Wind and Spirit
/by Rev. Eric Folkerth
“The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The one thing we can know for sure is…we get a lot of wind around here. We all endured shockingly high winds in Oak Cliff just last night. I hope and trust you all made it through OK…if not, if we can do anything to help, let us know…
One of the things we’ll talk about this Sunday is the remarkable truth about the Biblical words for “Wind” and “Spirit.”
I hope you recall that they are not “sorta” the same…but they are *exactly the same* words.
While English renders two words here, ancient Bible-readers saw the mystery of metaphorical language at work every time they read or spoke the word.
Spirit is like the Wind.
Wind is like the Spirit.
This is Jesus’ point in the above verse. It’s the point of his longer words to Nicodemus here in John, Chapter 3.
The “quiet center” we hope to find in our Lenten walk with God is indeed the very ineffable and mysterious Spirit of God.
We actually know far more about the coming and going of wind than we did in Jesus’ day. Just last night, was marveling at how Pete Delkus can hyper-focus, down to just a block or two, and tell us where the winds are blowing.
We know more about meteorology and how storm systems move.
All that said, the actualities of wind itself, and of storms, is still awe-inspiring, even in our day. No doubt, amidst your concern for persons and property last night, you had a moment of sheer wonder….meditating on a line of storms 280 miles long…producing winds over 70 mph.
Even with all we know about how winds work, watching them work still fills us with awe.
They remind us how little we control. How much we are at the mercy of forces well beyond us.
“The wind blows where it chooses,” Jesus says.
Which means, WE do not control it.
Learning to accept this, to live with the comings and goings of the Spirit/Wind…this is a primary goal of the journey to the Quiet Center of God. Sometimes in life everything seems to be going well and the Wind/Spirit blows strong. Other times, the world feels hot and parched and we can’t feel even a flicker of movement in the Spirit/Wind.
Learning to watch the physical and spiritual seasons, this is what it means to be “born from above,” as Jesus tells Nicodemus.
That’s what we’ll talk about this Sunday as we continue to “Come and Find the Quiet Center.”
Grace and Peace,
Eric