A ruckus of babbling Jews on festival day in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago-
Was it a caucus in the United Nations Building?
Or at least Last Call at the bar in the basement of said building?
After all ‘They’re drunk, they’re drunk!’ was the very first accusation.
How else could the people we know and love, from the lakes and swamps of Michigan spout off the praises of God in the languages of Nigeria, Liberia, France, Ukraine, Germany, Armenia, Jamaica, Greece, Spain and even the British Empire-

It’s a sign!
It’s a wonder!
It’s a miracle!

That was the final conclusion, and conclusive proof that God would never be content in far away places. But God, a novena after ascending into heaven, had to come down to be close to the ones God so loves; to do the work of repairing the world that God so desperately wants done.

Pentecost tells us that God has come to town.
Love has come to town.
Love that wants to get closer to you-
And Love that you and I want to get closer to as well.

Love that doesn’t just fill heaven and earth, or upper rooms at religious festivals, but love that fills you and me as well. For the infilling of the Holy Spirit does more than simply make us warm and fuzzy. The knowledge of God’s presence with us makes Christians confident, dynamic, assertive and charismatic, even Episcopalians, no less, aka the bland leading the bland.

Thanks to the Holy Spirit you and I receive the Spirit’s presence in a number of different ways. We receive just the right words of wisdom to offer to the distressed that we never thought we had. We gain strength to go through adverse times, and patience through the most trying of challenges. The Holy Spirit is that presence of God that dwells with us and gives us things we commonly call intuition, inner fortitude, and especially inspiration.

And, perhaps most importantly, the Holy Spirit constantly reminds us that we do not go through life alone. Rather, we go with God, who has promised to never leave us. How is the Holy Spirit manifest in your life? How might we make more room for the Spirit to move in and through us today and in the week ahead?