Stirring and Swirling Spirit

Something is supposed to happen at church when we gather. Maybe it is not as life changing, earth shattering and disorienting as Acts 2:1-13 makes church out to be. But the movement of God's presence in our midst when we gather as a community of faith holds the promise that something should, could, might just happen every time we gather.

Acts 2 is the quintessential church beginning/birthday narrative. We read it on Pentecost every single year, which is celebrated 50 days after Easter. Perhaps reading it in the sanctuary is not the most appropriate place to read this passage. Pentecost is about God working outside the church: in our homes and in our lives. Maybe on Pentecost we would be better to gather as small groups in people's homes, read this passage, sit in silence and share where we've noticed traces of God's grace in our life since Easter morning.

Pentecost connects to John 1:14: the Word became flesh and lived (or better yet, 'lives') among us'. Pentecost connects to Genesis 1:1 where the Spirit of God surfed over the chaos of creation and started moving in new ways. Pentecost is a Red Sea moment where the disciples passed through the parted waters from relying on Jesus to tell them physically where to go and what to do to relying on the Spirit to help guide them where to go, what to do and believe. That transition was not easy (read the rest of Acts and you'll find some of the most gut-wrenching church arguments).

In some ways as people of faith we still live in the messy middle, transition of Pentecost. It remains difficult to truly rely on the Spirit because it awakens a variety of responses and explanations. I can feel led to try new worship formats that others find too jarring and not helpful. Where is the Spirit at then? Usually, we see this as a zero sum game. The Spirit needs to choose a side. Either I was 'right' to try the new format or the person who found it less than filled with God's presence was 'right'.

Yet, Pentecost proclaimed that God's realm isn't a zero sum game. We can perceive the Spirit each in our own language. Which makes it messy and hard to know what to do next. What we tend to do next is exactly what is recorded in verse 13 when those who wondered what in the world was going on, decided the explanation that made the most sense was that the disciples were 'full of new wine.' I think that is one of the funniest lines in all of scripture and it makes me smile every time.

We do that today. When someone has an experience outside what our heart or mind can comprehend, we try to explain it away. When someone holds a different perspective than our own, we try to find loopholes in their logic. Yet, at the same time, we know that our own experiences are far from fully understood. We know that our own perspectives have their own leaps of logic larger than the Grand Canyon.

This is where I prayerfully think the church can be a visible light to the world. By showing that people can be honest and listen with open hearts to each other. If you keep reading after the new wine comment, Peter doesn't demonize those who said the sarcastic comment. He preaches a sermon about God's presence and invites dialogue.

In my hope and prayer for the church, we strive to do the same. To have that kind of dialogue would certainly be a trace of God's grace and even a prayerful living out of the Pentecost story in our midst today. Who knows how the Spirit might stir and swirl; what kind of new creation and connections might be formed; and even the way we might re-discover what it means to be the church.

On this rainy, wind swirling day as I write these words, I pray you will notice God's presence in such a way so as to connect with a hope, peace, joy and love that is real and makes a difference for today and for countless days to come.

Blessings and peace