Monday Morning Preacher - The Spirit-Storm

Today's text: Acts 2:1-13

In this story from the book of Acts, the disciples have gathered after the death of Jesus. Suddenly, there is a noise, as if a wind is blowing. The people are lit up, as if there are flames coming from them, and they start speaking about God, spontaneously, in foreign languages they don't even know.

What would it be like to be in the middle of this strange storm of holiness? When a regular storm is about to blow in, there is a charge in the air. The wind picks up speed, and there's a sense of danger and anticipation. Have you ever had your breath catch at the first sound of thunder? Or the smell of those first raindrops kicking up the dust on the sidewalk? Has a powerful blast of wind ever made you want to shout?

Jesus' return from death to life brings on this strange storm of holiness. The disciples are caught up in it, as though they were in the clouds before the lightning. It charges the air with energy and joy, and it is a shared experience. They all feel it, they're all caught up in it, and the power of it is so great that even people who never knew Jesus can hear and see the difference. The disciples are breathing the breath of God.