"Pentecost"

Fifty days after the Passover Festival in Jerusalem, the Feast of Pentecost was celebrated by the Jewish community.  It is also known as the Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks.

At the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-13), there was a dramatic outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The number fifty points to a harvest when Jews bore baskets of grain to the Temple to thank the Lord for their success. The Acts 2 event describes the 120 faithful followers of Jesus receiving a visitation of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit descends on these people apart from their deserving. There was nothing staged about it.

What an outburst! There was the sound of a violent wind. There were tongues of fire, the fire of Jesus’ love poured out by the Holy Spirit for us and the proclamation of God’s Word in a variety of tongues. The result? Three thousand joined the Church that day. Now, that’s evangelism!

There are three radiant festivals of the Christian faith; Christmas, Easter and Pentecost. Pentecost is a reminder that the Trinity consists of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Another view suggests God revealed as Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer.

The work of the Holy Spirit is not always linear, logical and rational. The Spirit affirms, convicts, disciplines and directs. We are not locked-in. We can dream holy dreams.  There are no limits to God’s revelations.

The Holy Spirit is not only our comforter but also our disturber. The Holy Spirit is not ours to command but ours to receive. The Holy Spirit transforms what we ought to do into what we want to do.

Question…could it be that our cooperation is necessary for the Holy Spirit to act transformationally?

“Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.”

Blessings!