Pastor Devin Strong, Spirit of Peace Lutheran

There are three major yearly festivals on the Christian calendar. We know all about Christmas and Easter. Some say that’s because the culture has invaded our Christian observances with its commercialization. There is certainly plenty of that surrounding our sacred days. But, in truth, believers co-opted the existing winter solstice and spring equinox traditions and brought Christian meaning to them, using these days to celebrate Jesus’ birth and resurrection. Pretty smart believers, if you ask me!

We haven’t been nearly so lucky with the third annual Christian festival: Pentecost.

Biblically speaking, the first Pentecost did happen at the existing Spring Harvest Festival in Jerusalem, but we Americans don’t have a late spring holiday that we can attach to. Maybe that’s why so few of us know much about Pentecost, observed on Sunday, June 8th this year.

Pentecost is all about the Holy Spirit—some call it the spirit of the risen Jesus— showing up and spilling out over all the gathered believers. With Pentecost the apostles find courage and enthusiasm that they never had before.

Peter, who once was scared to admit that he knew Jesus, finds the guts to preach publicly, others participate in the healing of sick folks, and almost everybody is incredibly generous. God is on the loose, and Jesus’ church is launched. How can we not celebrate Pentecost with the same energy as Christmas and Easter? My fear is that the culture does not know Pentecost because it has rarely seen Christians behaving like they are filled with God’s Spirit.

If you are a believer, no doubt you are asked from time to time about your favorite Bible verse. I have several verses that I treasure, but I also have a favorite book of the Bible, and it is the Book of Acts. I love Acts because after Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21), everything is different for God’s people.

Easter alone does not do it.

Remember, Thomas demands hands-on proof that Jesus is alive. The rest of the guys are hiding behind locked doors, afraid that Rome is coming after them next, and Peter decides that the best thing to do after the resurrection is to go back to fishing! Even though Jesus has broken out of the grave, his friends need more, and that more is the presence of the Holy Spirit in their own lives. The Book of Acts is story after story of ordinary believers on fire for Jesus.

So how can we hwas poured out on us in Baptism. The challenge for us is to see it, trust it, and live boldly because God’s very power is in us.

Don’t worry! This is not on you alone. In Acts the Holy Spirit is given to the church, not just to individuals. We come to worship to act together with servant’s hands and forgiving hearts. If God’s church can do a better job going out into the world with joy and mission, then perhaps both our culture and the church will know Pentecost.