“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1. 8)
On Sunday May the 28th the church celebrates Pentecost. After the overwhelming excitement of Easter Pentecost sometimes seems like a minor event. But Pentecost is a key moment in the history of the Christian faith, it is when the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples and empowered them to preach the good news of the risen Christ. (Acts 2. 1-21) After Jesus’ death the disciples were hidden away, behind closed doors. Luke in the Acts of the Apostles tells us that the disciples were all in one place, when the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they went out and witnessed to the people in Jerusalem, who had gathered there for the feast of Pentecost. I am always impressed with the difference, in Peter after the Holy Spirit has come upon the disciples, this was the man who denied Jesus three times, a frightened man. But renewed by the power of the Holy Spirit he becomes a bold and courageous preacher. But it wasn’t just Peter, the other disciples too, were empowered in a new way to witness to the life-giving good news of Jesus.
On Pentecost, God made it clear what Christs followers should do with the news of Jesus Christ: share it with others. And not just with the Jewish communities in which they lived; it became plain that the Gospel message was not confined to one
community, nation, ethnicity, or language. It was after Pentecost that the disciples took the gospel to other nations.
Pentecost is when the Christian church received, and was empowered to carry out, it’s God given mission. For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes referred to as the “birthday of the Christian church.” The mission given to Christians on Pentecost still stands, thousands of years later. We are to share the saving message of Jesus Christ with the world—and as we do so, we should rely on the presence of the Holy Spirit, who empowered the early church to share the gospel, and continues to do so today. As Christians we’re privileged to have the Holy Spirit available to us to guide us and strengthen us.
A Pentecost Prayer. God of power, may the boldness of your Spirit transform us, may the gentleness of your Spirit lead us, may the gifts of your Spirit. be our goal and our strength, now and always. Amen...
with every blessing…
Rev Paul
