The Lord Jesus told us that his Spirit is like wind (John 3:8). It means that He is astounding, unpredictable, uncontrollable. He always takes us by surprise and bids us to participate in the quest of following him. After Christ’s resurrection the Apostles were instructed as to where the Counselor would come to them, but they didn’t know its time (Acts 1:4). Peter wasn’t expecting to see an outpouring of the Spirit on the house and family of Cornelius while he was proclaiming Jesus to them (Acts 10:44-45; 11:15). Barnabas and Saul of Tarsus most likely couldn’t believe their ears when the Spirit of Jesus spoke through prophets to set them apart for a special mission far away from the borders of the existing Church (Acts 13:2-3). Philip, one of the seven deacons, surely wasn’t an expert of empty desert roads and yet he was ordered by the Spirit through an angel of the Lord to go to one of them and let himself be inspired and used as the forerunner of the evangelization of another continent (Acts 8:26ff). Make no mistake, those who follow the Spirit have to learn how to constantly reinterpret the value and significance of time and space as these wonderful gifts of the Creator are put under the authority of his Spirit who recreates everything that exists.
One beautiful morning in February 1992 I was surprised in a similar way while, filled with awe, I heard for the first time in my life singing in tongues. It happened in a chapel of cloistered nuns where I expected to find solely silence and peace. I remember that immediately after that celestial experience I ran to investigate. Their answer astonished me even more: ‘would YOU like to sing like that?’. The following day those nuns were praying for me and my first personal Pentecost experience took place right there. Jesus revealed himself to me as a loving Lord who was closer to me than I could ever imagine. I perceived his power and presence, especially the gift of prophecy. The most transforming revelation from that moment was that of being chosen for a mission. I knew without doubt I hadn’t been created to live just for myself. The Holy Spirit was bringing about my new future, letting me have a share in his own attributes: unpredictability and ungovernability.
It took me years to adapt and get my bearings in the new set of conditions fashioned by the Spirit. I am still learning how to accept his peculiarities while walking the path of everyday life. I have to say that it is beautiful and at the same time intimidating, but it inescapably allows you to live a bliss of love: it literally transports you beyond yourself. Existing for others, abandoning yourself while letting Him saturate your life with new meaning and substance is what the Spirit wants to teach you. More concretely it means that through the gift of faith you have to see the presence of the Holy Spirit in the time and spaces of your life and let him advance as He desires. This will fill your heart with awe and trembling and you will cry out: ‘Lord, depart from me because I am a sinner’, but He will reply: ‘Do not be afraid, from now on you will be a fisher of men’ (cf. Luke 5:8).
Fr. Artur Bilski
