The Day of Pentecost is about celebrating the life, diversity, and vastness of the Spirit. The day of Pentecost reminds us that Jesus prepared the disciples for the work that they needed to do. This is a time to remember that most of the time the work of the Spirit defies our own expectations and reasonings. And to take in how beautiful that truly is. That the Spirit of God is alive, and constantly calling us into doing the unfolding work of love, justice, and compassion. Below is a poem from Cheryl Lawrie, when reading the poem may you embrace and reflect upon the wildness of the Spirit.

A Pentecost Poem - (by the incomparable Cheryl Lawrie)

come to think of it…

actually, your spirit is not really like a flickering candle sitting on the altar, which we’ve protected from scorching with a heat proof mat

you burn with irrepressible, ferocious passion.

in truth, your spirit has little in common with the gentle breeze from the fan fluttering the bulletins as it rotates from the front pews during the children’s talk

we can barely stand upright in the face of your love.

luckily, your spirit barely resembles a helium filled red balloon, rising, just out of reach, to taunt us as it rests against the church ceiling

you would subsume us in the unrelenting hold of your peace.

we think we have you nailed

in our fire resistant,

cyclone-proof,

red cloth swathed metaphors

thank god our inadequacy defining you has never stopped you yet.