A Meditation for Pentecost in 2026

What a gift it is to be present with someone. When we share presence, a special kind of unspoken knowing can happen. There is a level of knowing that exists beyond words. I’ve seen this celebrated when people are incredibly ‘in sync.’ Across the many books of the Bible, the presence of God takes many forms. There are divine voices, pillars of fire and smoke, wild animals that speak, prophets that sometimes live like wild animals, and finally the incarnation of Jesus. God took on a body that was human like mine. Jesus is fully divine and fully human. He chose to enter into the experience of being human, and here God became present with us in a new way. 

Over the years I’ve heard many people wish they could recline at the table with Jesus and share a meal or walk from village to village listening to Him speak. I, too, have longed for these moments with Jesus. I cannot imagine what it would have felt like for His disciples and friends to have Him with them again after the resurrection. I would have had so many questions. It turns out they had very little time. For the presence of God with them was about to change again. They would become the first to experience the presence of God with us, like I do.

The incarnation of God in Christ ascended to be with the Father, and the Holy Spirit was sent. The Holy Spirit is like Jesus and is the full divinity of God. Yet, the Spirit of God has come to dwell within me. This is a new kind of presence with God. It is far more mysterious than Jesus being with people. At least you know you are seeing someone. How do I see the Spirit within me? How do I learn to see the ways that our two spirits move and twist together? What does the unseen have to do with all I see?

There was a time I was really confident in how I might answer these questions. With each passing year, God has helped my heart and spirit become softer. My body is getting older, weaker, and less resilient. I’ve given and received love from friends and strangers and watched friends become people I used to know. Through all this, the Spirit of God has been with me and within me. God has not kept me from all the sorrow, pain, joy, longing, and loss, but He has been present with me every moment. When I can’t grasp what is happening to feel it or speak it, the Holy Spirit is with me.

The Spirit of God invites me, just as Jesus invited those with Him, to love God, and love those around them. The Spirit waits for me in the boundlessness of prayer, silence, relationships, scripture, and all of creation. The One who is infinite and transcendent knows the boundlessness of my depths and the edges of the cosmos. God is with us. Let us be present with God.

May you sense and cherish the presence of the Holy Spirit with you today and always.

Readings for Penecost · Year A

Sunday readings from the Revised Common Lectionary

Photo Credit
Paul Prins on 14 April 2026 in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.