Today we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, second only in importance to Easter and Christmas. Today we remember the Holy Spirit – the wildness and unpredictability of God’s self. A God who is best understood by gazing into a flickering fire, through the kiss of the invisible wind on our skin, or through poetry. And so, I leave you with this gift of poetry for today, a Sonnet, titled “Pentecost,” by the Christian poet, Malcolm Guite. Through it, may you catch a glimpse of God’s Holy and life-giving Spirit.
Today we feel the wind beneath our wings
Today the hidden fountain flows and plays
Today the church draws breath at last and sings
As every flame becomes a Tongue of praise.
This is the feast of fire,air, and water
Poured out and breathed and kindled into earth.
The earth herself awakens to her maker
And is translated out of death to birth.
The right words come today in their right order
And every word spells freedom and release
Today the gospel crosses every border
All tongues are loosened by the Prince of Peace
Today the lost are found in His translation.
Whose mother tongue is Love in every nation.
May the Holy Spirit kindle something new in our church, in our lives and in our hearts this day.
Thanks be to God!
CG+