Schwarzenegger had “I’ll Be Back”

Eastwood had “Make My Day”

But my favorite catchphrase comes from none other than Keanu Reeves, and it goes like this:

“Whoa”.

Can you picture him saying it?

He’s uttered those fabulous four letters in the Bill and Ted movies, and Speed, and Point Break, and the Devil’s Advocate, and even The Matrix!

So what, exactly, does Keanu mean when he says Whoa?

Certainly he’s not slowing down a horse.

No, I think that little word means something like this:  “I am awe-inspired and/or overwhelmed by what is happening, and I need a moment.”

Sound about right?

Keanu says it a lot.  But how often do you?

Personally, I think he’s on to something.

I think it’s a perfect way to acknowledging the presence of the Holy Spirit!

Remember Paul on the road to Damascus?  Whoa.
Elijah in the cleft of the mountain? Whoa.
Hagar in the desert? Whoa.
Shepherds at the manger? Whoa.
Moses and the burning bush?  Whoa.

And of course, the biggest Woah moment of all:  Pentecost.  WHOA!!!

One doesn’t just jump and go to work when the tongues of fire appear and the mighty wind begins to rush.

No, it doesn’t mention it in scriptures, but I firmly believe

that those disciples gasped in amazement,

a reverent moment of “Whoa”

before the Spirit said “Go”.

And so we must be on the lookout, because the Spirit has not left.

In good times and bad, there is so much to “Whoa and Behold”.

It is the ever-present Power of the Holy Spirit

that reveals the extraordinary around us and in us,

on every Excellent Adventure,

(And every Bogus Journey, too.)

 

Have a great week,

Mitch