Big celebration time or big problem time. It seems everyone has the idea that the spirit is a nice gentle dove like creature who soothes all the world's problems. In my experience she is the one who creates them. She's a total provoker who disturbs the status quo, not just all those who are not us, out there in the world doing injustice, but also and mainly us who are habit-shaped and have some kind of neurosis that seeks to maintain belief and routine as it is. To us, this spirit who is the most wild imagination of God is a nightmare.
She's the fly in the ointment, the blemish on the skin, the rash on the hand, the graffiti on the wall, the thorn among the roses, the cuckoo's egg in the nest. She disturbs the way things are expected to go and we can take the challenge or let it go. So come Pentecost we're all thinking its a big party, but little do we realise what we're lifting the lid on. This heavenly demonstrator doesn't leave the world or the church unchanged. If the church is the same by the end of the day then perhaps the Spirit has found some other institution to bring back to life.
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