Who can read the story of the apostles’ first Pentecost with an open mind and heart and not be filled with awe? Just imagine what it must have been like to be there that morning when the Wind of the Spirit rushed into the house, blowing away the clouds of doubt and uncertainty that had, no doubt, consumed their minds and hearts since Christ Jesus had been lifted out of their midst into the Divine Cloud of God. It must have been truly amazing to see tongues of fire resting on each one of their companions, purifying but not burning, just like the experience of Daniel’s three friends in the fiery furnace (Dan.3:19-27), just as Isaiah prophesied, “When you walk through the fire , you won’t be scorched and the flame won’t burn you.” (43:2). Who could help but wonder at what was happening, at what this meant for them? How stunned must they have been when they tried to explain those phenomena to all those crowded in Jerusalem to celebrate the Pentecost festival and discovered the pilgrims heard them in their own native languages? How long did it take them to process the experience, to realize this was the action of God’s Holy Spirit, the Advocate whom Jesus had promised to send them after he left, to accept the guidance of the Spirit of truth in their lives?

God still comes to meet us where we are, as we are, manifesting the Divine Presence through the Holy Spirit. Because we are each unique in God’s creation, we can trust the Divine to reach us in ways we can each relate to in our life situations. As we recognize the hand of God at work in our lives, as we experience the power of the Holy Spirit transforming us into the image of God we were created to be, as we become aware of the presence of Christ Jesus healing us, bringing us to wholeness and holiness, we can’t help but be awestruck. Our hearts, so overflowing with thanksgiving and praise, are led to join the psalmist today in testifying: “ I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will praise my God while I have my being. . . Hallelujah!”