And On The Day Of Pentecost

And on the day of Pentecost
God approached us
Spirit descended from the heavens
Like mighty rushing wind
Blowing past boundaries between the Divine and humanity
Filling the upper room and flowing out into ancient streets
Over God’s chosen people
Well at least that’s what the text captures because stories have bias and the telling of this one is no different

But on the day of Pentecost
The Helper ensured that despite the writers not speaking to Gentiles, women, or really anyone possessing something other than cis-male Jewish personhood
They would know, we would know
That we are a part of God’s story through prophetic utterance

“And in those days I will pour out my Spirit onto all people”
All. People?
Yes, All.
The last time I checked all still means every.
Means every person spoken to and all who went unaddressed.
Means apostles who walked alongside God with us and those barred from places deemed holy.
Means those who walked on Roman roads in the age of empire and those whose paths take them down country roads and urban cityscapes in modernity.
Means young.
Means elder.
Means feminine, masculine, nonbinary.
Means cis, trans, agender.
Means straight
Means every identity present in the rainbow.
Means neurotypical and neurodivergent.
Means those with disabilities and those without.
Means black, white, Latinx, Asian, Indigenous.
Means you. Means me. Means us.
Means you. Means me. Means us.

With that mighty wind
And energy like wildfire
The Spirit of God burned down partitions of difference
Lending presence,
Making clear that we are all the children of divinity
Making space for our worship in temples, in the wild, and in common places.
Making room for us.
Making room for us.
Making room for us.
And that, that…is the power and the glory in the day God approached us
That is the beauty in Pentecost

(Originally shared on Pentecost Sunday ’17 at Friendship Presbyterian Church in Chicago)