Reflection for Monday, April 24, 2017: 2nd Week of Easter.

Abstract

Lying in bed, listening to the wind whistle it's tune through the trees…mindfulness| Walking outside on a windy day and feeling the wind in my hair blowing it in every direction…laughter| Flying a kite in an open field, dancing with the wind as a partner…delight |Sailing as the wind carries me across open waters….freedom. |Bouncing around the clouds in a plane…will we land safely?...trust |Sheltering my face from the blowing stinging icy snow on a winter's day…security |Breathing deeply with a gentle breeze, my eyes closed,…peace |Watching the tall prairie grasses sway and roll as constant ocean waves before me…fidelity |Tornados, hurricanes, gentle breezes…. |The WIND…enemy or friend?...counsel|Gifts and Fruits of the Spirit! "The wind blows where it wills,|And you can hear the sound it makes,|But you do not know where it comes from or where it goes;…|So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."|--John 3: 8|Born into our created world is an immersion into the life breath of God. Ruah is the Hebrew word for the Spirit meaning the Breath of the living God. To be born from "above" can be interpreted as to be born "anew." Just as Jesus lying in the tomb and rising to new life, we too, sleep and wake each day reborn anew into Holy Mystery, the mystery that the Spirit of God is alive and lives within each of us. This awareness of the Spirit's gracious presence may come in many forms. The wind, as in my reflection above, may grace us with an awareness of the gifts and fruits of the Spirit and abiding presence. "Be praised, my Lord, for our Brothers Wind and Air…|by which you, Lord, uphold life in all your creatures."—St. Francis of Assisi|If you listen closely to the wind, too, you may hear your name being called. That happened to me once while walking in the woods on a windy day. A bit shaken, I prayed, and my response was…Yes, here I am Lord! Then b-lined it out of the woods! We walk in the Holy Mystery not knowing "where it comes from or where it goes." But we, I, must walk in it with courage and trust in God's fidelity.|Acts invites us to listen, speak and act courageously, BOLDLY, God's WORD in the name of Jesus. To do so, especially at times of adversity, is a brave thing to do! |"And now Lord, take note of their threats,| and enable your servants to speak your word |with all boldness, as you stretch forth your hand to heal,|and signs and wonders are done through the name of your holy servant Jesus"|As they prayed, the place where they were gathered shook"|and they were filled with the Holy Spirit|and continue to speak the word of God with boldness."|To live in the Spirt is a bold bodily experience. We shake, we laugh, we cry, we breathe, we move through life in this Holy Mystery. We are, each day, born anew in the Spirit of the Living God