The Spirit

This last Sunday was Pentecost.  The Episcopal Church is a liturgical church which means, among other things, that they follow a lectionary which is a standard set of readings that are followed each day throughout the year during worship.  For Pentecost, the readings included the selection from Acts describing the first Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples.  Tongues of fire, speaking in tongues.

There was also a selection from psalm 104 where the psalmist talks about the "Spirit", a reading from Romans where Paul writes about the Spirit helping us in our weakness, and that part of the gospel of John where Jesus promises the Advocate, the Spirit of truth.

That set me to thinking.  Did the Hebrews of the psalmist days and Jesus think of the same entity when they used the word "Spirit"?  Christians profess belief in the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Before Jesus arrived, did the Jews believe in a two-nity, Father and Spirit?  Or was referring to the Spirit of God their way of thinking about how God can live and give life to the world?

Assuming that the Spirit in Acts is the same entity that Jesus promised would come, would Jesus have been surprised to see the effect of the Spirit?  I suppose the speaking (or being heard) in tongues can be directly related to the charge Jesus gave the disciples, to teach all nations.  

Then, I thought about today's Christians and how they regard the Spirit.  Is it all the same?

One other thought I had.  When everyone in Jerusalem could hear the disciples speak, each in his own language, did that represent the "undoing" of the results of the Tower of Babel, when the people tried to build something that would reach to God and God would have none of it.  God tends to get testy in Genesis when humans aspire to god-likeness.

For those who know a lot more of all of this than I do, I'd love to hear your comments.

Facebook

Like so many other things in life, the Internet has its advantages and its disadvantages.


I resisted Facebook for the longest time.  It seemed artificial and meant for people younger than me.  Kind of like match.com but "just friends".


I finally joined Facebook.  In my "youthful" exuberance, I friended anyone that Facebook presented or that I found on my own.


Eventually, though, I found myself tiring of some of the status updates.  It really is TMI to know you're driving to work, going to the bathroom, eating breakfast.   Being something of an introvert, I was becoming overwhelmed with the volume of information that my "friends" were willing to share.  


So, I've become somewhat more selective about my Facebook friends.


Still, being the oldest of six, all married with children, my "family" friends are numerous.


At first, I found Facebook so addictive, I was spending way too much time reading posts, seeing status updates, and reading when some of the younger generation were simply "bored".


Facebook is, as Mr. Spock would say, fascinating.  I love when people tell me about their travels.  I love it, but it makes me a little bit jealous.  Regardless, Facebook is its own medium to me.   The way it allows people to connect, to share, to communicate (and pontificate) at times represents a step in our development that I find wonder-full.