“When the Feast of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Without warning there was a sound like a strong wind, gale force—no one could tell where it came from. It filled the whole building. Then, like a wildfire, the Holy Spirit spread through their ranks, and they started speaking in a number of different languages as the Spirit prompted them.” (Acts 2:1-4, MSG) Last week, we stayed primarily with the gift of fire as we explored what this part of the story invites us into. As the season of/after Pentecost continues, this week, we’re going to spend more time with the “wind” imagery of the Spirit. The sound of a strong wind comes, and the Spirit is with them, in them, in their mouths and in their breath as they speak the wonders of God. But the image of the Spirit as wind isn’t random or new. The word “spirit” in both the Hebrew of the Old Testament and the Greek of the New is the word for wind or breath. ‘Ruach’ in Hebrew; ‘Pneuma’ in Greek. We see Holy “Spirit” in our translations, but the word is literally “breath” or “wind”. It was this same “breath” (ruach) of God that hovered over the unformed waters before creation. It was this same spirit/breath/wind (pneuma) that John saw descending on Jesus at his baptism. All throughout Scripture, this third Person of the triune God is referred to in these windy ways. So, it comes as no surprise, then, that one of the main ways those gathered that day experienced the Spirit was as the loud wind roaring through, as the breath that enlivened these new languages they were suddenly speaking. And so for us, too, the Spirit is as close as our breath, as invisible and powerful as the wind. The Spirit-breath is the one birthing life at creation, in humankind, in us. What does this imagery of the Spirit as wind or breath bring up for you? What might the invitation of this season be for you?

Posted by Jamie Bonilla at 2023-06-05 14:27:05 UTC