The Judeo-Christian creation story begins with the image of a presence, a potent possibility for everything coming from nothing:
“The earth was void and without form, and darkness was on the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.”
The beginning of the entire story of creation and all that follows is the brooding presence of spirit. It is as if love has been waiting forever.
Everything begins with spirit. Spirit can be experienced as love, inspiration or comfort: an experience created through meditation or music; or simply received through being in nature, or in the presence of art. Or beauty. Or a baby.
Spirit is present even when we live as if we are void of its power. But when we choose to act from fear, hate or ignorance, spirit is lovingly indomitable, infinitely present and available.
Like a loving mother, patiently, eagerly anticipating the return of her children, she awaits our attention, those moments of inadvertent awareness that allow her to slip into our consciousness – or our subconsciousness – with wisdom, healing or blessing.
These words are written the day before Pentecost. What began as the Jewish festival of Shavuot, observed 50 days after Passover, became the birth of Christianity.
The story tells of an outpouring of spirit over the followers of Jesus, most of whom were Jewish, gathered in Jerusalem for the festival. Although the immediate manifestation of this event was the miraculous “speaking in tongues,” the more important result was the quick expansion of the movement into a new faith and a new church. Spirit, once again, creating.
At Pentecost, we are invited to reflect on what spirit is creating in our lives – or, perhaps, what spirit longs to create in us and in the life of our church.
And we are invited to tap into that source, that infinite, welcoming presence that broods over our lives, longing, waiting to express love and light to a hurting planet and her people.
What will you hear? What will you see? What will you do?
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