In a few days, we will celebrate the Feast Day of Pentecost, which commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Early Church. The Church has regaled us in our Daily Office and Mass readings during Eastertide with the written evidence of the Holy Spirit’s dwelling in the life of the Early Church recorded in The Book of The Acts of the Apostles. The Early Church was not without conflict among the disciples and followers of Christ. Yet we witness how they came together because of the Holy Spirit’s power within them. The Early Church was not without suffering; the evidence includes events that seem to be going the wrong way fast and then suddenly they go the right way! Peter and other disciples were beaten, imprisoned, and stoned, but then they walk away free because of the power of the Holy Spirit at work, he uses deep sleep and earthquakes to free the disciples. He stops Paul from speaking too soon by changing the mind of his judge, he uses strong winds and tumultuous seas to direct a ship to the place where Paul was needed.
And then there are the amazing displays of the power of the Holy Spirit–the descent of the Holy Spirit gives believers the ability to speak in foreign tongues so that they could go out to the corners of the known world already knowing the language of the people the Holy Spirit sent them to. I could keep going, the book is bursting with The Holy Trinity at work through its Holy Spirit.
We read this past week from St. John, chapter sixteen, where Jesus spells out for the disciples what was ahead for them (the entire chapter is suffused with Jesus’ references to the power of the Holy Spirit and is worth a meditative read). In verses 12-15, Jesus declared:
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
The Gospel according to St. John 16:12-15
It’s too much to take in, let alone understand, isn’t it? God’s ways are not our ways and we do well to remind ourselves of that before we make assumptions about how the Holy Spirit will work in and through us as 21st-century disciples. Think on Jesus’ words to Nicodemus recorded in the third chapter of St. John’s gospel:
“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
A few lessons over the years about the power of wind come to me now as I meditate on this wind of the Holy Spirit at play in our lives. Years ago, our family was camping on the Mogollon Rim in Arizona. We had hiked up the side of the rim and were ready for a break before ascending further. As we sat on an outcropping of rock amongst the towering Ponderosa pines, we were silent in our weariness as we ate our lunch. Our silence was required for what we learned about the Holy Spirit that day. The breeze along the rim moved the pines into a graceful whispering song. The song didn’t start because we became silent, it was there all along, but now as we settled into our surroundings, the breeze ministered to us It was a welcome relief to the summer heat we endured as we climbed, but more importantly, the moment became a portal for us to talk together about Jesus words to Nicodemus.
I was at a time when I longed to know what the Holy Spirit was up to in our lives. That moment opened my eyes to the heavenly reality that God is with us even when we question the circumstances of our lives. We can no more resist the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the events of our lives than a Ponderosa pine could refuse the wind’s effect on it. All we are to do is silence our minds and sit before the power of our Creator as the Holy Spirit is at play!
I read once about how the Holy Spirit responds to our dispositions; we are all uniquely fitted for God’s purposes, and just like the disciples, he places us in our corner of the world with certain gifts and abilities to sound the Beauty, Goodness, and Truth of The Faith. A flute is nothing more than some cleverly carved wood, that is until breath passes through it. Who can refuse to be moved by the beauty of Bach’s B minor Flute Sonata? As Bach, I have received giftedness from my Creator for such a time as this in my corner of the world; I could choose to hide in a corner because of doubts about myself, or I could allow the Holy Spirit of God to sound the Beauty, Goodness, and Truth of who I am as God’s beloved daughter. How can that happen? The gift of the Holy Spirit imparts to us wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and reverence. Just as Bach placed notes on a musical staff to compose his B Minor Flute Sonata, the Holy Spirit fosters in us a life to harmonize with our Creator. Through the music of our lives, we draw others into the grace and salvation Jesus extends to everyone.
I have wind chimes hung in the windows of our third-story apartment; they serenade the days of late Spring, Summer, and early Autumn. The wind chimes are not instruments of beauty because of the uniqueness of each pipe. Its beauty begins with the breeze that wafts through its design. Like chimes, we, The Church, are individuals created in the image of our Creator. “Where two or three gather together,” the Holy Spirit creates a symphony of praise and worship. The pipes are like the flute as the Holy Spirit pours through his gift to the world around us. When we are gathered together like a windchime, serenade our corner of the world with the fruit of the Spirit singing from our lives, so to speak: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control as we grow alongside others. We say that iron sharpens iron; it is living in communion with The Church where the fruit flourishes, where the beauty, goodness, and truth of our lives rub shoulders together to create the music the world needs!
Holy Spirit of The Most Holy Trinity, silence our agitated hearts, sweep through our minds with your breath of transformation.
As we live in our corners of the world, sing through the endowment of gifts and abilities given to us by our Creator.
As we live alongside others, may we serenade the ones we find hard to love with love, acceptance, and forgiveness.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, it is now, and ever shall be world without end.
Amen
The Maiden Warrior 