 |
| Flux and flow |
The
celebration of Pentecost is a celebration of experience of the spirit. Evelyn
Underhill describes this spirit experience as being caught up in the “flux of
life” She says:
The essence
of mystical contemplation is summed in these two experiences - union with the
flux of life, and union with the Whole of life.
The
Pentecostal experience with the overpowering images of fire and wind are not
reserved for apostles and not one-off experiences. What seems to me to have
happened is that the absence of Jesus after the resurrection opened up a kind
of vacuum, an emptiness and also an openness within which the spirit could
flow. Jesus tells the disciples he must leave them so that he can send the
advocate. The spirit, described as wind, suggests this flow and flux into which
we can be all caught up and, again according to Evelyn Underhill it is far more
common than we think. Here she describes an experience during a concert:
Do you
remember that horrid moment at the concert, when you became wholly unaware of
your comfortable seven-and-sixpenny seat? Did you not, "thrill with love
and dread," though you were not provided with a label for that which you
adored?
These
experiences of overwhelming transfiguration come unprovoked and uncontrolled to
overwhelm a person with more than just emotion but with an intuitive truth that
energises a person and connects them to the whole of life.
I
want to suggest to you that Pentecost moments litter our day as echoes of a
deeper flow that we are largely unaware of. Pentecost, like cross and
resurrection, is a daily reality in which we live- a kind of dna that relates
us to the flow of life in the trinity.
I
want to relate to you an experience of that spirit I had many years ago and
then suggest you spend some time today recognising and welcoming the flow of
the spirit in your own experience and the times when that flow has overwhelmed
you with its energy and loving kindness.
 |
| Shrigley Chapel |
A
key moment for me happened at Shrigley on December 7th 1967. I was
sacristan in that big church and had the duty of locking up in the evening.
That night I put out all the lights in the sacristy and walked out into the
darkened church. The only light was the sanctuary light suspended above the
sanctuary. I decided to kneel and say a prayer because it felt so peaceful.
Then…I don’t think I can describe it really… I was overwhelmed with a sense of
love and acceptance that left me breathless and weak. It seemed to roll over me
like waves of loving kindness and unspeakable goodness. But here is the thing-
I also knew that the love and energy I felt had always been there- quietly
present as a companion indwelling and at home with me as a young 17 year old.
The experience seemed to last for a few minutes at the most but, returning to a
darkened dormitory afterwards I found myself in trouble for being an hour late.
Such
experiences are not the norm but they do point to a flow of the spirit at the
centre of all our lives that is often lost in patterns of thinking that are
more intent upon naming and classifying life like Adam, rather than
experiencing life as a gift- as a personal communication from God.
As
human beings we are all called to be contemplatives in action and to be in
touch with the spirit constantly whilst also engaged in the busyness of life
and work. We are called, to seek the soul in all the activity of the day and to have antennae for the spirit.
To
be able to recognise the spirit and follow it in the middle of activity- To be
constantly inspired by the flow and the flux of that spirit in every conversation
and experience should be a hallmark of all spiritual life.
We
tune our spiritual antennae as Salesians through being really present to
others, through loving kindness, through being small and humble and through a
sense of God being present personally. Every sacrament is an event and a
life-long process and confirmation is no different.
At Christian confirmation we consciously embrace an intimate journey with the
spirit. Pentecost becomes a spiritual marriage, a communion of life and love
that underpins all healthy relationships forever.
May
the spirit warm your heart and fill your sail with energy for life!
Quotes
from Practical Mysticism Evelyn Underhill.
buy
it here
