The Fire Descends
The fiftieth saying of the living Christ as spoken by Mary Magdalene:
Fifty days counted. The day of revelation was at hand. They gathered in one accord and in one place.
A great and powerful wind came from the sky and filled the entire house where they were sitting. The wind was alive with power, but Adonai was not speaking through the wind.
The house shook as if the earth quaked. The quaking was alive with power, but Adonai was not speaking through the shaking.
A singular fiery presence distributed itself among them like flickering flames. One sat on each of them. The fire was alive with power, but Adonai was not speaking through the flames.
They were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and the sound of delicate stillness gave them the ability to speak (Acts 2:1-4; 1 Kings 19:11–13).
Mary Magdalene said:
Christ called us his friends, and asked us to do the work of the Kin-dom in this world. We are not servants, because we have received all that he received from our Father (John 15:13-15).
We are the friends of God, of Christ, of one another. No longer must we wait for a prophet to carry the word to us, as the Holy Spirit now lives in us all. As the friends and companions of the Holy One, We are the beloved chosen by the Divine to confide, to live, and pour out the fullness of the Spirit, withholding nothing from us.
This blessed union is at the root of everything. We do not melt like the dew before the rising sun. We are joined with one another in Christ, as Christ is one with the Father, so the Holy Name lives in all of us. This is the union of friendship. Friends do not lose themselves in one another, yet they share in a life of mutual support and care. He is the vine and we are the branches. He is the rock, the firm foundation. Now we have the Spirit and the heart in which it lives.
As the prophet said:
“It will happen afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams. Your young men will see visions. And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days, I will pour out my Spirit (Joel 2:28-29).”
The Holy Spirit is poured out on all. It is the power to transfigure the world into the Holy Kin-dom of Heaven where all life flourishes. It is not dripped on a few, or the chosen, or the powerful. It is poured out on all, even those held against their will by the cold-hearted.
The Spirit is not visiting us, but quickening us so we might live God in all our acts so all the world may be restored to the glorious wholeness that is peace. No speck of a husk, or crumb of a shell blocks the Spirit from us. The way is clear so the truth of our union may be the life we live.
Adonai is our rock, our fortress, and our deliverer; our God, our rock, in whom we take refuge; our shield, and the horn of our salvation, our high tower (Psalms 18:2). And on this rock we will build our assembly, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it (Matthew 16:16-18).
This rock is ever under our feet, and the tower is always near. Our steps will be strong, and our refuge secure. In the Holy Spirit, Christ is the rock of our soul, the foundation of all that we know and do. He, like the Father, is love. Love is the firm ground that holds all things together. This is not shelter from the world, but within it.
As Christ is the vine and we are the branches, the rock of Adonai roots the vine in all creation. The Spirit flows through the vine, from the rock to the heavens and back again.
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of Adonai’s glory, as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14).
Behold the Word, the Glory, and the Presence shining through all things. With the Spirit within us, we all have the eyes to see and ears to hear so we can perceive the Divine flowing through all things.
So now we all might sing with the Holy Ones, “Holy, holy, holy, is Adonai of the Heavenly Host! The whole earth is full of his glory (Isaiah 6:3)!”
All of creation groans for the liberation of the light. The fire has descended. The Spirit is poured out. May the kin-dom bear the fruits of healing, return, and restoration.
Take refuge in the Holy One. The Spirit is here. The world is being healed. You are the friends of God. Receive the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and let it flow through you into everything.
Speak the living word.
This is the kin-dom come.
Then Peter stood and addressed the multitude (Acts 2:14).