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How is it that each of us hears them in our native language? \u2026we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!\u201d Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, \u201cWhat does this mean?\u201d Some, however, made fun of them and said, \u201cThey have had too much wine.\u201d (Acts 2:8, 11b-13)

2,000 years after the New Testament, we don\u2019t always appreciate just how radical a change Jesus inaugurated through His resurrection and gift of the Spirit.

We look back at the story as Christians and so we identify with the Christians in the story. Jesus\u2019 death and resurrection are no surprise to us anymore. Neither is the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost. We know how the story turns out and we know that we\u2019re on the right side of it.

But would we have been on the side of Jesus if we were there so long ago? If we had been a part of the crowd walking through Jerusalem that day, what would\u2019ve our reaction been to see and hear a bunch of men of darker skin speaking in a confusion of languages, including our own? Would we really have been among the crowd pressing in to learn more and understand what it meant? Or would\u2019ve we been among those tossing dismissive words insults?

Our reactions to the protests for justice in the US, Canada, and elsewhere in these last days may provide a clue. What thoughts have run through your head? Your heart? Across your lips to family members and friends? Across your fingers to social media and elsewhere? Are you leaning in to understand what it all means? Or has your reaction been to dismiss or insult the pleas of those seeking justice?

It\u2019s a good example to consider, because we\u2019re not always as charitable or Christian in our thoughts and language as we\u2019d like to think. Nor are we very open to engaging change or the things (like protests) that demand for change. We\u2019re often quicker to demean or dismiss than we are to lean in to learn and understand.

The Spirit\u2019s arrival was a demand for change though, and not necessarily a welcome one. Barriers of language had just been obliterated in a violent wind and flames that announced the Spirit\u2019s arrival. It left the crowd amazed and perplexed. This was not a neutral or even a happy moment. It was a confronting moment\u2014a moment that demanded people stop their lives, pay attention, and make a decision. Would they let this new reality enter into their ears, hearts, and lives and perhaps change them? Or would they dismiss it out of hand so as to hold on to their normal?

It was a further work of the Spirit to open ears, hearts, and lives to that kind of change. But that\u2019s the work the Spirit does\u2014blowing in, changing and transforming us as He conforms us to the likeness of Christ. He never leaves us where we are. The Spirit brings change.

He brings change in our world too, in the form of the kingdom of God. As Paul tells us, \u201cthe Kingdom of God is\u2026 a matter of\u2026 righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit\u201d (Romans 14:17). But righteousness\u2014or justice\u2014must come before true peace and joy. The Spirit is not interested in binding wounds lightly, saying \u201cpeace, peace\u2026 when there is no peace\u201d (Jeremiah 6:14).

So, in this time of much perplexity and amazement, how might the Spirit be blowing the winds of change that come with the Kingdom of God through our world? In what ways might He be inviting us to lean in to understand what it all means? Might He even be inviting us to join Him in this kingdom work of justice and peace?

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Looking for a place to start? Colin Watson, acting Executive Director of the CRCNA, has written the following article from his perspective, giving ideas of how to lean in and engage the often unseen rifts of race. Click/Tap here to read: "Beyond Thoughts and Prayers"