"Re-Marks" from Pastor Mark

Greetings in this season of renewal. The Spring flowers have started to
fade, the trees have ensconced us with their pollen and summer flowers are
popping up out of the ground. May and June are two of my favorite months.
As I sit in my office at Head of Christiana watching the wind move the leaves
of the red maple out front, it has made me think about Pentecost and the Holy
Spirit. On Sunday May 28 we celebrate Pentecost. Acts 2:1-4 Luke tells us
that the disciples “were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of
them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit…”
While we may not have experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit as the Apostles did,
we are connected to the Holy Spirit in our baptism. We often need to be reminded that the Holy
Spirit is with us 24/7. Every once in a while, particularly when things get hectic, as they often
do these days, we need to pause, take a deep, mindful breath, and recognize the presence of the
Holy Spirit. This can be a calming and refreshing moment. In our Sunday morning study group
we have been reading Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal and Delight In Our Busy Lives by
Wayne Muller.
As I write this on May 8, we have only covered the first two sections of the book, but
already we have learned the importance of rest and taking time, even if only for a moment each
day to pause and recognize the presence of the Spirit, of God, in our lives. Muller talks about a
Buddhist community where a monk “periodically rings a Mindfulness Bell. Upon hearing the
bell, everyone stops, and takes three silent, mindful breaths.” They then are free to get back to
whatever they are doing.
Muller suggests that we too can choose to stop and create a mindfulness moment, a
Sabbath pause if you will. Choose a common activity – touching a doorknob, opening the car
door, closing the car door – the list could be endless. Choose one activity and when it happens,
pause, take three silent, deep, mindful breaths and then go on with your day. See if taking a
Sabbath moment and recognizing the presence of the Holy Spirit makes a difference in your life
this month.