What's that sound?

Acts 2:1-4

1 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 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. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

1 Corinthians 12:1-13

1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak. 3 Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God ever says "Let Jesus be cursed!" and no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit. 4 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; 5 and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; 6 and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 To one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the discernment of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are activated by one and the same Spirit, who allots to each one individually just as the Spirit chooses. 12 For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.

Remember when we were all together in one place? I miss that. There’s just something about being physically near one another. I miss seeing your smiles close up or knowing in your faces that it’s been a hard day and being able to just sit side by side.  I miss your wild gesturing and even the simple noises of shuffling feet and chairs that mean we are alive and dancing this dance together. I miss being able to see the candlelight pass from person to person, hand to hand, filling up the whole place with a warm healing glow. It’s not just about dispelling loneliness, or the relief of having our full breadth of communication available through body language, but there’s an energy…a rush, a static in the air and a firing of neurons through the body when people are together. I heard a radio story talking about creative online concert experiences that acknowledge and create space for the role of the audience to be interacting in the moment because it’s not just the talent of a musician, but the energy of those gathered that makes a live performance what it is. There’s just something about it…something that stirs us up in particular ways, a sensation that is distinct about it, something that happens…

When the day of Pentecost had come…

…Jesus had risen from the grave

…the resurrected Christ had lingered among them for a time – teaching them about their own wondrous capacity and sharing in beachside barbecues.

…their guiding light had changed again as Jesus ascended into heaven, no longer present in the ways of sight and touch as they knew them.

…the world was turning upside down.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were alone but also together, waiting for the promise of what comes now?

50 Days after Passover, the feast of unleavened bread, comes Pentecost, the festival of weeks, the Jewish holiday of Shavout, a celebration of God’s Gifts – of God’s revelation through the Torah and of harvest fullness. It is a celebration of what comes in the passage of time and miles wandered and the way this creates space for new ways.

Here, in this space, a new sound is heard.  Here, in this space, a new vision appears.  Here, in this space, an old fire casts its light anew.

SOMETHING comes into this space, but it’s not yet clear what to call it. It arrives like a rush of wind so powerful it feels dangerous, yet it is the same wind that hovered over the waters of creation and fills our nostrils with life-giving maternal breath.  This…THING… spreads out, fills the whole space and lingers like static in the air.  The air is so thick with energy it seems to spark a fire whose flames lick at the core of their being and settles there. They erupt with motion and voice that is vast and varied.  They speak from and to diversity, beyond what they understood as possible. Not only are they given powerful voice, but they are heard and understood! even across a diversity of language, homeland, and experience.

And THIS is when that rush of wind and fire is called Holy. This Spirit that fills all things and binds them together with room for differences…this is sacred; it is a telltale mark of the nature and heart of God.

And so it is with the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the lively sparks that linger in us. Wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment, speaking up and being able to do something with what is said. The gifts are wide and shared across community, and yet are rooted in one Holy Spirit. It forces us to depend on one another and allows us to release ourselves from trying to master gifts that are entrusted to others. None of it comes from our own striving or accomplishment anyway, but from God’s very self within us. This Holy Spirit and her gifts do not exist for our own pride or ego, our own personal well-being or advancement, but for the common good.  This common good is unlike the Pax Romana, an illusion of peace and comfort propped up by the suffering of those deemed invaluable; it is deep well-being for the whole.  The gifts of the Spirit are not given TO you, they are given THROUGH you. And they are most needed where our shared body’s well-being is wounded.

“HOW?” is a question we wrestle with late into the night. We yearn for clarity, but often this turns to a pursuit for certainty.

And that’s just not who the Holy Spirit is. There are no words that seem capable of fully capturing her wild nature. The writers of ancient scripture describe her with poetry and simile. She is LIKE a rushing wind.  She is LIKE a tongue of fire. She is LIKE a dove descending from the sky. She is LIKE water that does not run dry. She is LIKE the road to Emmaus - that feeling of our hearts burning within us as scripture comes alive in relationship. Like Proverbs 1:20 proclaims, she is LIKE holy wisdom which shouts in the streets wherever crowds gather.

The Holy Spirit will not be tamed, but She is good.

Just like that particular feeling of being together with others; that special something in the room, that energy that words cannot capture…the nearness of the Holy Spirit and the way we are stirred up, agitated, and activated by her power…escapes our captionable certainty. It is so real yet escapes singular description. Perhaps it is the Spirit rushing around us when we wonder…what was that? I felt SOMETHING, saw SOMETHING, heard SOMETHING. Something is happening, something is stirring within me.  I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know it’s bigger than me.

I wonder…what is our experience of the Holy Spirit like when we’re angry, or tired, or heartbroken? What is the Spirit like when we’ve hit the wall? When we’ve run out of steam? How is the Spirit known and felt and moving when everything seems both wild and yet eerily still. I wonder…what is the Holy Spirit stirring up in you and around you?

I don’t know what that is like for you, but I know that SOMETHING holy is stirring within you. God has promised each of us a share in this sacred life and work. The Spirit has equipped you with gifts to be an active part of our collective wellness. What are you noticing whirling around? Pay attention to it. Notice it, tend to it, stoke it.

On Friday I put on my mask and I went downtown with a friend to gather with organizers from varied communities, united in their plea for justice for George Floyd’s lynching death at the hands of police and so so so many others. There were so many people there. I’ve been to marches and vigils before, but…I’ve never seen anything like this. This was SOMETHING. It was loud. The sound filled up the whole place. The people’s voices were filled with passion and they began to shout in different chants from every corner, speaking from and to a diversity of voices. Even those leading with megaphones struggled to be heard through it all. But then, a 15 year old girl took the mic and quickly the crowds that had gathered around City Hall were silenced by her still small voice. Everyone was paying attention. As she spoke powerfully of fear and holy defiance and justice, my skin prickled and the hair on my arms stood up. It seemed as if even the blood within me was pulsating with the chant of “black lives matter” as it reverberated from the glittering high-rises. SOMETHING holy was being revealed. In the whirlwind of that moment, I can’t recall her specific words, but I will never forget her tone.

The arrival of the Holy Spirit in Acts calls back to the prophet Joel who writes, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people.  Your sons and your daughters will prophesy, your elders will have prophetic dreams, and your young people will see visions.” This young girl was prophesying and the Spirit opened my ears and heart to bear witness and listen and we were held together in blessing by God. Even so, it is not this young black woman’s job to bless me or teach me. White folks, we have work to do if we long to know the fullness the Spirit, to be attuned to its humming. It’s time to use our gifts of knowledge to educate ourselves on the insidious sin of racism, even and especially if we think we already know enough…so that we might recognize and respond to it as the Spirit gives us ability. We have articles to read and stories to listen to so that we can testify to what these prophets have revealed to us when we find ourselves in consequential conversations. It will expose things in us we didn’t want to see and won’t always get it right as we learn.  The gift of wisdom is knowing that it’s ok to be wrong sometimes. But we are held to the common good in the Spirit. 

It is hard to preach about the sacredness of breath while another and another black soul has had their breath taken away.  But those of who still have ours must use it even if it shakes. It’s hard to know what to say but anything is better than silence in the face of injustice. I don’t know exactly what to say about the holiness of fire while cities are burning, but it remains a force that can never truly be tamed.

All I know is that the Holy Spirit is still here. Even when we feel stuck, the Spirit is still powerfully moving among us filling up every space. She is still sending us to speak God’s word of life and mobilizing us to care. She is still holding us together, still empowering us to change the world in the name of love. Amen.