Seven weeks after Passover, our Jewish sisters and brothers celebrate the Feast of Weeks. They celebrate the first fruits of the wheat harvest and God giving the law to Moses and the Israelites at biblical Mount Sinai.
On the 50th day, (in the Greek language, the Pentecost day), they party. And in one particular year, the Holy Spirit showed up for the celebration in very dramatic fashion, with fire, and wind, and lots of different languages being spoken.
We like to follow Unvirtuous Abbey on Twitter. The by-line is “Digital Monks Praying Pop Culture Prayers. Holier than thou but not by much.” It can border on the sacrilegious, but often makes us think about faith and often makes us laugh. When Unvirtuous Abbey wants to illustrate the Holy Spirit, it uses birds. There is an eagle, taking off in flight, with the caption, “She’s just heard. She’s on her way.” There is a little brown sparrow, feeding her young, with the caption “Actual photo of the Holy Spirit caring for her children”. And an all-white East African Crowned Crane, with a rather stern look on her face, striding with purpose across the beach,– “Actual photo of the Holy Spirit. She’s on Her way. You know full well what you did.”
And perhaps my favourite, a bright blue, green, yellow, red parrot, “Actual photo of the Holy Spirit reminding you to let your true colours shine through…That’s why She loves you. So don’t be afraid.”
The next time you hear a bird, on your walk, or out your window, think of it as the Holy Spirit, dropping by to say hello.
Revs. Bob and Helen Smith
Originally posted in the May 29, 2020, edition of Tidbits.