This Sunday we will celebrate the Sacrament of Communion. The next time we do this will be in September.
The Scripture Readings this week are:
Numbers 11:24-30
Acts 2:1-21
The Sermon Title is Spirit-Filled, Hot and Windy?
Early Thoughts: What is our response to those who claim to speak when moved by the Spirit? Do we honour their words or do we dismiss them as a lot of hot air?
As we know all too well this year, fire and wind are dangerous. They can be a destructive combination. ANd yet they are both classic images for God. They occupy a central place in the Scripture readings on this, the 2nd most important Sunday of the Christian Year.
Still it can be said that even as images of GOd/God's Presence it is important to remember that fire and wind can be dangerous. Allowing oneself to be moved by the Spirit of God can be dangerous and risky. IT can lead us to do and say things that others find ridiculous or threatening. It can lead us to find ourselves on the outside looking in, taking a position contrary to the "norm".
However we are a people of Pentecost (I'd say Pentecostal but that has a different meaning these days). This means we are a people who are shaped by the wind and fire of God. THis means we are called to let God's fire burn in our bellies/souls and God's wind fill our sails, drive us forward.
THe question remains though. Will we be seen as hot and windy, on fire for the kin-dom? OR will we simply be seen as hot-headed windbags?
--Gord
Gord, Thanks for your reflections. I appreciate the honesty about the power and destructive capabilities of wind and fire. I find my self fascinated by the two sides of wind and fire. Like you said, they are very dangerous and destructive at times. But at other times they are very life giving. For instance, many wilderness survival experts will tell you that one of the most important things to surviving in the wilderness is a fire. So how do we live in that tension? How do we appropriately engage something that gives us life but could also destroy us?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your reflections on this sunday's passages. It's been good food for thought.