After the wind and the tongues “as of fire” and the speaking in many languages, everyone in Jerusalem knew something was up with these Jesus people: “All were amazed and perplexed, saying, ‘What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’”
How right they were. The apostles may not have been high on spirits – as Peter says, “Please! It’s only 9 o’clock in the morning!” – but they were filled with the Spirit of God, whom Jesus once likened to new wine. When asked why his disciples didn’t observe all the formal rituals, he said people don’t pour new wine into old wineskins, “If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.” (Matt 9:17)
New wine is an apt metaphor for being filled with the Spirit. It tends to be more potent than wine that has aged and, being earlier in the fermentation process, is more expansive; hence the risk of ruin to older, more brittle wine skins. It is less predictable, less controllable than older wines. I believe many churches’ discomfort with the Holy Spirit has a lot to do with their desire for control. Perhaps the wine of the Church has aged a little too long, become too smooth – good to the taste, and unlikely to trouble anyone.
We could use a dose of Holy Spirit fermentation. We could stand to have the Holy Spirit renewed in us, pushing what has become brittle in us and in our churches to expand and make room for the life of God. Otherwise we crack and break, the new wine goes running out, and we feel empty. (Transitioning our worship life online during this Covid-19 sequestering period has certainly hastened that process.)
Every day we can ask for a deeper filling of the Holy Spirit. It can happen as we say, “Come, Holy Spirit,” or “Come, Lord Jesus,” or as we pray in tongues or sing in praise or move our bodies in a posture of worship. If you crave certain spiritual gifts – like healing, or faith, or more compassion, or boldness, ask for those gifts. The Spirit knows what gifts s/he wants us to have; it never hurts to ask for what we want in order to do the ministries we feel God is calling us to offer. We don’t have to worry about losing control, or beware the language of new birth. Mostly we are filled to the capacity we have, until we are able to receive more.
Some years ago, I read an obituary of actress Ann B. Davis, who played the housekeeper on The Brady Bunch, I was interested to learn that she was a charismatic Episcopalian:
For many years after “The Brady Bunch” wound up, Davis led a quiet religious life, affiliating herself with a group led by [retired Episcopal Bishop William] Frey. “I was born again,” she told the AP in 1993. “It happens to Episcopalians. Sometimes it doesn't hit you till you're 47 years old.”
It can "hit us" at any age or denomination, especially if we’re open to it. It happens more as we invite the Spirit to make that dimension of God’s life real in us. Come, Holy Spirit!
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