Let the Spirit Breathe

First Reading: Genesis 1:1-4

In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness.

Second Reading: Acts 2:1-13

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power." All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean? But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine."

Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Maryann Amor

וְר֣וּחַ אֱלֹהִ֔ים מְרַחֶ֖פֶת עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הַמָּֽיִם׃

“And the wind of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

Right at the beginning of the Bible, before anything is created—there is God’s ruach. This Hebrew word is difficult to translate, because it carries many different meanings: breath, wind, sometimes spirit. In Genesis, we find the ruach hovering, moving over the chaotic waters that exist before creation happens. The ruach is quiet, gentle, floating.

What’s really interesting is that ruach is grammatically feminine in Hebrew—which is important to keep in mind as we reflect on the Holy Spirit, who is also often referenced using feminine pronouns.

I’m beginning with Genesis and the appearance of the ruach because today is the Feast of Pentecost, when we encounter the ruach again as we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the apostles and, consequently, the creation of the Church. By starting with Genesis, we remember that the Spirit’s work didn’t begin at Pentecost. She was there at the moment of creation, quietly present over the chaos—reminding us that God’s Spirit is always working in hidden ways before bursting into action.

Going back to last week, we met the apostles as they watched Jesus ascend into heaven—leaving them physically behind. Jesus had taken their human condition, their brokenness, up to God, changing their and our perspective of God from one who is far away, disconnected from humanity, to one who is intimately aware of all that it means to be human…one who knows our pains and sorrows profoundly.

But the reality for the disciples is that God was still physically far off. The risen Jesus was not a tangible presence in their lives. They still felt apart from the divine—uncertain, without a leader, unsure how to move forward. So, Jesus promises them a gift… a power, a presence…that would be with them always.

In Acts 2, this promise is fulfilled. The disciples are gathered in one place. And then something suddenly happens. They are not given any advance warning or preparation…the Spirit just comes upon them, and she is described as “a sound like the rush of a violent wind.”

This reference to the wind unites Acts 2 with the ruach, the wind, found in Genesis—echoing the moment of creation. Now she is more violent, more powerful, and because of her, something new is born—not the earth, but the Church.

Although we often think of the Holy Spirit using familiar, easy-to-picture images of doves or flames…the wind, breath, ruach, offers us so much more. Doves can be caged; flames can be controlled or extinguished. But wind? Breath? These are hard to limit. They escape our grasp, moves wherever they will. And this is vital for understanding how the Spirit works in our lives.

One scholar, in reference to the Spirit, invites us to think of her as a verb, not a noun. If we see the Spirit only as a noun, then we either have her or we don’t—she is something to possess. But if she is a verb, then the Spirit is about action. Looking at Acts, the Spirit breathes on the apostles, giving them voice, enabling them to speak in all the languages of the world. The Spirit moves them to work in the world, to go out and touch every human. They are not to hold onto the Spirit, control her, put her in a cage, but, energized by her, they must go out and spread her beyond themselves, continuing their mission to all the people of the earth.

And this is how the Spirit acts in our lives and ministries today. She gives us the ability, the language, to share our faith, love, and the grace of God with everyone—not just those we agree with, those we like, or those who come to this church…but with everyone. Deep down, we know what we are called to do, what she is energizing us to do, and our task is to act on this, because this is how we will continue our mission both in Grande Prairie and beyond.

Thus, our job is not to control the Spirit, but to let her breathe. Our call is to open ourselves to her, to trust her, and to keep our eyes open to what new things she might be leading us toward—who she might be calling us to engage with, to invite, or to help. Of course, this is hard. It is so much easier to tightly grasp what we have and not bother with those who don’t live, act, think, or believe as we do. But the Spirit, the ruach, is not like this at all…she blows, she moves—she spreads and cannot be caged in.

So today, let’s allow the Spirit of God—the ruach—to breathe through us. Breathe through our fall planning and our worship, our budgets and our disagreements, all our attempts at being the church in this world. Let her breathe through us to those on the street, our neighbors, those whose lives are marked by poverty. Let her breathe through us to those who are not accepted because of who they are or how they live—those who know discrimination, suffering, and pain. And as we open our hearts to allowing her to work in the world, we move closer to becoming a church where the ruach of God is felt by all who enter our doors… an energizing, living, life-giving force that shapes all we do.

Amen.