Today is the Day of Pentecost, sometimes called the Birthday of the Church. The church remembers the coming of the Holy Spirit, as promised by Jesus. Acts 2:1-4 says, 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 Gospel reading from John 20:19-23 gives the account of a post-Resurrection giving of the Spirit to the apostles. Jesus commissions them saying, Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Then he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
It's not just those first followers that receive the Spirit.
As the Epistle (1 Corinthians 12:3b-13) says, all gifts come from God’s Spirit
and in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews
or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. We
are all inheritors and bearers of God’s Spirit to do God’s work.
The Psalm for today is a portion of Psalm 104. God’s works
are extolled and then the Psalmist exalts, You send forth your Spirit, and
they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth. Looking around the
world today, we could make a laundry list of things that need to be renewed. From
violence to climate to injustice to simply the latest disaster on the evening
news, there is a lot that seems amiss in the world.
The good news is: God has sent forth God’s Spirit to renew
all.
The good news is: God has given humanity that Spirit.
The good news is: we are each empowered by God’s Spirit.
The news we may not want to hear is that, in and with
God’s Spirit we are the ones who can renew the face of the earth.
The Epistle notes, there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and
there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of
activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To
each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. We
are each called to use our gifts for the common good.
We don’t have the same gifts, but each of us has gifts from
the Spirit that can be used to further God’s Love and bring about renewal. This
isn’t anything we can do on our own or in our own power. Only because of and in
and through God’s Spirit can this happen. Because God is active in the world
through the Spirit we can respond with the Psalmist, I will sing to Adonai as
long as I live, sing praise to my God all my life…Bless Adonai, my soul! Halleluyah!
What God-given gift do you use to renew your part of the
earth?
What can you do to encourage others to use their God-given gifts?
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Psalm 104:25-35,37 25 O Lord, how
manifold are your works! in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of
your creatures. (Book of Common Prayer) |
What variety
there is in your works, Adonai! How many [of them there are]! In wisdom you
have made them all; the earth is full of your creations. All of them
look to you to give them their food when they need it.
(Complete Jewish Bible) |
