This Sunday Christian churches worldwide will celebrate Pentecost which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles. It is said in Acts 2 that the Spirit came like a violent wind and like fire.
I remember well the time when a candle’s flame turned into a fire at my house. It was Christmas and my mom opened our house for the community Tour of Homes. People were milling around our house when suddenly a candle’s hot wax dripped onto some material that was obviously not flame-resistant. The small, contained flame on the end of the candle grew quickly into a small fire that had the potential of getting wildly out of control. The good residents of Tahoka, however, jumped into action. The fire was contained but the general feeling in the house was that we were moments away from total chaos.
And I also remember the winds of West Texas. There were times the wind got so bad that it stirred up the sand from cotton fields which created a dust storm. Ever tried to drive through a dust storm? You can’t. And it’s not uncommon to find mesquite and elm trees bent to the east because of the strong winds that blow in from the west. Meteorologists add Wind Advisory to their regular list of weather storms they look out for.
Many of us who believe in God have done well in domesticating the divine. We think of God and God’s Spirit as a gentle breeze and a subtle flame. The breeze feels cool and refreshing while the small flickering flame emits light but not too much.
And so I’m wondering as Pentecost draws near, Is it possible for us to recapture a sense of the Spirit manifesting itself in such a way that we feel it as a violent wind and fire? Or was that a particular need for those first believers, those Apostles who were left with the challenge to make sense of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ? In other words, Are the metaphors of Spirit as Violent Wind and Spirit as Fire needed today or are they outdated?
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Joe, I don’t often comment on your blog, although I read it regularly. But this one really sat with me b/c it’s a question I’ve pondered often. Mostly b/c all my life I’ve heard the story of the Lord passing before Moses, not in the storm, but in a still, soft whisper. And we act like that is the ONLY way He speaks with us anymore. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard in Sunday school or elsewhere, to wait for God’s still, small voice. But isn’t that putting God in a box that suits us, one that is safe and easily tamed. Shouldn’t we should be open to Him moving and making Himself known in any way He chooses. Wind, fire, storm, whisper, or a 2×4 over my head. Honestly, this is scary and I don’t even understand it. But it still seems right.