Encountering the Spirit

The Presence that fills the abyss and shakes the ground

Yesterday, many communities around the world celebrated Pentecost, the ancient Jewish festival, and the day when the Holy Spirit was gifted anew to the people, to women and men. A pastor friend, Hayden Wartes, described it as this:

“when God began living inside us and all around us instead of traveling in a box or in one human. Is there a better reason to celebrate??

It was a breaking open, an outpouring on a frightened group of disciples locked in their room, setting them free from fear and equipping them as apostles.

For many, the Holy Spirit is confusing and complicated. People have spoken and acted in the name of the Holy Spirit in harmful and hurtful ways.

We are often afraid of mystery, of letting go, of powerlessness. We want to have it together, to be certain, to have black and white categories. It is more comfortable to sign up to a list of shared doctrines than it is to embrace the unknown and mysterious power of the Holy Spirit.

Contemplation, stillness, dance, worship, and other spiritual practices are ways of opening ourselves up to the Holy Spirit. We don’t need to try to believe in the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, says Richard Rohr, just practice drawing from the well deep within.