“When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.”  (Acts 2:1-3) Happy Birthday Church!  Pentecost has come around again and we read the familiar story of how our ragtag half-hearted forebears in the faith became the people who would be used by God to turn the world upside down.  I had a thought about this scene several years ago.  I wondered, “What do you suppose they were talking about when the Holy Spirit came with such power?”  I think the days of discussing “who of us is the greatest” were long past.  Instead what if the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them when they finally had an honest conversation about how each of them had failed to follow Jesus as they should?  Perhaps Peter was just finishing “and then the rooster crowed.”  And at that moment the wind and the fire… Perhaps the primary thing that stands between us and experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit is ourselves.  Perhaps when the conversation turns to our own need for forgiveness and mercy and away from how great we are or the sins of others; perhaps it is just there that space is opened up and the Spirit falls afresh.  Let us open our lives anew to God, naming our sins and failures to follow and then watch and listen, the Holy Spirit is here!  Have a great week.