Hello Moments

We are, as you know, in the season of Pentecost - the season of the Spirit. One of the things I find myself tempted to lose sight of is what being re-connected with the Spirit means. I reckon I'm not the only one. Too often (if we think about it at all) we are tempted to associate the experience of the Spirit with the extra-ordinary rather than simply realising that to be connected to the Spirit is to be more fully connected to the ordinary…and it is that connection which makes the ordinary extraordinary. I call these experiences of connection or re-connection ‘hello’ moments.

 My oldest son, Stephen and I are Liverpool fans, and a good example of a ‘hello’ moment was when Liverpool were 3 – 0 down at half time in the Champions League Final a few years ago. Everyone thought that all was lost (including me I have to say). The second half duly got underway and within a few minutes of the restart Liverpool got a goal back. The rest, as they say, is history… they went on to win 4 – 3 and it became probably the greatest night in Liverpool Football Club’s long list of outstanding sporting achievements. I mention all this (yes there is a point!) because when that first Liverpool goal went in, the commentator made the immortal remark, ‘Hello?’ It was a single word, but it held within it a whole world of possibility.

That’s what ‘hello’ moments are. They are moments of revelation where a whole world of possibility is open to us. They are moments when we become aware of the extraordinary in the ordinary. The Spirit’s job is to get alongside us and gently nudge us in the direction of consistently saying ‘hello’ to life.


Here is that great 'hello' moment.. if you don't like football then just listen to the Liverpool Anthem, 'You'll Never Walk Alone', which, if you've ever heard it sung at Anfield, you'll recognise as another 'hello' moment.