29 May 2017
The wind beneath our wings
I love cycling, but I hate cycling into a headwind. The wind is invisible but I feel its effects – and this makes all the difference.
In Latin, the word for wind is “spiritus”. The Spirit of the risen Jesus is invisible, but its effects can be seen. When the early Christians were trying to explain their experience of the Spirit, they used images of wind and fire – powerful images that describe a force that can move people.
It was the Spirit that moved the disciples out of the upper room and into the streets. Despite their fears and better judgement, they allowed themselves to be blown by the Spirit out into the world and to attract many to Jesus.
This same Spirit is blowing in our world today. Yet are we as Church and as individual Christians paying attention to the movements of the Spirit? Do we make our decisions in line with the Spirit’s urgings, or are we guided by intellectual caution and our fearful hearts? To return to the image of cycling, are we pedaling into the wind and getting nowhere, or are we allowing the wind to blow us in new, unexpected directions?
Pentecost is called the birthday of the Church. It is the day when the Spirit of Jesus became really alive and effective in His disciples. That is because His followers allowed the Spirit to blow them where It wanted. Our call is to let go of our fears and of old dead structures, and to allow the Spirit to surprise us and blow us in the direction that God wishes.
Fr Con O’Connell MSC