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How Great is the
Gift
Pentecost: “in the Christian church is the anniversary of the
coming of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus ascended, he instructed his disciples
to remain in Jerusalem until they should receive power from on high. As a
group of 120 were praying in an upper room in Jerusalem fifty days after his
death, the Holy Spirit descended upon them …. This tremendous manifestation
of divine power marked the beginning of the church, which has ever since
regarded Pentecost as its birthday.”
This month, May 27th, we will remember and
celebrate Pentecost, the birthday of the Christian church. And as is the
tradition on birthdays a gift is given to the person whose birthday we
celebrate. In this case the birthday is ours and we receive the great gift
of God’s Holy Spirit given in Jesus’ name (John 14:26).
A little more study is appropriate to learn more fully why
God would give us this great gift.
On the Jewish calendar Pentecost was the fiftieth day after
Passover; it was the culmination of the Feast of Weeks. You can read about
the Feast of Weeks in Deuteronomy 16:9-12, Leviticus 23:15-22 and Exodus
34:22. You will notice in those readings the feast culminates with a
thanksgiving offering to the Lord with specific instructions to not forget
the poor and marginalized in society; widows, orphans and resident aliens.
With these instructions comes the commandment, “This is a statute forever in
all your settlements throughout your generations” (Leviticus 23:21).
The New Testament tells us of the New Covenant in Christ. A
covenant is a deal or contract made between at least two parties who agree
to abide by the rules of the contract. In the Old Covenant the parties were
God and the people of Israel, in the New Covenant the parties are God and
you.
This New Covenant is revealed through the life and word of
Jesus the Christ. Using good old-fashioned religious language we say this
new covenant in Jesus is the salvation of the world. Using a little more
secular language we say the deal with God in Jesus teaches us how and
empowers us to live together in peace.
The lessons of how-to live in peace and the power to do the
same comes with the fulfillment of the promise of Jesus to his disciples
that they would “receive power from on high.” That power from on high is the
blessing of God’s Holy Spirit––God fulfilling God’s end of the covenant.
So what is your end of the deal? Jesus said, “If you love me,
you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give
you another advocate to be with you forever” (John 14:15). What are Jesus’
commandments? In the New Covenant our part of the deal is to love.
Jesus commands us to love God, love our neighbor (Matthew
22:34-40) and to love them as he did (John 13:34). Jesus distilled all of
the Old Covenant requirements into one: Love. When we do that we fulfill our
end of the contract with God and God fulfills the divine end of the
contract. We are given the gift of the Spirit!
It is in the Spirit that we receive all we need to live in
and make peace in our families, our communities and the world. Jesus said,
the Spirit “will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said
to you” (John 14:26).
It is in the Spirit that we can perform the miracles of
healing and reconciliation which the world so desperately needs to make
peace (John 14:12-13).
It is in the Spirit that we will have the very mind of
Christ. (Philippians 2:5) and be one with God as Jesus was one with God.
(John 17:20-21).
In the Feast of Weeks the people of Israel made a gift or
offering to God thanking God for the great blessings they received. In the
Christian Pentecost when we make our offering love, God gifts us with God’s
very self! What a wonderful reason to celebrate.
In the Old Covenant Moses complicated God’s law with all the
detailed rules and regulations we find in the Pentateuch. To be fair to
Moses I imagine he did that in response to all the “what-ifs” the people of
Israel asked him. “What-if I do this?” and What-if I do that?” and “What-if
they do it to me?”
In the New Covenant Jesus took all those what-ifs to the
cross, disposed of them and replaced them with one commandment to love. God
gifts us with God’s self so we can love.
It is evident that we love pretty well at St. John’s UCC for
we are blessed with the Spirit. We witness God’s hand at work daily and we
see miracles happen.
Come celebrate with us on our birthday! Come be one with God
in Christ with us!
Still in One Peace,
pastor john
ps.
The Scripture readings for Pentecost Sunday are: Acts 2:1-21
with Psalm 104:24-35 and Romans 8:14-17 and John 14:8-17, 25-27.
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