A Strong Wind Blowing!

The Book of Acts in the Good News version of the New Testament refers to the occasion of the first Pentecost after Jesus' death. Pentecost, a Jewish tradition, had been adopted and adapted by Christians. In the Christian tradition it falls on the seventh Sunday after Easter. The second chapter of Acts speaks of a "strong wind blowing." From that St. Paul deduced this occasion to have significant meaning to Christians and their theology.

Fast forward to the last several days. A "strong wind blowing" hit the Gulf with a mighty force, not leaving the path of destruction expected, but nonetheless getting our attention. Two more such events await on the southeastern coast. What are the messages and meanings in these episodes?

It occurs to me that, to the modern mind, it is a wake up call which reaffirms that major cataclysmic shifts are occurring in our world. It does not take a "meteorologist" to figure out that many of the major events that have taken place in our climate, weather, and global phenomena carry some significant signs for us.

These are not "will of or acts of God" moments, so much as they are wake up calls about our -behaviors and choices. While there are still many who deny any participation on the part of humans in our global condition, it seems clear that the rules of "consequences" and "cause and effect" are at work.

While it may seem too late to do much about it on an individual basis, it is not too late to do what Paul recommended to his followers. He used religious images and language to get the attention of his hearers. His word was: "repent." Repent means simply "change."

There need be no implications of "end of the world" scare tactics. It is more to our benefit to take on individual responsibility for heading off catastrophe than to continue to contribute to it by our behavior, our attitudes and even our "theology."

So, the next time you hear "a strong wind blowing" heed its reminder. Religion and Science are disciplines which give us information. Faith and rational intelligence help us to know what to do with that information.