“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”
(Acts 2:1-2)
When I think of Pentecost, I picture fire. The
flames descending on the disciples. Doves and fire are often symbols of the
Holy Spirit. The churches are decorated in red; many people wear red. Pentecost
is fiery.
But Pentecost is also loud. The sound like the
blowing of violent wind announced the Holy Spirit’s presence to the disciples. The
Holy Spirit is also often described as wind or breath; it is spirit after all.
In the Eastern traditions, the color of Pentecost is green for the life-giving
breath of God.
 |
| Christian Murdock/The Gazette |
Breath has become forefront in national debates
these days. COVID-19 takes your breath, forcing patients onto ventilators.
People complain that they can’t breathe in the mandated masks. The heart-wrenching
video of George Floyd’s death—a cop with his hands in his pockets presses his knee
into Floyd’s neck for nine minutes as two other cops sit on him after he’s handcuffed.
“I can’t breathe,” Floyd says. “I’m going to die…Mama…” Protests break out across
the nation as people risk COVID-19 to speak out against the injustice of yet
another brutal murder of a black man from cops. The protesters are met with rubber bullets and pepper
spray. The nights are full of the smoke of pepper spray and the fires of riots.
It is a scary and stressful time. There are too
many hardened hearts. There are no simple solutions.
The beginning of the Church came with the blowing
of a violent wind and the descending of flame. With disciples, moved by the Spirit,
stepping outside and declaring the truth. They were met with hostility, violence,
and death. This is the heritage of the Church. The truth is not safe. At times
it is hard to breathe. But maintain the truth on your lips and trust God to
give you breath when you need it and receive you into His arms after you take
your last.
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Fill me with life anew,
That I may love what Thou dost love,
And do what Thou wouldst do.
Breathe on me, Breath of God,
Until my heart is pure,
Until with Thee I will one will,
To do and to endure.
No comments:
Post a Comment