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Finding Joy in Pentecost


One would think it would be a simple thing; to find joy in the celebration of Pentecost.  After all, it is a celebration.  We celebrate the birth of the Church, the ending of the story.  But we should not and dare not forget the beginning of this particular part of the New Testament story.

Pentecost begins with a small group of shell-shocked, frightened followers of Jesus.   They saw Jesus killed!  Then they heard the incredible stories that he has risen.  Many had witnessed seen Jesus alive and believed.  But what now?

They still struggled with what all this meant to their immediate future.  What happens now?  What are they supposed to do with this incredible information?  It was a case of double shock for these leftover followers.  They have witnessed death and resurrection.  No wonder they were dazed, confused, and waiting; not sure what to do next. 

It took the breath of the Holy Spirit to ignite the passion of Christ within those disciples turning those dazed and afraid believers into the foundation of the Church of Jesus Christ. And the world would never be the same.

It is the gift of the Holy Spirit that ignites our lives with the passion of Christ and transforms us into movers and shakers for Christ.  We become “doer of the word and not hearers only.”  We become the Christ’s Church in the world today.

That is good news, but I believe it gets better. 

Often, perhaps more often that any of us would care to admit, we find our spirit fire waning. We experience times of confusion.  We experience times when we feel lost.  We experience times when we are not sure what to do next. Our Spirit fire is weakened by the smoke of this world. The same gift of the Holy Spirit wind that touched the lives of those hiding disciples is available to us.  It comes like a blast of air to clear away the smoke and fan the flames of our Spirit, renewing our energy and passion. 


There is joy in Pentecost.  It is a celebration of the birth of the Church of Jesus Christ and the promise of a renewing, reviving, refreshing burst of purpose and passion energy for our spirits, our churches, our communities, and our world. 

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