On this day of Pentecost, we remember how God affirmed his work
among all who believe by the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. It is only through
God that we can “live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Through the Easter season we’ve looked at the ways God
calls and empowers us individually to live into the fullness of our story,
which is part of God’s grand story. At my daughter’s house there is a
lovely crocheted throw. It started out as a skein of yarn and a needle. For a
long time, it didn’t look like anything, then gradually the pattern started to
emerge. So it is with us, we think there is no pattern to our life, and then we
take time to look back and realize that there is indeed a design starting to
form. It’s the beauty that God saw in us from the beginning!
Jesus promises that God will be with us. “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 forever. 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)
Where can you see God’s story intersecting your story? Is it
in the way God provides a job or money? Do you see God in the ways you love
your family and they love you?
The Collect in the Book of Common Prayer for Pentecost says:
“Almighty God, on this day you opened the way of eternal life to every race and
nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit: Shed abroad this gift
throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to
the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with
you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”
Ask God how you can be part of preaching the Gospel. A quote
often attributed to St. Francis says, “Preach the Gospel always, if necessary,
use words”. Think about what ways you preach the Good News through your life
and actions.
Next week starts what is sometimes called ‘Ordinary
Time’-the season of Pentecost, which extends until the First Sunday in Advent. It’s
a time of growing and deepening our spirits in God. It’s an important season in
the cycle of the church seasons. Let’s take time to deepen our faith roots this
summer. Join me on this blog for sharing some thoughts and ideas as I try to
see the new pattern God is working in my life as we look at some of the women of faith recognized by the Episcopal Church as seminal workers in the Kingdom.
