There was a parish Bible study group that was studying personalities of the Bible. In the study guide they were asked to tell who they would like to be.

One woman said, “Ruth.” Another, “Mary.” An older man said, “King Solomon.” A young man replied, “Paul.” A young woman chimed in, saying, “I would like to be Lo.”

Everyone was puzzled, not recalling anyone named Lo in the Bible. They quizzed her on the passage. She said, “Lo, I am with you always.”

This story actually puts us into the heart of the Bible. For example, when the Hebrew people had escaped from slavery in Egypt, while they were making their way through the desert, they started to run out of food. In their anguish, they asked, “Is the Lord with us or not?”

During difficult historical moments for the nation of Israel, and in the desperate moments faced by individuals who were suffering greatly, that question was raised, time and time again: Is the Lord with us, or not?

There is an interesting fact relating to the original languages of the Bible. In the story of creation found at the beginning of Genesis, of course, we find that the language in which it was written is Hebrew.

Today, of course, we are celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit, the third person of the blessed Trinity, upon those gathered in prayer. In the original Hebrew, the word Ruah can be rendered either spirit or breath or wind. In the opening lines of the Bible we read, “In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless wasteland, and darkness covered the abyss, while a mighty wind swept over the waters” (Gen 1:1-2). God’s creative Spirit was at work creating the universe.

In the story of Pentecost in the Acts of the Apostles we read, “Suddenly from up in the sky there came a noise like a strong, driving wind which was heard all through the house” (Acts 2:2). God’s Spirit was at work once again, creating anew, re-creating the community for its mission of changing the world.

This Solemnity of Pentecost brings the fifty days of the Easter Season to completion. The gospel reading thus takes us back to Easter, with the risen Jesus appearing to the disciples in the locked room, showing them the wounds of his crucifixion, and declaring, “Peace be with you.”

And then, he says it again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” The text then explains, “And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained.’”

So, we find all these images for the powerful, explosive creative energy of God: Spirit, wind, and breath. God wants to be the wind beneath our wings, as close to us as every breath we take, the Holy Spirit that motivates, inspires, helps us to forgive, and teaches us how to love.

Let us complete this Easter season in a personal way by asking the Holy Spirit to come upon as anew, setting lukewarm souls on fire, so that we might re-create our world to become more welcoming and forgiving, filled with justice, and working for peace. Otherwise, the promise of Easter is only a memory.