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Where the Spirit moves: Pentecost in our time
Catholic New Times, May 23, 2004 by Dorothy Corrigan
Wind and fire; consciousness and energy; the breath of consciousness igniting the fire of passion.
These words express for me the meaning of a Pentecost experience.
The original purpose of Pentecost was to celebrate the grain harvest. It was a time of thanksgiving. One of the three major festivals observed in first century Jerusalem, it gather ed peoples from the whole Roman world; people of every race, colour and creed were present in the gathering which the apostle Peter addressed that first Pentecost day.
A great wind had surrounded the disciples in the Upper Room. Fire-like tongues hovered over their heads, spiriting them into action, taking them out of their fear and into the streets, to speak of this Jesus in whom they would now truly live and move and have their being. (Acts 17:28).
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Their passion and energy, visible and tangible, changed minds and moved hearts on that Pentecost day.
Wind and fire are universal elements present since before the beginning of human time. In that initial, primordial burst of energy, the universal Spirit was released into the Void and our wondrous evolutionary story began to unfold. If Pentecost is the giving and receiving of the Spirit, then this act of creative power was the very first Pentecost, when the primary element of air ignited fire: the element at the heart of all things.
At the Pentecost in human history, two thousand years ago, the disciples received this Spirit in a way that changed them forever. The result was a shift in consciousness, a shift in their way of experiencing the world, their way of being and doing in the world. A revelation took root in their hearts reminiscent of the revelation in the beginning, when the Word, the Word that is God, was first spoken out into the universe.
After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, the disciples were in great confusion; a state of chaos prevailed. They found themselves in that "in-between" time which happens when a once-secure world is over come by uncertainty.
In our human family today, where meaninglessness abounds, when we seem to have forgotten our essence, it is easy for us to identify with the fears of the disciples as their well-structured world fell apart. Their feelings were probably best expressed by the disciples from Emmaus. They had forgotten that Jesus had promised them a new Spirit. It took a Wind and Fire experience to awaken them when the Word was again released into the world; with a breath of fresh consciousness sweeping over them, rekindling the fire within.
The truth of our oneness
With this Pentecost, an event that took place two thousand years ago, another evolutionary moment occurred. There was an enlightenment around the meaning and purpose of the human family. The disciples issued a call for unity, equality and community, for all to share the Spirit, the Spirit which gives essence to all life. (1 Cor. 2:10). Unity among us already exists in the depth of human experience. Our equality already exists in our common origin. Now, our sense and understanding of community, put forth in the invitation of the disciples, is what we are called to embrace.
All those present at that time and in that place, heard this message in their own language. In one's own language, each person is invited to find the Word of God inside oneself, in order to be empowered to speak one's truth to the world.
As a human family we need to listen to the truth in one another, as person, as family, as nation. The crowds gathered at the first Pentecost, were urged to forgive and to experience forgiveness themselves, their forgetfulness of being of One Body.
In knowing the truth of our oneness and our sameness, we will come to know our communion. God continually manifests the Spirit in and through communion, community. This was the message of the Pentecost of two thousand years ago. This is the message of Pentecost today.
Cosmic implications
Every Pentecost moment, every enlightenment moment, has cosmic implications. Every individual act of self-awareness affects the whole human species, the whole Universe. It is like lighting a candle in the dark. The creation of consciousness, Carl Jung claimed, is our sole purpose as a human species. In the words of Ira Progoff: "Evoking the depths of ourselves is a way to the renewal of our humanity." God, the Universal Source, constantly lures us humans into greater consciousness; in mutuality, Creator and Created, bring creation to its fullness."
"Pentecost thinking" calls for transformation, calls us to see Pentecost as part of our living story, individually and collectively, on a daily basis. While I cannot truly know myself outside the collective consciousness, my fidelity to seeking the Spirit at work in me, bringing me to the truth of my authentic self, is my mission in this world. Out of my own truth, the Word of God will be manifest through me and the Word becomes flesh. Then the entire universe benefits.
Achieving self-knowledge renews the face of the earth, energizes, empowers and restores passion and enables persons to affect the energy and consciousness of the Whole. Creation itself is groaning in the one great act of giving birth. (Rom 8:23). All of us are called to be co-creators in giving new birth to one another and, hence, to the community. We have been gifted with consciousness for this purpose. Every individual must become oneself in the fleshing out of the Body of the Cosmic Christ. This fulfilling the law of Christ. This is putting on Christ.
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