In Praise of the Universal Creative Spirit of God

There are certain parts of the Christian faith that receive far more attention than others. We talk often about God the Creator. We talk often about Jesus. But if we’re honest, many of us don’t quite know what to do with the Holy Spirit.

As Rev. Cynthia Bourgeault says, we think about the Trinity as “two men and a bird.”

The Spirit can feel mysterious, elusive, maybe even a little uncomfortable. And yet, when you open the scriptures, the Spirit of God is everywhere.

Today we celebrate Pentecost, the day the Spirit descended upon the disciples like wind and fire. It’s often called the birthday of the church. But perhaps Pentecost is not only about the birth of the church. Perhaps it is about awakening to the reality that the Spirit of God has always been moving through creation, through humanity, through history, and through us.

I recently read a wonderful column by pastor and writer Ben Sadler titled, “Why Are Lutherans So Afraid of the Holy Spirit?” And honestly, I laughed out loud at one particular line because it hit painfully close to home. Sadler writes that when we sing, “Come Holy Spirit, renew our hearts and kindle in us the fire of your love,” many Lutherans are secretly thinking, “Come Holy Spirit…but not too much. I don’t want people thinking I’m Pentecostal.”

There’s truth in that humor.

Many of us inherited a faith tradition that became cautious around talk of spiritual experience.

Sadler points out that during Martin Luther’s time there were people claiming private revelations that ignored scripture entirely, and Luther understandably reacted against that. But over time, caution may have become overcorrection.

In our effort to remain grounded and thoughtful Christians, we sometimes became hesitant to talk about spiritual vitality, passion, gifts, or the living movement of God within human beings.

And yet scripture continually invites us into relationship with the Spirit. Pray for the Spirit. Do not quench the Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit. Desire the gifts of the Spirit.

What strikes me is that Pentecost is not presented as an optional enhancement package for especially religious people. The Spirit is not given to spiritual elites. The Spirit is poured out on ordinary human beings. Frightened disciples. Imperfect people. Confused people. People who still didn’t fully understand Jesus.

Before Pentecost, the disciples loved Jesus, but they still argued over who was greatest. They followed Jesus, but they fled in fear at the cross. After Pentecost, something changed. They became courageous. Joyful. Generous. Compassionate.

They were still imperfect, but they became animated by a deeper life.

Sadler makes a provocative statement. He says many Christians today still live with a “pre-Pentecost faith.” We believe in Jesus, but often without joy, passion, boldness, or deep spiritual vitality. I think there’s something painfully true about that. It’s possible to believe in God intellectually while remaining spiritually constricted. It’s possible to have religion without inner fire.

And perhaps that’s where Pentecost still speaks to us.

One of the things I love most about today’s reading from Acts is that it emphasizes universality. When Acts lists all the peoples gathered in Jerusalem — Parthians, Medes, Egyptians, Romans, Arabs, and others — it’s essentially describing the known world. All peoples are represented there. And all hear the message in their own language.

The Spirit does not erase difference. The Spirit speaks through difference. Through many languages. Many cultures. Many lives.

Peter then quotes the prophet Joel: “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh.” Not some flesh. Not worthy flesh. Not doctrinally perfect flesh. All flesh. Sons and daughters. Young and old. Everyone caught up in the divine breath of life.

That matters deeply to me.

I’ve increasingly come to believe that the Holy Spirit is far larger than the small religious boxes we sometimes place around it. The Spirit is the living presence of God flowing through creation itself. The Spirit is God’s creativity, healing, wisdom, compassion, courage, and renewal moving within human life.

Paul Smith, in his book Integral Christianity, offers beautiful language for the Trinity. He calls God the Father the Infinite Face of God, Jesus the Son the Intimate Face of God, and the Holy Spirit the Inner Face of God.

I love that language because the Spirit is precisely that: the inner presence of God alive within us and among us.

The psalm today says that when God sends forth the Spirit, creation itself comes alive and “the face of the earth” is renewed. The Spirit is not merely about private religious feelings. The Spirit is the creative force of life itself — always bringing forth renewal, healing, growth, and possibility.

And St. Paul reminds us that the Spirit gives gifts to every person — not for status or superiority, but for “the common good,” meaning the flourishing of all. Some people are given gifts of compassion. Some wisdom. Some encouragement. Some teaching. Some hospitality. Some healing presence. Some prophetic imagination. The Spirit activates different gifts within different people so that together we become one body.

That means none of us possesses the whole of God. But each of us may carry a spark of the divine life needed by others.

And then there’s that remarkable line in John’s Gospel where Jesus breathes the Spirit onto the disciples and says that they now have the power to forgive sins or retain them. In other words, we can participate either in liberation or bondage.

We can forgive, release, heal, reconcile, and help restore life. Or we can cling to resentment, fear, division, and woundedness. But the Spirit of God always moves toward freedom, healing, and reconnection.

Maybe that’s one of the clearest signs of the Spirit’s presence.

Wherever people become more alive, more loving, more courageous, more compassionate, more connected — the Spirit is there.

And maybe Pentecost asks us a simple but important question: Are we open to that Spirit?

Not just believing ideas about God. Not merely attending church. But truly opening ourselves to the living, creative, universal Spirit of God that still longs to renew the face of the earth — and renew us as well.

Amen.