You’ve had them, you know. Yes---you have had Pentecost moments. We ALL have.
But maybe we didn’t realize what was happening, or COULD happen. We have had moments of being alone in our own upper room of fear. Even in a crowd or group, even in a family, we have been alone in our fear. We have experienced the pack of doubts chasing us and nipping at our heels. We have been frozen in indecision, caught in a vise of not knowing what to do, which way to turn. We have shrunk in fear from a painful or courageous choice. We have despaired that an answer even existed, or that we could make a decision that would be for our greater good.
Like the apostles, we have been faced with fears and doubts that God is still with us, or will once again lead us to light and hope. We can, like the apostles, fear that all is lost, and Jesus has left us on our own. There is no greater loneliness than that---that God is not with us, or can no longer hear our voice!
Dear friends, these are Pentecost occasions!! These are moments that simply BEG the grace and mercy of God to descend on us with power. These are moments that call on the Spirit to break through those doors of fear and barriers of self-doubt. And break through the Spirit of God most certainly will! That is what Pentecost is. God’s triumph over fear. God’s answer to our despair, our self-doubt, our hopeless hiding---from life, from confusion, from disappointment, from betrayal.
You can put up the strongest barriers you can think of, in your blind attempt to protect yourself from any more pain or loss, but God can and will slip right through your fortress. You can think, in your child’s confusion, that God doesn’t see or hear you….or has given up on you. And then in the distance, comes the roar of God’s mighty winds, seeking you, gently coming to keep vigil with you in that lonely upper room of fear. And there God is---beside you, within you, God’s power all around you. Pentecost can happen to anyone. All you have to do is let the Spirit descend upon you. Desire it. And when it does, you will know as Psalm says:
“One day within Your presence heals every day alone!”
