mySundaySermons

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. Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. And at this sound, the crowd gathered and was bewildered because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—in our languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.” [NRSA]

Today, we gather in the Spirit to remember and celebrate the day when the Holy Spirit descended like a consuming fire upon the apostles, filling them with divine wisdom and empowering them to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth.

The same spirit moved over the face of the waters in creation, bringing order out of chaos. The same spirit that leads Israel as a flame in the years wondering through the wilderness journey. The same Spirit that surrounds and fills us now.

So what does Pentecost mean to us today, living in an era of advanced science and technology filled with skepticism, cynicism, and doubt? How can we invite and receive the Holy Spirit into our own lives? These are challenging questions, but the answers are not complex. It is in these spaces that the Holy Spirit finds room to ignite and move us.

Acts 2:2-3 says, “Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them.” Today, we, too, find ourselves yearning for that Holy Fire, that divine intervention, that miraculous and profound transformation within our soul and in our time.

But what is the nature of this Fire? It is not a destructive flame. It’s a fire that refines, purifies, enlightens, and enkindles hearts aflame with divine love. It’s a fire that shatters our preconceptions, disrupts our complacency, and calls us to a deeper, bolder, more radical discipleship.

The fire of the Holy Spirit is not only meant for our comfort but for our:

• conversion,
• transformation, and
• empowerment by God, for God.

Indeed, the Holy Spirit is the life-breath of the Church. Without the Spirit, our words are mere noise, our actions empty gestures, and our faith a lifeless shell. But with the Spirit, our words become prophetic, our efforts significant, and our faith alive and active.

As friends in Christ, I challenge you today to open your hearts to the Holy Spirit as we celebrate this Pentecost. To invite the Spirit into your life not as a passive observer but as an active participant. To be willing to be led where you did not plan to go, to speak words you did not plan to say, and to be a person you did not intend to be.

The theme of Pentecost is not simply remembrance but enactment and embodiment. We remember the apostles, cloistered in the upper room, filled with uncertainty, doubt, and fear. And then we see them, empowered by the Spirit, stepping boldly into the streets of Jerusalem, preaching the Gospel in languages they didn’t know. This spiritual transformation is a blueprint for our spiritual journey.

This Pentecost Sunday, I urge you to step out of our upper rooms – our comfort zones, familiarity, and safety – and step into the unknown. I challenge you to embrace the fire of the Spirit, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it’s challenging, even when it’s terrifying.

Embracing the Spirit means embracing love and the law of God, and love is never safe but always transformative. It means loving the unlovable, forgiving the unforgivable, and entrusting our hope in the word of God. It means being a beacon of light amid the darkness, a voice of truth in lies, and a vessel of love and truth in the face of hate and fear.

As we stand on the brink of a new Pentecost, let’s invite the Holy Spirit to ignite us anew, to fill us with divine love, wisdom, courage, and power. Let’s be willing to be disrupted, transformed, and sent forth.

May we all be ignited by the fire of Pentecost, filled with the Holy Spirit, and be agents of transforming the world, that desperately needs it, into the Kingdom of God. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

 

Prayer, come Holy Spirit and breath your breathe on us here, and now. So that might become the disciples and witnesses the world needs to see, hear, and experience in these days of chaos and uncertainty. Call us out of our comfortable hiding places and send us into an angry and hurting world.

• Be our foundation when all is crumbling.
• Be our voice when we have no words
• Be our witness when we clamor for normalcy.
• Be our life and hope, today. Amen.