This Acts 2 Pentecost story begins small but gets bigger and bigger and bigger until all of creation is encompassed in the Spirit of God. Barriers of language and culture, status and religion, gender and age get blown down by the wind of the Spirit, immolated by the flames of God, usurped by the life-saving deeds of Jesus Christ. Yet, this expansive divine power makes itself known through the common and mundane, through ordinary people going about their regular routines.
The Spirit rests on Eldad and Medad. Do we ever hear from them again? Joshua does not seem to think they ought to be prophesying, even though Moses says to let them be - and wouldn't it be great if all the Lord's people were prophets? The Spirit comes with wind and fire, those ubiquitous elements of creation that both empower and destroy. The Spirit speaks in human languages - that vehicle for both poetry and profanity, blessing and cursing. Peter, that fisherman turned rock of the church, preaches, disputing the rumor he and the others are drunk and reminding his hearers that God said the Spirit would be poured out on all people, from the least to the lofty. This explosion of divine inclusion appears as if out of nowhere amid worldly nobodies. In keeping, I suppose, with a carpenter Messiah out of Nazareth.
The wind of the Spirit certainly does blow where it wills and we are perplexed and amazed and astounded and confounded and confused at the sound of it, then and now. Who cares about the visions of little girls with no life experience or the dreams of old men on the brink of the grave? Why in the world are Eldad and Medad going around prophesying? Were they approved by the committee on ministry? Uneducated Galileans do not speak multiple languages. The only explanation can be an abundance of new wine consumed early and often.
I wonder how often we dismiss the work of the Spirit as the height of human debauchery or evidence of poor choice or a manifestation of pure foolishness or simply irrelevant. We work so hard at putting things and people and religion and even God in categories and boxes, bounded, controlled spaces, forgetting that with the incarnation of Jesus and the pouring out of the Spirit, nothing can separate us from the love of God, nor sever our intimate connection with all of creation. We are indeed in this God-created, called-good and redeemed world together, whether we want to be or not.
During these days of restricted movement and virtual everything when I long to be together in one place, I am grateful the Spirit does not practice social distancing. And while the sameness of so many of these hours, weeks and months gets disorienting and disheartening, I am certain the wind and fire and words of God continue to reverberate around the cosmos. Though I have not used this quarantine to learn a new language, I have indeed heard, if not spoken, of the mighty works of God in this strange season. I have needed to listen to hear the divine voice within the cacophony of a lot of distracting noise. I have had to have help to interpret sober truths I wanted to dismiss as intoxicated chatter. I have needed those outside of my self-imposed circles to speak a Word I would not otherwise hear, but, in the end, without a doubt, the Spirit showed up and spoke.
The wind of the Spirit blew through the phone when my son described his conversation with the woman working for the state unemployment commission. After two months of attempts and countless hours on hold, she secured his unemployment benefits. He relayed to me with utter relief: "I was so happy, and she was so happy. I could tell she was glad to be able to help me." All of sudden a frustrating bureaucracy transformed into a human encounter with compassion as the common language. The Spirit blows where it wills and speaks through unexpected voices.
The flames of the Spirit burned brightly on the football field when my high school senior walked across a makeshift stage while her name was called from a portable PA system and a few teachers in masks cheered and clapped. It was the result of dedicated faculty, staff and administrators showing up daily for a week, repeating this ritual hundreds of times because they refused to let the boundaries of COVID-19 prevent the marking of an important milestone for students. The Spirit burns where it wills, but there is no mistaking its warmth when it appears.
The mighty deeds of God, the unstoppable love of the Lord, spoke with utter clarity from the mouth of a public servant working in an economically impoverished neighborhood, as he detailed on Facebook Live all the ways needed services would continue no matter how differently they would now need to be delivered. He said emphatically, repeatedly, call us if you need us. We will find a way to help. Genuine caring is surely a universal language.
In and of themselves, what difference do these glowing embers and gentle breezes of the Spirit make? Couldn't we dismiss them as foolishness in the face of the world's overwhelming needs? Who really cares about high schoolers' hopes or the dreams of those on the margins of our world? Only the inebriated would talk of the transformation wrought by compassion and kindness and servant leadership. Only fools for Christ would imagine that the mighty deeds of God are spoken and embodied in the likes of tax collectors, day laborers, office workers and administrators, young men and old women, delivery people and cashiers, drama teachers and school janitors. But the Spirit blows where it wills and anyone overwhelmed by the Spirit of the Most High God is compelled to step outside boundaries, break down walls, and do whatever is required to enact the love of God until that day when all will be found, fed and saved.
This week:
- When have you had an experience of the Holy Spirit?
- What image of the Holy Spirit is most meaningful for you? Wind? Flame? Dove? Advocate? Comforter?
- What boundaries is the Spirit pushing you to expand or break down?
- What are the mighty deeds of God you are called to proclaim and why?
- How can you mark Pentecost this Sunday from wherever you are worshipping? Are there things you can do to make Pentecost memorable this year when many of us cannot be together in one place?
- Where have you sensed the Spirit at work during this time when we are experiencing forced changes in how we do just about everything?
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