Last year I got captivated by Josh Ritter’s “A Girl in the War” which influence my sermon.  After preaching at both services, I realized that it really had been a poem.  Over the course of the year, I’ve come back to my notes from the week and from re-listening to the sermon.  Here’s what that turned into.

Last time it was a dove

Remember,
Jesus and John at the river Jordan
People pressing forward,
Hoping to see, to understand
The heavens split and
The Lord God Almighty spoke,
But it was a dove
A bird of peace and promise
With words of love and support
‘This is my beloved, with whom I am well pleased’
A passing of the torch
More than a beginning
John, who baptized in the wilderness,
Performing his ultimate act as forerunner
Inaugurating his cousin,
The Messiah, the one everyone was waiting for
And no one expected

And the heavens split
The Holy Spirit descended
Delighted to be a dove

Three years of dusty roads
Campfires and strange stories
Healings and promises;
Terror and threat
Ending with crucifixion
And an empty tomb
Fifty days of walking through walls
Fish on the beach and broken nets
finding Jesus in broken bread
Then the Risen Messiah
Ascended back into heaven

I wonder how many of the people
Who had pressed forward
on the banks of the Jordan that morning
Fearfully retreated in the upper room
Remembered when the heavens last split open
And looked for a dove

The Spirit which descended,
Driving disciples into the street,
Did not delight in being a dove

This morning the Spirit breathed fire

Perhaps because dragons have exist
Since before they were in our books and TV
We knew they could inspire empires;
Before we drew them in the unknown edges of maps
We knew they could entice us further than we’ve ever gone before

Today is Pentecost.
The Spirit, not a dove, not a dragon,
Breathed fire;
Breathed the Church
And passed the torch
The disciples poured out
And became a holy spectacle
Unable to hold the fire of God’s message in their bones
Unable to keep God’s love contained.

Today is Pentecost.
We are given God’s message of love
We are the torch,
Fire breathed and Spirit driven
Sent, to be the Church
To be a Holy Spectacle
Unable to do anything other than share God’s love