It’s Pentecost weekend, the weekend we celebrate the birth of the Christian church on Earth. As Martin Luther would say, “What does this mean?”
Well, on Pentecost, which is shorthand for “50 days after Easter,” we celebrate the appearance of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ followers. In the book of Acts, we are told that people were speaking in different languages and all were filled with fire. This is the prominent story of the Holy Spirit in Scripture.
And yet, while Pentecost is the day we celebrate the arrival of the Holy Spirit, it certainly is not the first time she appears in the Bible. In the very first words of the Hebrew scriptures, we hear that the Spirit moved over the water. In Matthew, the Angel Gabriel tells Mary that together with the Holy Spirit, she would bear a son. When Jesus sat with the disciples before he died, he promised to send the paraclete, the Spirit who would live and dwell in them and in us.
The Spirit lives and breathes in you. The Spirit is at work in the world, bringing God’s love and grace to all, so this weekend we celebrate the presence of the Holy Spirit and the remarkable ways in which she is at work in all creation.
Peace,
Pastor Stephanie