June 8, 2025 Essay: O, Holy Spirit Come!

Have you ever heard that small, but mighty voice that gently guides you to act on something?  Many times, in my life, I have heard and responded to that voice.  I refer to it as the Holy Spirit— the ruah—which is called “breath,” “wind,” or “spirit”—the third person of the Holy Trinity. It’s often used in Hebrew Scriptures to refer to the Holy Spirit of God, or the breath of God that animates all living things.

On Pentecost, we are reminded of the way the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus’ Apostles as a flame of light. This ignited their spirit to speak in tongues—other languages — so that people would understand the words as they preached the good news of Jesus Christ. In this gospel story, everyone understood the words in their respective languages and understood what the Apostles preached. This was a miracle and a testimony to their Faith. Faith in the message that Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah—the human and divine being—not an earthly “king” that was to save the Jewish people by power and glory. Jesus came to save humankind by his teachings, suffering, and death on a cross.

Jesus was the suffering servant who came to save souls. Jesus taught humankind to go out in love and compassion, and to have faith and trust that God will lead each of us to exactly where we are meant to be with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, God communicates with each of us in a very personal way.  Take time to rest and notice when and where God sends the Holy Spirit to convey God’s loving message to you.

Reverend Thomas Troeger was a professor of Homiletics at Yale Divinity School, a widely recognized hymn writer, and Presbyterian preacher who wrote this poem: The Wind that Stirs the Sea to Sing. As you read it, discern what grace you need the Holy Spirit to impart on you.

 The wind that stirs the sea to sing,
to surge and roar and drum,
is echoed in the prayer we bring:
O Holy Spirit, Come!

 Arise and blow from God’s deep core,
a steady, driving gale,
and fill this church forevermore
with faith that will not fail.

Breathe as the breath of life that lifts
our hearts to sing your praise
for all the rich and varied gifts
that bless our nights and days.

 Then with your flame and wind ignite
the hope we sing and pray:
that we will follow Christ the light,
the truth, the life, the way.

 Till we, like Peter, find the strength
to live each day this creed:
your love, its breadth and depth and length.,
encircles every need.

 And then the song within our heart
Will sound in harmony
With that great hymn that you impart
To wind and shore and sea.

Ponder how this poem speaks to you. How might your gifts and graces received from the Holy Spirit propel you into action, give you rest, or renewal, and restore your faith and compassion in this messy world? Allow the song in your heart, along with the wind and shore and sea, to light the way of Christ as you journey onward.

Pray for the grace of the flame and wind to ignite the Holy Spirit into your life and into the world for peace in these challenging and complicated days.

 Every Blessing —

Jean Santopatre, Pastoral Associate