Pentecost 2021

“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. . . Some, however, made fun of them and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’” Acts 2: 4, 13

“It took me giving up drinking to live an intoxicated life.” Anonymous

When was the last time you led an intoxicated life? I know, that’s an unusual question coming from someone who gave up drinking years ago, but it comes from the story of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descend upon the early Christians and cause them to behave in ways that led onlookers to wonder if they were drunk. God’s spirit can do that to a person.  

Unfortunately, people strive to live lives that are anything but intoxicated. We strive to live measured, calculated lives and weigh the pros and cons, evaluate the risks, before proceeding. Nowhere is that more evident than in our spiritual lives.  We love God, but don’t get carried away. Serve the poor, but don’t go too far. Give, but not so much that we have to change our way of life. Value our faith, but never speak about it.

There are wonderful exceptions, of course. The couple who makes a gift beyond anything they had before. The person who leaves her lucrative job to follow her life-long passion to help victims of domestic abuse. The minister who implements a progressive ministry despite his congregation’s conservative leanings. The teenager who invites a less-popular girl to her sleep over. The woman who forgives when all her friends encourages her to hate. The school that uses its endowment to cut tuition in half. And then there are the folks who, out of nowhere, take up painting, writing poetry, sign up for dancing lessons, or audition for a musical. Intoxicated souls, one and all, and wonderfully so.

On this Pentecost, I wonder if it isn’t time to let the Holy Spirit descend, to let the God’s fire burn more brightly. Others might look on and wonder what’s gotten into us, question the changes they see and hear, but that only means we’ve joined the disciples from long ago, and that’s something to be celebrated.