The Dove of Peace

This week we celebrated Pentecost at our little country church. Many folks wore red, we had red candles, red pinwheels, red vestments, red paraments. And then after worship, we had lunch with a red velvet (birthday!) cake with candles. It was a wonderful way to remember and claim the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

My sermon was ready early in the week. Our mother has had some health issues that have caused a lot of worry and uncertainty in our household, and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to lead worship on Sunday. Here is part of what I prepared in advance and was able to preach on the Day of Pentecost: 

It is the Spirit that comes into the chaos of our times, when we don’t know exactly what to do, when we feel lost. The Holy Spirit is God in our souls; it is Christ in our lives. It is what gets us up and gets us going in the morning. It is what sings us to sleep at night. It is that part of God in Christ that cares for us, comforts us, calls us, and challenges us. When life seems chaotic, as it often does, when you don’t know what to do, when you feel like you are losing your grip, losing your way, losing your faith – look for the Holy Spirit. Look for the dove of peace.

 

And then on Saturday, the day before Pentecost, a white dove appeared in our yard. We live in the country, and there are lots of birds around, and I’ve seen a lot of mourning doves, but I have never seen a white dove here. My brother thinks it is a pigeon, one that was raised for racing and just got lost. But I worked in a city and I know pigeons –this is not a pigeon. 

When I wrote what I did (“….When you don’t know what to do… look for the dove…”) I don’t know that I really took that seriously. But the dove has been here for three days now. And it feels like the presence of the Spirit. It feels like a blessing from God. It feels like peace. I still don’t know what to do. It feels that we are still dealing with chaos and uncertainty, and at times we feel lost. But the Spirit is with us. And if it took a lost pigeon to make that point, then so be it. Thanks be to God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit!