May 20, 2018

Pentecost: Change the World


Since Easter we’ve been looking at the various kinds of Change required by Easter. The Resurrection of Jesus changed the paradigm of the world, even though few noticed. Hearts and outlooks were renewed. The vision of mission was redefined. Last week we heard Jesus tell his followers to stay in Jerusalem until the coming of the Holy Spirit. On Pentecost we celebrate that amazing event. The Holy Spirit didn’t just ‘happen’ at Pentecost. The Holy Spirit has been active since the beginning. “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” (Genesis 1:1-2)

Pentecost isn’t a celebration that is the creation of the Christian church. Like many of our feasts, it has its roots in Judaism. The Jewish feast of Pentecost/Shavuot came 50 days (pente means 50) after Passover. It celebrates the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai; and is also linked to the agricultural heritage by celebrating the ‘first fruits’ of the fields. A Jewish explanation of Shavuot (Pentecost) notes that it is the GIVING of the Torah to Moses and the people that is celebrated. “giving of the Torah on Shavu'ot redeemed us spiritually from our bondage to idolatry and immorality…We are constantly in the process of receiving the Torah, that we receive it every day, but it was first given at this time. Thus it is the giving, not the receiving, that makes this holiday significant.”

In Acts 2 we learn, “When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

The Jewish celebration of Shavu’ot reminds the Jewish people that they are constantly receiving the Torah-the word of God. Pentecost, likewise reminds us that the Holy Spirit is continually being given to each of us. We are inspired and encouraged and empowered by the Spirit of the Living God. Jesus promised, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. (John 14:15-17)

The Holy Spirit, as Paul later says, “helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” (Romans 8:26-27)
The coming of the Holy Spirit was not a one-time, dramatic occurrence that only those in the Upper Room in Jerusalem experienced. The Holy Spirit is ongoing and always with us. We just have to be aware and willing to let the Spirit of God act.

How will the Holy Spirit act in your life this Pentecost season? What is God whispering in your ear and calling you to do? Is there a change of heart, outlook, mission or something else the Holy Spirit is urging you toward?

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