Tongues of Fire: Theological Reflections on Pentecost

Pentecost celebrates the countless expressions of Gods love and wisdom. Like a skilled dancer Gods Holy Spirit moves through all creation bringing forth life and love and inspiration. Fire and wind are everywhere. Inspiration and revelation are just a moment away and can come either by surprise or as a result of the interplay between Gods wisdom and our intentional spiritual practices.The spirit blows where it wills in all directions embracing all life human and nonhuman. In other words Pentecost is about Gods omnipresence which Ingram interprets through the categories of Whiteheadian process theology as Gods ever-present initial aim that all things and events at every moment of space-time achieve the maximum self-fulfillment of which they are capable. Intentionally conforming our subjective aims for our own fulfillment with Gods initial aim for us as the historical Jesus did is the call of Pentecost. Omnipresence is an all-or-nothing deal. God cant be a little omnipresent. Either God is present in with and under every thing and event since the beginning of creation--what theologians and philosophers call panentheism--or omnipresence makes no sense.