|
PENTECOST. Christmas, Easter, and PENTECOST are important Holy Days for Christians. PENTECOST is the “birth-day” of the Chrisitan Church. Birthdays are thankful times, intimate connection with family and friends who offer affirmation in times of joys, and willingness to offer encouragement and support when there is discouragement or even failure. Birthdays have a way of remembering the past yet looking forward to a future of a limitless potentials of love and peace.
PENTECOST is celebrated by both Jews and Christians, connected, to explain the “Mighty Acts of God.” It remembers actions of what God has done and confirms what God continues to do for the saving and transformation of God’s people and the creation. The Jewish PENTECOST called “Shavuot” concludes Passover remembering the day when God gave the Torah (scripture) to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai over 3,000 years ago. Today, Jews offer prayers, read passages from the Torah, and eat dairy products to be reminded that their ancestors did not have time to prepare meats according to its laws.
The Christian PENTECOST remembers the birth of the Christian Church almost 1900 years ago. In Acts 2 we read about the birthing of the church in Jerusalem when “…suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:3). John writes that each person could hear people speaking the Christian message in their native language. Amazed and perplexed, some wondered, “’What does this mean?’ But others sneered and said, ‘They are filled with new wine.’” (vs. 12-13).
PENTECOST celebrates a new start of God making things new again and again for God’s faith communities. Fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus, God emboldened and equipped the first community of Chrisitans with the power of God’s Holy Spirit. The PENTECOSTAL Spirit continues today as God’s Spirit offers the world the power of transformation and change in people’s lives to find God’s peace alive in the world. The church today is called to bring peace, justice, welcome, and love to make the world as God intends it to be. It is visions, dreams, and prophecies that become realities of justice, forgiveness, and transformation on earth that “begins with me,” asking for forgiveness and forgiving others. BLESSINGS ALWAYS.
| 
