Blowing in the Wind

       What a mighty wind we had this week!  We lay in bed Tuesday night and listened to the wind roar and the house creak.  It went on like that for ages.  Wind is a powerful thing.  During the funeral Tuesday morning, there were loud groans and creaks that could be heard even over the organ.  After the service, several people remarked that they wondered what it was until they realized that it was the roof in the wind.  Later on that day, I had to wait for the wind gust to lessen a bit before I could push my way out the door to go home.  The storm that blew through set all kinds of records before it was done.
        Days like that are reminders of how strong the wind can be and how freely it blows on the Great Plains.  I know when I lived on Minot Air Force Base, that in the middle of winter with feet of snow all around us, sometimes the drifts would be covered with black dirt that had blown in on the wind.  The wind can be a soft pleasant breeze on a summer evening, keeping the mosquitoes at bay or it can be a constant roar that is frightening in its power.  I have listened to people who have lived through hurricanes and they talk about the constant sound of the wind as something they will never forget.
        This wind, a power that can't be seen or controlled, is the main image that we are given in the Bible for the third person of the Trinity; the Holy Spirit.  In the Hebrew and the Greek, it is named by the word for wind or breath.  When God breathes into the person (adam) made of clay dirt (adama), it is then that he is given life (Genesis 2:7).  It is literally the breath of God in us that gives us life which is why the earliest definition of life is breathing.  When the Bible speaks of the Spirit of God giving us life, it means the actual breath going in and out of our bodies and not some spiritual imagery.
       In the common song sung after the offering is brought forward (Psalm 51:10-12), we sing "cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me".  I'm sure that most of the time we don't really think about the words we are singing and if we do, we spiritualize it without really considering the meaning.  The true meaning should give us pause. The "holy spirit" that the psalmist names is the same words for the wind and breath of God.  The words are a plea that God's breath will continue to move in and out our lungs, giving us life.
        The wind that blows over the face of the waters before creation is the same Holy Spirit that breathes in and out of our lungs and is the same Holy Spirit that blows through the gathered followers of Jesus and brings the Church to birth.  Like the wind blowing through the Great Plains, we cannot control the Holy Spirit nor do we know where it is going or what God is working to accomplish.  And yet we pray for the gifts of this Spirit to continue to give us life and faith throughout our lives.  There is true power and life in the Spirit, thank God, because we need the power of that life and love in the brokenness of our lives.
       Since it is this Spirit that powers the Church and blows in and through us, it should be no surprise that we don't always feel in control over what is happening, nor do we always know or like the direction we think we are going.  This is the Spirit that we confront when we come to the waters of baptism and that gives us life.  We can acknowledge that this life comes from God and open our hands and hearts to God's work and will or we can spend our entire lives bucking against the wind, fighting God all the way.  Before we set our direction against the Wind, we need to remember that God sends the Spirit out of the greatest love we can imagine and that God's purpose is to give us life and love.  Read John 3:5-8,16.