Good morning, friends! Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday, and we are now in the “Season after Pentecost” in the church calendar. The rest of the liturgical year has been marked by the events of the life of Jesus, but this day that commemorates the coming of the Spirit marks the beginning of the longest season of "Ordinary Time”—lasting all the way till Advent! These are the months of the church living into what was started all those years ago, on a day that started out ordinary…but became anything-but. Here is the beginning of Luke’s account: "When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them." (Acts 2:1-4) Nothing ordinary about that. What happens in that gathering seems to defy even language, as Luke searches for “like the blowing of a violent wind” and “seemed to be tongues of fire”. It’s plain weird, and we tend to relegate it to a time and place that was more comfortable with things like that (or, in some cases, assume this is normative for all of us!). But none of them were expecting *this*, either. The Spirit comes with wind and fire and the ability to suddenly speak languages they didn’t know. This house becomes the site of some strange and wonderful stuff that leads to so much more in the story of God’s work in the world. What is your experience of Pentecost? How have you engaged with this particular moment in history—this huge, mostly-invisible change—when the Spirit comes, God not only living alongside us (as Jesus had) but with us, within us? How has your story been shaped by this one? Has it been a big or small piece? A liberating or confusing one (or both/all of it)? What do you think of when you think of Pentecost?

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2022-06-06 14:25:13 UTC