The Day of Pentecost
A blessed Pentecost, friends!
At the Ascension Jesus gave us, his followers, a great task -- to go to all the world, proclaiming with our lives and words the Gospel to all people, everywhere. At Pentecost, He empowered with His own Spirit to accomplish this task. At Pentecost, we get to act out with our everyday lives what the Holy Family embodied at Epiphany, the good news that the gift of Christ is for all people. All of the longing, doubt, grief, and the sins of the world we held up in the dark nights of Advent and Lent, all of the bright hope and relief that resurrected to life with the Risen Christ is channeled into this great movement of Spirit and Church at Pentecost.
The movement of Pentecost is lit for outward projection, the great current of Spirit moves us toward all people, in every nation, everywhere. Some of us send, some of us go, and all of us move toward the peoples of all nations. This is is - our one task, our one job until we are reunited with Christ.
Look: Some of the magnificent stained glass inside the Cosmovitral, Toluca, Mexico. Leopoldo Flores and sixty artisans worked from 1978 to 1980 to create more than 3,200 square meters of stained glass art that surrounds the walls and ceilings at the Cosmovitral.- Source
Listen: One in the Spirit, Ruth Naomi Floyd - YouTube | Spotify
I made us a new playlist for Pentecost! You can listen to it here: Pentecost 2021: Holy Spirit Rain Down
Read: Acts 2:1-11; Ps 104:24-35v; 1 Corinthians 12:4-13; John 14:8-17
I’ll post daily readings for the week between Pentecost Sunday and Trinity Sunday.
Pray: Book of Common Prayer, Collect for Day of Pentecost
Almighty God, on this day, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, you revealed the way of eternal life to every race and nation: Pour out this gift anew, that by the preaching of the Gospel your salvation may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Do: The Church has long used the symbols of fire, wind, and water to represent the power given to us by the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Today would be a great day to light candles, host a bonfire or walk around a body of water (a location with waterfalls would be even better!)In the spirit of today’s reading in 1 Corinthians 12:4-13, might I recommend that during your walk or bonfire or lunch you share stories of the moments you knew God’s power was working in you?
I’ve been sharing in-depth stories in the Stories blog membership. If you’re not a Stories member, I invite you to subscribe to read a series of Resurrection Stories I’m writing this month and next.