Sunday, May 23, 2010
Day of Pentecost
Midweek Musings
Reflection by Ken Klassen
INTRODUCTION
Pentecost is a day of promises fulfilled. The promised Spirit of God is poured out. The baptized have become "children of God" and "joint heirs with Christ." By the power of the Spirit we have seen the face of the Father in his only begotten Son and been saved by him. Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Prayer of the Day (ELW)
God our creator, the resurrection of your Son offers life to all the peoples of earth.
By your Holy Spirit, kindle in us the fire of your love, empowering our lives for service and our tongues for praise, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
First
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples they would be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, surrounded by signs of fire, wind, and a variety of languages in their midst, the people were amazed and astonished at Jesus' promise coming true.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in
14But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. 16No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
17'In the last days it will be, God declares,
that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,
and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions,
and your old men shall dream dreams.
18Even upon my slaves, both men and women,
in those days I will pour out my Spirit;and they shall prophesy.
19And I will show portents in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist.
20The sun shall be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day.
21Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'
Psalm (ELW) Psalm 104:24–34, 35b
Send forth your Spirit and renew the face of the earth. (Ps. 104:30)
24How manifold are your | works, O LORD!
In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full | of your creatures.
25Yonder is the sea, great and wide, with its swarms too man- | y to number,
living things both | small and great.
26There go the ships | to and fro,
and Leviathan, which you made for the | sport of it.
27All of them | look to you
to give them their food | in due season.
28You give it to them; they | gather it;
you open your hand, and they are filled | with good things.
29When you hide your face, | they are terrified;
when you take away their breath, they die and return | to their dust.
30You send forth your Spirit, and they | are created;
and so you renew the face | of the earth.
31May the glory of the LORD en- | dure forever;
O LORD, rejoice in | all your works.
32You look at the earth | and it trembles;
you touch the mountains | and they smoke.
33I will sing to the LORD as long | as I live;
I will praise my God while I | have my being.
34May these words of | mine please God.
I will rejoice | in the LORD.
35Bless the LORD, | O my soul.
Hal- | lelujah!
Second Reading Romans 8:14–17
Here Paul speaks about the mystery of baptism: through the Holy Spirit we are claimed, gathered, and welcomed into Christ's body, the church. And we receive new names in our adoption: brother, sister, child of God.
14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" 16it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ — if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
Gospel John 14:8–17 [25–27]
Though the disciples struggle with Jesus' nature and identity, they receive the promise that they too will be identified with God and God's mission. Though he must leave them now, Jesus promises the coming of the Advocate whom God will send to comfort and enlighten them.
8Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied." 9Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? 10Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. 12Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. 13I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
15If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. 17This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
25I have said these things to you while I am still with you. 26But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. 27Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
Reflection
Our First Reading is from the book of Acts and it describes the Day of Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit. A picture is sketched of a sound like a violent wind, tongues of fire, and a general sense of bewilderment. Everyone at this event is speaking in another language “as the Spirit enabled them.” As I read verse 12, I too ask “What does this mean?” Perhaps I’m not amazed, but I am perplexed. Then Peter explains that it is the fulfillment of a prophecy from Joel. Aaaah! So I read the prophecy and I understand a little more, but I’m still confused.
I believe Verse 12 is there for a reason. Not only does it tell me that on that Day the question was asked, “What does this mean?”, it also tells me that it’s OK that I don’t understand everything from the Holy Spirit. If we take a step back and look again at the sketch, we see that even the full introductory presence of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost didn’t give everyone that was there a complete or even a common understanding. The Holy Spirit spoke and to some it wasn’t in their language. To others the words were heard, but not everyone understood the same exact meaning. Today I can hear the Holy Spirit and I don’t always understand what it means, but that’s OK because I recognize the Spirit and it’s a comfort just to hear it.
Prayer
- Grace and calm to accept that not everything is understandable
- continuing wisdom for President Obama
- all those who serve our country and work for peace
- the sick, the suffering, and those in need
Quote
The "problem" with life is always, "What does this mean?" And that, in a nut shell is what the last 2,000 years have been about. David Ewart
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