Pentecost - Wind and Fire

"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. ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability”. Acts 2 2-4

Pentecost is one of my favourite feasts.  I think the reason for this is because the Holy Spirit brings to us hope, joy and peace. For me, Pentecost reminds us we are not left as orphans but that God dwells within us and the world and as St Basil tells us “he is the one who creates intimacy with God”

Some time ago I heard a story about a priest in a large church in Florida who was well known for his flair in delivering dramatic sermons. A couple of years ago on Pentecost Sunday he decided that it would be a really good idea to dramatise the Holy Spirit coming like a wind in a particularly spectacular way. He got an engine out of one of the boats used in the Everglades – which has a big aeroplane propeller attached to the engine. He asked the Churchwarden to help him take it up into the loft high above the church and try it out the Saturday evening before. He told the Churchwarden that when the words “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind and it filled the entire house” to flick the switch and start up the engine. So he read the passage and at the appropriate moment the Church warden switched on the engine and it worked like a dream. As the priest carried on reading the powerful wind could be felt across the church. All was set for the Sunday morning. The usual congregation gathered, all in their Sunday best and finery. The choir stood resplendent in their robes, the Organist was poised attentively on the organ stool. The reader got into the pulpit and began the reading and as the words “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind and it filled the entire house” were read, the Priest nodded and the engine fired. The sudden gust of the powerful wind sent sheet music, service sheets and bulletins flying out over the congregation. Hairdos went everywhere and most embarrassingly, a toupee flew toward the altar like a fury missile. The church was in an uproar and when the engine was stopped everything was a total mess. The priest hadn’t thought about the consequences of using such a powerful engine when the church was full.

That unpredictability is just the way it is with the Holy Spirit. It is the part of God that refuses to be contained in the little boxes we create. The wind of the spirit means that God just won’t stay put. We don’t worship a God who is locked into scripture but a God whose love know no bounds. And as we see in our readings, where the Spirit blows we see change and transformation.

So given the chaos the aeroplane propeller caused, I choose to avoid the use of props  today and thought that I would like to take a few moments to reflect upon the Holy Spirit.

Much of the language used to describe Pentecost in Acts uses the same signs which are used elsewhere in the Bible such as during the giving of the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai. The Old Testament shows us that this same Holy Spirit or breath of God was at work long before Pentecost. The Spirit that moved over the face of the waters in creation and worked to bring all things to fruition, the spirit that puts flesh on the bones in the Valley of dry bones in Ezekiel,   is also the Spirit that guides the church into all truth and intercedes for us. It is the Spirit that binds us together in love, binds the creation together in hope, and is in perfect unity in the third person of the Trinity. The wind is used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s presence as it gives us a useful visual picture of how the Spirit functions. The wind is the embodiment of a sweeping force that blows where ever it wills.

On the other hand the image of breath and breathing and the gentle breeze serve to express the goodness, peacefulness and calm of the Spirit of God. I particularly like the idea of the breath of God touching us, as it the thing which is the most inward and intimate, most vital and personal to a human being. It, for me, reinforces the divine indwelling in each one of us. That God knows us so well he is intrinsic to our very being. He is in all and through all.

We also hear today in our reading of the tongues of fire resting upon the heads of each of the apostles. Fire gives light just as the Pillar of fire lead the people in Exodus, fire warms and fire purifies. This purification cleanses through and through, as a refiners fire in a crucible when smelting metal. Christ said he had come to set the world on fire, a fire lit in the hearts of all people, flaming into energy and hope. A fire which gives strength to us to face up to the pressures of life. When it came down upon the apostles it enabled them to perform mighty works. This encounter was to change them forever, giving them new abilities and moved them to preach with wisdom and zeal.

The Bible reveals to us a spirit of strength and of power and it is this power that keeps his Church alive today. We do not live by our own strength but by the strength of the Spirit who empowers us, his people, to preach the good news and lead us to faith. This is the same spirit that empowered the Prophets, Apostles and martyrs down the centuries. Because of the Holy Spirit we are  never alone, never bereft, never orphaned,  for God is with us always - changing lives, healing, helping, giving us hope and purpose. The Holy Spirit’s work is transformation, for he brings God into our human lives. Pentecost teaches us that God as Holy Spirit can come to us, his people, in a direct and powerful way to support and empower us and enable God’s mission. Also what is important to remember is that the spirit came to the Apostles as a community. He did not come to give strength, light and courage simply to each apostle separately but he came to them as an apostolic body. In the same way the spirit enters us not solely for our personal benefit, but also to unite us so that we become one spirit in the body of Christ. Each individual is given special gifts from the spirit and as St Paul reminds us, these gifts are to be shared with our brothers and sisters. And that can mean being used by God’s Spirit for big miraculous things and smaller insignificant things.

But if we are filled with the Spirit of an all powerful God, perhaps we should not be surprised if He doesn’t want to do incredible things through us. We should not limit what God plans for us or how he might want to speak to others through us.

And as I said earlier, the Holy Spirit is the part of God that refuses to be contained in the boxes we create. The wind of the spirit means that God just won’t stay put. It is not about resisting, it is about allowing the wind of the spirit’s presence to blow through our lives to enable us to be empowered to radically transform our lives and the lives of those around us. To show signs of His power and glory here on earth.

If we think about the trees that grow around us. When there is s strong or blustery wind the trees bend and sway. If they try to resist the wind, like the mighty cedars of Lebanon, they break. As the wind blows the green leaves stream out lightly in the wind and suffer no damage as the wind dances through them.  So it is with us.  We individually need to make it possible for each one of us to experience a Pentecost and this is only achievable if we don’t resist the Spirit of God. By being open to the Spirit , we reflect God’s love. A second Century Christian text describes this opening to the spirit as the human soul being like an Aeolian Harp that sounds as the wind passes through it and the Holy Spirit is the wind that strums on the strings of the soul to draw from it the sound of sweet harmony. What a beautiful way of describing our relationship with the Holy Spirit!

 It is about recognising that there is a really deep well inside of us where the Spirit dwells, yet often stones and grit block the well and God is buried beneath. It is the stones and grit which keeps us from Christ. And yet there is a way of removing the stones to allow the well spring of God to surface and that is through prayer. By consistently and persistently asking God to send the Holy Spirit upon us and his church and importantly having an expectation that God will actually answer. We need expectant faith and a faith full of expectancy.  And when we call upon the Holy Spirit to come and fill our hearts we should be aware that we cannot add a condition:  That we should be left the way we were before.

We see from our readings today, that where the Spirit touches, the spirit changes. It is up to us as we invoke the Spirit, to open our hearts and to give the Spirit control of our lives and our church.  I have spoken to many people who tell me that where a church has regularly prayed for the Holy Spirit to move in their church,  great things have happened. Let us be a Pentecostal people. A people who are open to the spirit and who call upon him to invigorate our lives, our church and our world.  And I challenge all of us today, me included, to frequently ask the Holy Spirit to blow in our lives and in our church so that we might use the gifts he has given us for the good of the kingdom. And may our prayer over the coming weeks be:

Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your people and kindle in us the fire of your love.