This week’s Reflections was written by Mark Johnsen, pastor at the Brookings United Church of Christ

Psalm 19:1-2

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skies proclaim the work of God’s hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech;

night after night they reveal knowledge.

This last Sunday was the Christian holiday of Pentecost which occurs each year 50 days after our celebration of Easter.

And the date of Easter itself varies depending upon celestial events. It lands on the first Sunday after the first full moon, on or after the Spring equinox (which is between March 19 and 21 depending on the year). In the Old Testament the Jewish celebration of Pentecost was connected to the Feast of Harvest, which occurred 50 days after the first day of Passover. But in the New Testament (and for Christians today) Pentecost represents the day that the Holy Spirit came upon the believers who were gathered that day in Jerusalem. The book of Acts tells us, “what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them.”

When I think about the imagery of that day, it caused me to think about the events of a few weeks ago. Many of you may have been able to witness the amazing northern lights that appeared around the world, but especially in the northern hemisphere. Now we know through science that northern lights are caused by solar flares from our sun, but that doesn’t make them any less remarkable. On one evening, my wife and I drove west and south of Brookings to get away from the city lights and were able to view an amazing show. The green lights would appear in the shape of a cloud and then disappear within a few seconds. Then a few seconds later, it appeared that God was swiping a hand to make another blaze of light across the sky.

So as I reflect upon these two recent events, they both reflect the glory of God, and it is through the skies that the evidence and work of God is proclaimed. For the people who were filled by the Holy Spirit on that first Pentecost after the resurrection of Jesus, this was evident through the various languages which were spoken by those with no prior knowledge of them. And for us today, something like the northern lights continue to pour forth the speech of God’s amazing creation, while the Holy Spirit continues to reveal knowledge to us, which we need to guide us on our journey through life.

May we all continue to seek, and listen, and see, all of the ways that God is still speaking.