Pentecost

Pentecost
June 4, 2006

"... suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind... Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire..." (Acts 2:1-11). There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit" (I Cor 12). "He breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. (John 20: 19-23)

Pentecost comes at the end of the Easter season and it is the beginning of the mystery of the resurrection. There have been times in my life when I have had difficulty with the divine Christ. Then I remember that Jesus said that he must go away so the Spirit could come. That has always been very comforting, losing something and getting even more back. This coming of the Holy Spirit is richer than our words or thoughts. We come closest to grasping it when we describe it with images.

The Spirit comes like a "tongue" of fire. God transforms our speech and the thoughts which speaking represent. Sometimes the best words are those which go unspoken. In this sense, those of us who experience the diminishment of voice and speech may be fortunate. Painful and purifying. Destroying and creating. I'm also reminded each time I successfully dictate another document into my computer in spite of diminished voice volume, how precious is the gift of speech and how easily it can be wasted. "Create a clean heart in me, oh God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me".

The Spirit comes like a "driving wind", powerful, overwhelming, frightening. We see and feel what it does but we cannot see the wind itself. We know only by an act of trust that something even more powerful is there just beyond what we can perceive. Jesus breathes his own spirit into the disciples and they become new beings. Breath is life, fragile but tenacious. The Spirit comes like Yahweh the creator breathing life into the oceans, bringing about living beings which reflect divine beauty. I've become aware of this when the rhythm of my friendly respirator, now an almost constant companion, supports my diminished capacity to do it for myself. I am receiving the breath of life made possible only by the generosity and technological genius of others. In reality we are all completely dependent upon the Holy Spirit for every breath we take.

The Spirit comes when, like the apostles, we are all together. Then the fire of the Spirit divides and differentiates bestowing its presence on each individual in a special and unique way. The result is unity and individuality in the same moment. Neither can exist without the other. Each fulfills the other. The Spirit holds the entire web of life together. "Come Holy Spirit and renew the face of the earth." Let us be part of the creative process which brings life and freedom to our planet.