On Pentecost the Spirit of God shows up in a big way: wind and fire and foreign languages. The Spirit is moving and is for everybody. St. Peter says, “This promise is for you, your children, and all who are far away.”

Women. Men. Young. Old. Rich. Poor. Foreign. Native. And everyone in between.

Some included were wrong. Some were messy. Some scoundrels. Some had terrible theology.

They had differing politics. Annoying habits. Bad habits. Baggage.

And yet the Spirit of God moves and makes room anyway.

It seems to me God is less worried about clean lines and uniformity than much of the modern church is. It seems the church is meant to be united by something more than political views or rigid compliance or even right belief.

What if we had the same approach as God on Pentecost? What if what we offered was truly inclusive of everyone, regardless of where they have come from, done, or believed? What if we truly believed the Spirit of God was at work in the middle of our differences and disagreements? What if we trusted God and let go of our anxious need to control everyone and conform them into our image?

Sure, wielding authority and drawing lines and gate keeping is an easier approach. Uniting around politics or nations or status is a far quicker way to draw a crowd. But there are no short cuts to a better world.

The way of Pentecost is slow and labor intensive. In fact, the rest of the Christian Scriptures are letters to local churches and their leaders trying to figure out how to do this well. It takes intentionality and patience and time and dying to ourselves and grace and peace making. It is work.

But this work, more than the high control and exclusionary approach, makes us holy. Here we learn to really love our neighbor when, despite all the ways they (or we) are wrong, they sit across the table from us. In community united by a hunger for the things of God we learn empathy for our (real or perceived) enemies and drop our weapons. In this work we learn humility and to be slow to speak. In this effort we find pictures of faithfulness and opportunities for growth and the strength we need to keep going. Here we find the God that dwells amongst us.

It may be hard and slow and even scary, but it looks like Jesus.

So may we trust the Spirit of God unleashed into the world. May we let go of our need for control and conformity. May we be moved out into the world. And may the Spirit of God keep showing up in ways that surprise us and make us new.