05/30/2026
𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘔𝘤𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘭𝘺 𝘚𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬. 𝘞𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯:
“It’s better that I go away so that the Spirit can come,” Jesus said. If he were physically present and visible, our focus would be on Christ over there, right here, out there… but because of his absence, we discover the Spirit of Christ right here, in here, within.
Jesus describes the Spirit as another comforter, another teacher, another guide — just like him, but available to everyone, everywhere, always. The same Spirit who had descended like a dove upon him will descend upon us, he promises. The same Spirit who filled him will fill all who open their hearts…
The Bible describes the Spirit with beautiful and vivid imagery: Wind. Breath. Fire. Cloud. Water. Wine. A dove. These dynamic word pictures contrast starkly with the heavy, fixed imagery provided by, say, stone idols, imposing temples, or thick theological tomes. Through this vivid imagery, the biblical writers tell us that the Spirit invigorates, animates, purifies, holds mystery, moves and flows, foments joy, and spreads peace…
At the core of Jesus’ life and message, then, was this good news: the Spirit of God, the Spirit of aliveness, the Wind-breath-fire-cloud-water-wine-dove Spirit who filled Jesus is on the move in our world. And that gives us a choice: do we dig in our heels, clench our fists, and live for our own agenda, or do we let go, let be, and let come… and so be taken up into the Spirit’s movement?...
In the millennia since Christ walked with us on this Earth, we’ve often tried to box up the “wind” in manageable doctrines. We’ve exchanged the fire of the Spirit for the ice of religious pride. We’ve turned the wine back into water, and then let the water go stagnant and lukewarm. We’ve traded the gentle dove of peace for the predatory hawk or eagle of empire. When we have done so, we have ended up with just another religious system, as problematic as any other: too often petty, argumentative, judgmental, cold, hostile, bureaucratic, self-seeking, an enemy of aliveness.
In a world full of big challenges, in a time like ours… we need to experience the mighty rushing wind of Pentecost. We need our hearts to be made incandescent by the Spirit’s fire. We need the living water and new wine Jesus promised, so our hearts can become the home of dovelike peace….
When we open up space for the Spirit and let the Spirit fill that space within us, we begin to change, and we become agents of change… So let us open our hearts. Let us dare believe that the Spirit that we read about in the Scriptures can move among us today, empowering us in our times so we can become agents in a global spiritual movement of justice, peace, and joy.
Reference:
Brian D. McLaren, “We Make the Road by Walking: A Year-Long Quest for Spiritual Formation, Reorientation, and Activation” (Jericho Books, 2014), 203, 204, 205–206.
