Fiery Energy

Yesterday we reflected on the gift of the Holy Spirit. In many mainline churches, we’re not often sure what to do with the Holy Spirit. I’ve been to charismatic churches where folks are speaking in tongues and being slain in the spirit. And that is way out of my comfort zone! But I also don’t doubt for a minute that kind of holy power.

I often think about the Spirit as the still small voice that speaks to us in prayer… that gently guides… I think about the Spirit binding and connecting us, infused in all that is…

Pastor Jana Childers writes about how in the church she grew up in, the elders used to say: “The Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He never forces his way in, and goes only where he is invited.” While it is a very male-oriented metaphor, “Mr. Holy Spirit as a Gentleman,” it is not entirely wrong. Every Sunday, we invite the Spirit to move among us… At the table, we invite the Spirit to pour out on us… In the midst of the mountains we face, we invite the Spirit to give us strength and courage and hope…

But there is more…

Childers goes on to say: In contrast to the elders in her childhood church… “The Holy Spirit’s entrance in the book of Acts at Pentecost is anything but discreet. This is no Gentlemanly caller…there are no polite murmurs, white gloves, or dainty manners.” No. There is a holy roar. There is violent wind and fire… There is incredible energy. I can’t help but think about the violent winds that we experience during a hurricane. And fire that can either heat a home or burn it to the ground. 

Invited or uninvited, this story reminds us, there is tremendous power in the coming of this Spirit. 

Today, let’s invite the Spirit again to be at work in our church, in our families, and in our lives. Let’s expect the unexpected. And let us trust. Trust that the fiery energy of the Spirit is still alive and at work, even now.  

Let us pray: Come Holy Spirit, meet us at the point of our deepest need. Grant us strength and courage and healing, that we might ever hear and respond to your calling; through Christ our Lord. Amen.