Pentecost, Protests, and the Breath of God
On Pentecost Sunday, the church remembers the coming of the Spirit of God which gave to the church the spiritual power of God.
The Spirit is known by two words, ruah in Hebrew and pneuma in Greek. Each language conveys the Spirit as “air” or “breath.” Pentecost is the day in which God breathed spiritual power upon the church.
This week we have all been horrified to see the breath of life taken away from George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police officer, sparking an explosion of pain, protest, anger, and violence not seen since 1968.
I have followed the response closely because my son, Clayton, lives less than a mile from the police precinct that burned. Much of the protests and violence happened in his neighborhood, in stores he shopped and streets he walked.
Clayton is doing well, though shaken by all that has happened. He has invested his energies to help clean up the streets and organize his neighborhood.
On Pentecost, the breath of God gave spiritual power to those who followed Jesus, enabling them to cross-cultural boundaries of race, gender, nationality, and political opinion. Each one was given the power to speak in the native tongue, the heart language, of the other. Each one understood the other.
It seems that the explosion of protest this week is the result of people whose repeated words have not been heard or understood. Each time there has been excessive violence against a person of color, the resulting protests failed to bring change. It appears that those in positions of power and authority were not able to hear or speak the language of others.
To be a church empowered by the breath of God, we must learn to listen and understand the hearts of those who are not like us. We must use the spiritual power given to us by God to enable us to cross boundaries of difference in race, education, income, and social setting.
This has never been easy for any church, but Scott Boulevard Baptist Church has done well crossing boundaries. Our congregation, though mostly white, is about one-third people of color. We have learned the power of God’s love and a warm smile to cross boundaries of race, language, and social setting.
We are all God’s beloved children. We all breathe the empowering breath of God, filling our hearts with God’s love for every person, and God’s peace that surpasses human understanding. We need that breath of God, the Holy Spirit, to blow through our land, to empower us to hear and understand one another. That will be the first step toward healing the pain of a culture of prejudice and systemic racism that infects us.
Breathe on us, breath of God. Fill us with life anew, that we may love what You would love, and do what You would do. (adapted from “Breathe on Me, Breath of God,” by Edwin Hatch).
Amen.
Greg Smith, Director of Legacy Ministry (Pastor of Scott Boulevard Baptist Church), First Baptist Church Decatur