Pentecost
“When the Day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. Suddenly, from heaven, a sound like the rush of a violent wind came.”—Acts 2:1-2.
“ … [Jesus] breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.’” —John 20:22.
Barbara Brown Taylor1 describes two versions of Pentecost: the gentle breeze in John, as Jesus breathes on the few disciples gathered in fear on the night of his resurrection, and the violent wind of Pentecost described in Acts, as the Holy Spirit sweeps in, with tongues of fire hovering over at least a hundred people.
The disciples at Pentecost, where the Spirit comes as a gentle wind, are commissioned to take the Spirit out into the world. The ministry assigned to the disciples of the violent wind is to fan the Spirit already present in the world. Taylor challenges us in our congregations to emulate the disciples in both Pentecost stories: those of the gentle breeze and those of the violent wind. Both groups are commissioned to find the Holy Spirit within themselves and others and to take it out of their churches and into the world.
The same is true of the Spirit, the Christ, within us. We are called to connect with that Spirit within us and then go out to connect with the Christ in others. If we don’t, we are like the disciples in John’s scenario—locked in a dark room, afraid of losing what we have. Only when we connect our Spirit to the Christ in others do we know the peace, joy, and love we seek. Our view of God also grows as we become aware of the magnitude of God’s creation and love.
Barbara Brown Taylor, “God’s Breath” in Journal for Preachers, Pentecost 2003, pp. 37-40.
Happy Pentecost.
Joanna joannaseibert.com
Thank you for supporting our camp and conference center, Camp Mitchell, on top of Petit Jean Mountain, by purchasing this book from the daily series of writings for the liturgical year, A Daily Spiritual Rx for Ordinary Time: Readings from Pentecost to Advent. All proceeds from book sales benefit Camp Mitchell. If you enjoy this book, please take a moment to write a brief recommendation on its Amazon page at https://smile.amazon.com/Daily-Spiritual-Ordinary-Time-Pentecost/dp/B08JLTZYGH/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=joanna+seibert+books&qid=1621104335&sr=8-1
More thank-yous than we can say!!!