Is God a Dragon - Pentecost

Words & spoken by Aux-Lieutenant Rosy Keane Music by Captain Gareth MacDonald Transcript: How am I to understand refining when I am not a silversmith? In fact, burnt food stuffs in ovens are probably the closest I've ever got to it. If I'm honest, I'm not even sure I understand the allegory but I do speak the language of the gospel story and of hard-won glory and of trials, of trials and of testing. In fact, I'm tensing just thinking about it, but wait, how am I to understand Pentecost? Pentecost, meaning 50th, the celebration of the harvest of the new grain. When Jesus, you were the slain bread of new life, milled under the weight of our sin, ground into dust, covered in oil, cut with a knife, sprinkled with just the right amount of vinegar, chef's kiss. And this feast fit for queens and servant kings and misfits. Oh, the cost of this offered broken loaf, of this prophet's spoken oath, and the possibility for us to become sinless. But wait, how am I to understand this? Tongues of fire and rushing wind, when flames are for fearing and roaring is for deafening. But you here instead are a purification, a restoration and a reckoning with ears opening and tongues loosing. When Babel was erected, it brought only confusion and we became rebel, babbling illusions, tongues of ashes to ashes, dust to dust until your atonement came down and he made himself low for us. And now the hard scrabble sinners and saints speak Holy Spirit unanimous, but wait, how am I to speak this mother tongue? Are you a fire-breathing dragon? You spoke and the stars erupted, death was interrupted, and the one voice we made clear, you are one. One heartbeat, the king of hearts who beat death in a single royal flush. But wait, how, when I am not a necklace, can you process out all my impurity? It's more precious than silver or rubies, your victory over my infirmity, because your fire does not consume these tender hands, this tender heart. Burning bushman speaking in a fresh start to Moses, did his toes catch fire? He was not burnt up and I am not burnt up. So I will accept this invitation that you sent out to all people and every nation willed by you who birthed me. Consuming love, who's refining new earthly creation fire burns without destroying. Wind that blows their sailors to their mooring, little ships, let it be holy. That all might come and speak and seek and see in one language of Jesus' name and Christ glory.