Editor’s Note:
At first glance, this blog post might not seem very “FaithX-y…” But when you think about it, love requires the willingness to listen and see with an open mind and heart, and overcoming bias, blind spots, and preconceived notions about the people you aim to love. Which is a big part of what we do at FaithX, only with congregations and their neighborhoods.
“When the day of Pentecost had come, the disciples were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.”
And so Pentecost begins. It begins with a loud, even violent, sound and it begins with strange, tongue-like images on each person present… and in its wake this Spirit leaves the disciples with an ability to speak in other languages.
How have the violent images of racism and pandemic and political upheaval impacted you and your faith community in the past year? Have you felt jolted and knocked into a new awareness of some sort? For some of us, it may feel too soon to interpret and reflect because it is still so real, but I don’t imagine that the 1st century, post-crucifixion/resurrection world of Jesus followers knew much about “a new normal” either. Even in this tumultuous time in their world and in ours, the Spirit arrives and gifts us in ways perceived and perhaps in ways yet to be revealed.
I have a friend who is a yoga teacher. Jeff has a low tolerance for excuses and drama. He encourages his friends and students to move past the drama of a moment into action. He will often ask, “if not now, when?” Where in your life and in your community are you feeling nudged/pushed? What is keeping you from walking with the Spirit into the next moment in a loving and prophetic way, for your own sake and for that of your neighbors?
What new “language” are you being invited to learn and speak right here, right now for the sake of God’s whirling love?
