The election is over. Finally. This seemed to me to be to be the election season that would never end; and maybe some of you feel the same way. And now, we are called to begin the work of reconciliation. Here are my thoughts about that, and about the Spirit that leads us on.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the wind this week. Maybe that’s because last Sunday, a strong cold front blew through this area with lots and lots of wind. That wind last week was pretty strong; strong enough to blow my heavy plastic Adirondack chairs all the way across our deck! And last week’s wind couldn’t compare to the power of hurricane winds. Hurricane winds move a lot more than plastic deck chairs. Hurricane winds push boats up onto the beach, carry cars away, and destroy small buildings. But the most powerful of all winds are tornados. When they hit, house trailers, semi trucks, and even whole houses can be destroyed and scattered across the countryside like so many matchsticks. We ignore the power of the wind at our peril.
In the biblical text, the wind has long been identified with God’s Spirit. That Spirit blows where it wants to, and brings about all kinds of things we never expected. And sometimes the Spirit moves with the power of a hurricane! Writer Annie Dillard reminded us of the power of the Spirit when she wrote, “Churches are like children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT…. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets.” If you think that she’s exaggerating, just look at how the Spirit moved on the very first Pentecost. Jesus’ disciples gathered one morning to pray, share a pot of coffee, and eat a few doughnuts; but then the Spirit blew through the room like a hurricane and everything changed. They were all filled with the spirit and could suddenly speak languages that they had never even heard before! The flames that danced on their heads that mroning get all the press, but it was the wind of the Spirit that blew those flames in! When the Spirit moves with that kind of power, it can cause a lot of commotion! Some of the people in Jerusalem that day were puzzled, wanting to understand what had happened; but others were less than impressed. They just laughed, saying that all the disciples were drunk. I’ve often wondered if any of the ones who laughed stayed around long enough to hear the sermon that Peter gave later that morning – the one that converted three thousand people. I imagine that, while some stayed, others went home jeering. Maybe they were even some of the Jews who ended up persecuting the Christians. Whenever the Spirit blows with hurricane force, it causes a reaction, both in those who are filled with it, and in those who aren’t impressed at all.
I wonder if much of the social upheaval that we are seeing these days is a result of the Spirit blowing with that kind of hurricane force. The Black Lives Matter movement insists that blacks be treated fairly, not targeted because of their skin color. The LGBTQ community is asking that they have the same opportunities as everyone else in society. People who take the threat of COVID-19 seriously are asking that everyone wear a mask to protect those who are the most at risk. And environmental activists remind us daily that our entire planet is at risk. It seems to me that the Spirit is blowing powerfully in our country today, insisting that all people are equal, urging us to care for others as much as we care for ourselves, and reminding us that that God asks us to be stewards of creation, not its exploiters. And that movement of the Spirit has sparked violent reactions from those who are threatened by it. White supremacists surround protestors who support Black Lives Matter and threaten violence. Mobs gather weapons and march on the offices of governors who dare ask them to behave in consideration of the common good. Corporations that harvest fossil fuels and clear-cut forests pay millions to be able to use the earth solely for their own profit. Yes, whenever the Spirit blows with power, there are those who feel threatened, because they don’t like the changes that the Spirit brings.
But even as we witness the incredible power of the Spirit blowing through our society, stirring us up like leaves that have fallen on an autumn lawn, we remember that the Spirit doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes the Spirit works in whispers that are almost too faint to hear. When that happens, the wind of the Spirit is less like a hurricane and more like the breath of a sleeping baby, almost too faint to perceive. The Spirit spoke to Elijah that way. Elijah had run to Mount Horeb to encounter God, expecting to hear God in the blowing of a mighty wind, in a great earthquake, or in the midst of a fire. Instead, Elijah heard God’s voice as a whisper that was almost too faint to hear. I’m convinced that while the Spirit sometimes moves through our world with hurricane force, that same Spirit works in the human heart through whispers like the one Elijah heard. Those whispers remind us of who we are as the people of God; and of what we’re supposed to be doing. God calls us to be compassionate, patient, and loving with all people, not just the ones who share our political and religious convictions. God calls us to listen to others, opening our ears more than we open our mouths. God calls us to act with conviction, but to base those convictions on the good of others. I do believe that the Spirit blows through our society, upending our old assumptions and overturning our dysfunctional systems; but I also believe that we focus too much on that hurricane force and neglect the Spirit’s whispers.
Maybe that’s one reason why our country is in such bad shape right now. We have watched the Spirit sweeping through our society, and we have taken sides. We love the Black Lives Matter movement or we loathe it. We support our elected leaders or we detest them. We forget that behind every movement, every opinion poll, every vote are people – real, human beings – who have reasons for doing what they do. We feel anxious, afraid, and threatened; and so do they! We have focused so much on which opinion others have that we have missed the people who have those opinions! We have neglected the whispers of the Spirit calling us to listen to one another, to have compassion on one another, and to remember that our own reactions to what happens in the world around us are not the reactions of everyone! Compassion, patience, and humility are in short supply these days; and the Spirit is trying her best to remind us of that.
I read part of an essay by Christian writer Jen Hatmaker last night. She wrote it on the eve of the recent election, not knowing what the results would be. Her opinion, though, was that it didn’t matter who won – at least, not as far as our behavior as Christians is concerned. This is what she wrote. “[Regardless of who wins this election,] Our marching orders are the same. We are still about the same things we've always been about! We will still love our neighbors and resist fear. We will stick up for the marginalized and protect the vulnerable. We will show up for the hard work of good citizenship and remain faithful to God and [to] each other. We will insist on bringing hope and grace and strength and love to this busted up world. We will not malign people out of fear or confusion. We will love God and love people; and that is the same basic plan it has always been.” Love God and love other people. That’s what the Spirit is whispering to us right now, even as she sweeps through the world bringing changes yet undreamed of. “This is the day that the Lord has made,” said the psalmist. “Let us rejoice and be glad in it!” As we rejoice, let’s listen for the whispers of the Spirit. It is through her love and wisdom that God will lead us on.
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