In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while the Spirit of God swept over the face of the waters. (Genesis 1:1-2)
At times, as a Christian and a Pastor, I get bogged down in doctrine and dogma and lose my connection with the Holiness of God. At such times it is important for me to walk away from too many words and find and reconnect with the Presence of God. For me, this is a reminder that the Spirit of God was in the world from the beginning (see Genesis 1:1-2 above) and always will be, regardless of our struggle with doctrine, scripture, or our doubts and fears.
The feast of Pentecost, on May 23 this year, is our annual reminder of the Holy Spirit’s presence in the beginning, and its continuation following Easter.
“When the day of Pentecost had
come, the disciples 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.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living
in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because
each one heard them speaking in their own language. Amazed and astonished, they
asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that
we hear, each of us, in our own native language. . .them speaking about God's
deeds of power."
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and
addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be
known to you, and listen to what I say. . . this is what was spoken through the
prophet Joel:
“In the last days it will be, God
declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old
men shall dream dreams. I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.”
(Acts 2:1-21)
What a wonderful promise: God will
fill all of us with the Holy Spirit and we will have visions and dreams of what
the world, of what God’s Creation, can and should be. We will prophesy (we will
not necessarily be liked for doing that) and we will show our faith by our
actions dedicated to justice and Peace (we will not necessarily be liked for
this either). But we will do it because as Jesus declared to his disciples, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth;
the spirit will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he
will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13)
I leave you with a prayer: O God, who on the day of
Pentecost taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the
light of your Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment
in all things, and evermore to rejoice in the Spirit’s holy comfort. Amen.
(BCP, p. 227)
