jesus. We are thinking about the things that he addressed himself to: Abundant life for all. No one goes hungry. The right ordering of relationships with self, God, neighbor, and creation. Compassion. Equality. Freedom.

There are over 3,000 references to oppression in the Bible. The choice is whether we use our power to support and endorse oppression, or whether we use our power to transform oppression into justice and peace. Do we just want to complain, “Ain’t it awful.” Or do we want to serve, offer compassion, give hope to others, and be witnesses to the realm of God?

Our faith, as we heard from Ephesians, liberates us from powerlessness and fear. It saves us from intimidation and victimhood. Our faith gives us the tools for discernment. What is to stop us from using the power we are being given for the good of the world?

We have all the power needed to infuse the world with the love of God. We have all the power needed to embody universal love and compassion. We have all the power needed to nurture justice and peace. This power is so great that the first Christians could only talk about it in terms of a power strong enough to overcome death – the most final, incontrovertible irreversible situation known to humanity. And the power of God experienced through Jesus was more powerful and compelling than death itself.

Whatever problems face us, whatever suffering we are experiencing, whatever is breaking our hearts, whatever drains us of life and hope – the power of God is greater and it is within us and among us. Seeking expression. Seeking release. We see this divine power evident in creation. And in Jesus, we are shown that it is also in us.
The greatest source of power and energy in our solar system is the sun. The temperature of the surface of the sun is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit and at the core over 27 million degrees Fahrenheit. The sun puts out 386 billion billion megawatts of energy. It takes the light from the sun a mere 8 minutes to travel 93 million miles from the surface of the sun to Earth. It would take 100 billion tons of dynamite exploded every second to match the energy of the sun.

On “Science Friday,” they are asking, “What does the sun do? Explain the sun. ” Well, here’s another response: It gives us a fitting image and metaphor for the power of the divine love of God; a power that makes life possible and is at work in you, in me, in the world, in the solar system, in the galaxy, in the cosmos and beyond! Amen.

A reasonable effort has been made to appropriately cite materials referenced in this sermon. For additional information, please contact Lakewood United Church of Christ.