Pentecost

There are many topics that would be suitable for a Pentecost sermon: God dwells in people, God gives spiritual unity, God gives new identity, God writes his law in our hearts, God reconciles people to themselves and many more. One theme that has been spreading in my thoughts for Pentecost preparation this year is based on what Jesus said what the Holy Spirit would do after he rose and went to heaven.

“He will reveal my glory; for what he will preach to you, he will receive from me ”(John 16,14 NGÜ). There is a lot in that one sentence. We know that the Spirit within us is working to convince us that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. We also know through revelation that Jesus is our older brother who loves us unconditionally and has reconciled us to our Father. Another way the Spirit fulfills what Jesus said is through his inspiration on how we can carry the good news through in our relationships with others.

A good example of this is when we read about the birth of the New Testament Church on Pentecost, ten days after Jesus' Ascension. Jesus told his disciples to wait for this day and the events that would happen that day: “And when he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, you had heard from me” (Acts of the Apostles 1,4).

By following Jesus' instructions, the disciples were able to testify to the coming of the Holy Spirit with all his might. In the Acts of the Apostles 2,1-13 is told about it and about the gift they received that day, just as Jesus promised them. First there was a sound of a great wind, then tongues of fire, and then the Spirit showed its miraculous power by giving the disciples a special gift to preach the story of Jesus and the gospel. Most, perhaps all of the disciples, spoke miraculously. The people who heard it were fascinated and amazed at the story of Jesus because they heard it in their own language from people who were considered uneducated and uncultivated (Galileans). Some of the crowd made fun of these events, claiming that the disciples were drunk. Such scoffers still exist today. The disciples were not humanly drunk (and it would be a misinterpretation of Scripture to claim that they were spiritually drunk).

We find Peter's words to the assembled crowd in the Acts of the Apostles 2,14-41. He declared the authenticity of this miraculous event in which language barriers were supernaturally removed as a sign that all people are now united together in Christ. As a sign of God's love for all people and his desire that all of them, including people from other countries and nations, belong to him. The Holy Spirit made this message possible in these people's mother tongues. Even today, the Holy Spirit enables the good news of Jesus Christ to be passed on in ways that are relevant and accessible to all. He enables ordinary believers to bear testimony of his message in such a way as to reach the hearts of those whom God calls to him. Thereby the Holy Spirit refers people to Jesus, the Lord of the universe, who lets light shine on everything and everyone in this cosmos. In the Creed of Nicaea in AD 325 Chr. we only find a brief statement on the Holy Spirit: "We believe in the Holy Spirit". Although this creed speaks much of God as Father and God as Son, we should not conclude that the authors of the creed were neglecting the Holy Spirit. There is a reason for the relative anonymity of spirit in the Nicene Creed. The theologian Kim Fabricius writes in one of his books that the Holy Spirit is the self-humble anonymous member of the Trinity. As the Holy Spirit of Father and Son, he is not looking for his own honor, but is anxious to glorify the Son, who in turn glorifies the Father. The spirit does this, among other things, when it inspires, enables and accompanies us to continue and fulfill the mission of Jesus in our world today. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus does the meaningful work and at the same time invites us to participate in it in the same way, for example by us making friends with, encouraging, helping and spending time with people as he did (and continues to do). When it comes to mission, he's the heart surgeon and we are his nurses. If we take part in this joint operation with him, we will experience the joy of what he is doing and fulfill his mission to the people. Nothing in the Hebrew scriptures or in the religious tradition of first century Judaism would have the disciples on the unique and prepare for the dramatic arrival of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Nothing in the symbol of the bread dough (used by the Jews on the Feast of Unleavened Bread) could have led the disciples to the Holy Spirit making them speak in other languages ​​to enable them to express the good news that day to pass on and to overcome linguistic boundaries. On the day of Pentecost, God actually did something new. 2,16f.) - a truth that was far more important and meaningful than the miracle of speaking in tongues.

In Jewish thought, the idea of ​​the last days has been associated with the many Old Testament prophecies of the coming of the Messiah and the kingdom of God. Peter said that a new time had come. We call them the time of grace and truth, the church age or the time of the new covenant in spirit. Since Pentecost, after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, God is acting in this world in a new way. Pentecost still reminds us of this truth today. We do not celebrate Pentecost like an old celebration of a covenant with God. Celebrating what God has done for us this day is not part of the church tradition - not just of our denomination but of many others as well.

At Pentecost, we celebrate the redemptive acts of God in the last days, when a deeper working of the Holy Spirit renews us, transforms and equips us to become his disciples. - Those disciples who carry on the good news in words and deeds, in a small and sometimes great way, all to the glory of our God and Redeemer - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I remember a quote from John Chrysostom. Chrysostom is a Greek word meaning "gold mouth". This nickname came from his wonderful way of preaching.

He said, “Our whole life is a festival. When Paul said "Let us celebrate the feast" (1. Corinthians 5,7f.), he did not mean Passover or Pentecost. He said that every time is a festival for Christians ... For what good has not already happened? The Son of God became a man for you. He delivered you from death and called you to a kingdom. Haven't you received good things - and are you still getting them? All they can do is hold a festival for their entire life. Do not leave anyone down because of poverty, disease, or hostility. It's a festival, everything - your whole life! ”.

by Joseph Tkach


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