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 2.1-4 (Pentecost)
Our first reading from Acts presents us with a powerful vision of the arrival of the Holy Spirit ….. made manifest through incredible signs. I am particularly struck by the images of wind and fire ……… Images that harken back into the great creation stories in Genesis. How God’s breath, God’s “Ruah” was the divine wind that mingled with God’s divine spark, the fire of God’s energy, to bring creation into being.
Which got me to thinking ……. if we had a new Pentecost would I prefer to be knocked over by a strong wind or have a flame settle just above my hair? Or what is left of it. Will it be wind, strong and driving: wind that forces you to lean into it as you walk; wind so strong that if you don’t bow to it, you’ll be blown over; wind strong enough strip a tree of leaves and branches and strong enough to strip us of what we hold too tightly, to strip us of what we reach for that is not ours… wind strong enough to knock us down a notch or two; or knock us off the pedestal we put ourselves on ….. wind strong to sweep us off our feet, like a person we love;…
Or will it be tongues of fire, flames settling on our heads: a flame strong enough to light our path in the dark times, a flame bright enough to expose our hidden flaws; a flame warm enough to take the chill from a hardened heart and melt our stubborn pride; a flame of beauty drawing others to share our faith and hope; a flame as pure as God: weightless yet weighted by the Cross it brands upon our hearts…
If there is something foundational about Pentecost, some core truth that this feast reveals, It is that God does not submit to our all too limiting visions of God. God is not contained by the words that we try to wrap God up in – for it is easy for us to imagine God the Father in all too human terms. We imagine our God as human, old, male. And God the Son reveals God as our human brother. Yet – God the Spirit defies our simple understanding and our desire to label God. Our desire to name God. To put God in a box. To make of our Creator a God we can feel more comfortable with. It’s nothing new. In ancient times, the process of naming something or someone filled the same need. Is it any wonder that when Moses asked for God’s name, that God did not give it? God merely said “I am who am”…….. I am who am. Flames of fire. The sounds of rushing winds. The awesome reality of the presence of God’s Spirit. A spirit that will move as it wills, and reveal itself as it will. It can be scary indeed.
Some years back, I was with several thousand teenagers as they experienced – for the first time – how flames and wind were not just words in scripture, but became real in their experience of God’s spirit moving among them. It was for most of them a profoundly transformational experience. And for us adults too. And until this day, it serves me as a reminder that God’s spirit will flow as God’s spirit will flow. A reminder that profound signs of the spirit’s presence are not limited to words in a text about events thousands of years ago. And while some of you here may have experienced God’s spirit in a similar way, I suspect that for most of us, our experience of God’s spirit is likely more gentle, more subtle. Not evidenced in a one time event, but rather woven into the fabric of our daily life.
The Holy Spirit speaks to us, connects with us, in many ways both individually and when we gather in Christ’s name. In a particular and solemn way the Holy Spirit speaks to us in the Church; in each and every Mass, the Holy Spirit speaks to us in the scripture passages and in the words of the prayers that are offered. But it not just in Church that the Spirit touches us. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit often comes to us in enlightenment. All of a sudden we see, we see what is happening, we see what is unfolding, and we see what God is doing in us and through us. Yet, for that to happen, we need to pay attention to the workings of the Holy Spirit. And that can be hard, since in some ways, we have lost our ability to listen to the Holy Spirit. We find it hard to see the fruits of the Holy Spirit flowing in our Christian communities or in the world. We let the pressures of the day make it hard to see evidence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Yet, if ever there was a time we need to give attention to the promptings, the movements, and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit in each one of us individually, now is the time.
So, how do we do that? Well, if you will allow me to be blunt, WAKE UP ! Be aware of the movement of God’s spirit in the moments of your lives. To do that, carve out special intimate time to share with the Lord, time for prayer, meditation and worship, time for being in God’s presence. Whether in a small quiet room, or surrounded by the grandeur of God in nature. Whether in reflections on a conversation, or in the eyes of a person sharing their life story with you. Jesus spoke of having eyes to see and ears to hear. But our eyes can’t see and our ears can’t hear if we are asleep. And beyond awakening ourselves to be more aware of God’s presence, ask God to inspire you, to place in your heart what God wants for you. Sincerely and openly ask God to lead you so that you will know from the heart what will bring happiness, what will bring justice, what will bring goodness into our world, to others and to yourself.
The feast of Pentecost celebrates the giving of the God’s Holy Spirit, evidenced not in images of humans or doves, but in everything from bold supernatural signs through to the gentle and subtle movements of our minds and hearts. But mostly, God’s spirit shows itself whenever we see the Spirit’s fruits …… whenever we see or experience love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, then the Holy Spirit is there. May we not only learn how to see the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, may we become a channel of the gifts of the Holy Spirit to others, and to our world.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in them the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and they shall be created. And You shall renew the face of the earth. Amen