Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The Language of God

A big wind blew fresh air into a room where the apostles gathered in prayer. But it wasn’t just a storm system passing through, it was the breath, the Spirit of God. And fire rested on each one gathered, but not the sort of fire that consumes, it was a fire that ignites people’s hearts.

The fear and confusion that the apostles had experiences was transformed into courage and confidence. God’s Holy Spirit rested on each one and gave them the ability to speak in a variety of tongues. The language they spoke wasn’t gibberish, it was familiar to the people gathered in Jerusalem from all over the known world. They were there to celebrate the spring harvest and to buy and sell. People from as far away as Phrygia and Pamphylia did not expect to hear such powerful words about God in their own language.

The Day of Pentecost is not a day to celebrate gibberish, various languages or even the gift of speaking in tongues. It is a day to celebrate the love and mercy God has given to the whole world. No matter what language someone speaks, no matter where they are from, the Day of Pentecost is about proclaiming for all to hear and understand God’s great love for everyone.

It is our responsibility to be open to the moving of God’s Holy Spirit in our lives so that St. Paul’s Parish can act in the world with courage and confidence. So that we can show the transforming power of God’s love and call to justice. The degree of love and justice is not about accusing others, it is a yardstick by which we assess ourselves. That is why we are meeting on the Day of Pentecost to worship and to evaluate how we can be better at helping people belong to a Christian community; how we can better serve children, youth and family ministry and; how we can enhance our corporate worship.


Please join us for our Parish Meeting after the 10:00 a.m. service on May 24. It’s a brown bag lunch.

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