Just before he ascended to heaven, Jesus spoke this promise to his disciples: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’ (Acts 1:8)
Still sometimes today we don’t feel very powerful. I see too many people shrug their shoulders and say ‘what can we do?’, or ‘that’s just the way the world is going.’ I know that we’re entering the summer season, but it is also the season of the church. We are still among Jesus’ disciples, and are recipients of the very same power, the very same Holy Spirit. Sunday, May 27th this year is the celebration of Pentecost when we remember the gift of that promised Holy Spirit.
The Spirit which empowered those first disciples to face a busy, sometimes hostile, often indifferent, and very hurting world is the very same Spirit which remains in our midst today. We too face a busy, sometimes hostile, often indifferent, and very hurting world. The question for us is will we shrink from the task, wander off to lesser pursuits, just shrug our shoulders and hope that someone else will say something, or will we lay claim to that gift which God’s Spirit has placed within us.
As I write this I hear the sounds of construction equipment building a space for the ministry of ELC to expand and grow, and my prayer for myself, and all of you, is that God will create a space in our lives, our calendars, our hearts, and our homes for that Spirit to grow and flourish. We have all the gifts needed to do this by God’s Spirit. We live with the promise, but also know that the Spirit has come and continues to fill God’s Church. Remember the story of Pentecost?
… 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. (Acts 2:2)
God’s Peace,
Pastor John Twiton
