I will not be another flower, picked for my beauty and left to die. I will be wild, difficult to find and impossible to forget. - Erin Van Vuren
Having boldly proposed a rather challenging idea recently to a friend I later sat quietly out front at my house thinking about what I had said and I remembered the poem above. Only a few short years ago I was not so courageous and would not have voiced my thoughts, keeping quiet instead, but, strangely, I am different now. In the past several years, as I have been surprised by joy, I have learned that sometimes you simply need to be bold; sometimes you are called to act in ways others may not understand or find difficult to hear; sometimes you will be ignored or held back, but still need to act because you know it is what needs to be done. So led by a calling in my heart I have responded to our Lord, moving forward trusting the Spirit is leading me rightly in these new directions, trusting that the Spirit is making me stronger and a bit wiser. It has been difficult to move beyond my comfort zone but by breathing in the Spirit I am becoming strengthened with abilities beyond what I would have of my own accord, and as a result I am becoming that missionary disciple Pope Francis asks us to become; and though unknown, at the same time, I will be impossible to forget.
This is Pentecost; when we are not another flower picked for its beauty and left to die, when we become courageous to do the things we had not thought possible, persist against resistance we meet. The way our Lord is calling us to pursue won’t necessarily be perfectly clear, we won’t necessarily do it smoothly, with ease, but having become docile to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we can trust that with the Spirit God has given us we will be made strong, loving, and wise (cf 2 Timothy 1:7) confident that what we do is a good and worthy undertaking.
Pentecost is a moment of truth, but it is not an isolated moment, a one time movement of the Spirit. Pentecost is continually new, happening every time we need to be guided forward, every time we need to pursue new avenues not yet open to us, every time we venture forth to the horizon we can not yet see beyond. In doing this God’s Spirit is not to be taken lightly. We must become docile so the Father’s love may work through us, and it not merely be our own desires at work, then we can joyfully respond to what our Lord calls us to do.
There is much we will do when filled with the Holy Spirit but always each of us must do our part to help redeem and sanctify our own time. Pentecost is a time to allow ourselves to be renewed, to not let our faith become dulled, routine, or lackluster so that we can be the hands and heart of Jesus. In our time we must boldly ask our Lord what we can do to help bring back so many who have fallen away from a life centered on God and to correct the many errors of our day*. Add to this that we do this in a culture that is distracted by so much noise and pleasures, yet has become increasingly bored and dissatisfied than filled with true joy, take heart in knowing that the Spirit is renewing us now to carry on Jesus' work.
As I await my friend’s reply I recall what G.K. Chesterton once said about the Christian life, “Jesus promised his disciples 3 things—that they would be completely fearless, absurdly happy and in constant trouble.” As we open our hearts to our evangelical mission I pray that we all are filled with a little holy rebelliousness so that we can let the Spirit take us new places, getting into some good trouble along the way. And in doing this if you are offered tea...
The link below is to a trailer about the movie Messenger of Truth, a documentary about Fr. Jerzy Popieluszko, a Polish priest who, filled with the love and power of the Holy Spirit, courageously fought oppression and helped defeat evil with good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spSVDXEq5IA
*www.wordonfire.org/ is a good source to see what concerns are foremost these days and how to argue against them.
Breathe by Charles Pullen
It’s very easy
to breathe,
but a true talent,
to lose ones breath
or learn the magic
to take another’s.
Just be as still
As possible,
And take it in,
The everyday magic will,
Rain down around you,
Like the fires of Pentecost.
And when it happens,
And it will;
You’ll be speechless,
Trying to catch your
Breath.