The Coming of the Holy Spirit
Illustration by Alik Arzoumanian from The Children of God Story Bible
Happy birthday, church!
Yes, it is almost Pentecost Sunday! One of the special Sundays when I wear my favorite red dress with the twirly skirt! ☺
In all my years in ministry, I’ve gathered quite a few books. But it’s my collection of children’s books that I treasure the most. I have a lovely book with Bible stories retold by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Here is a little bit of his retelling of the Pentecost story from Acts 2:
Peter spoke to the crowd. “What was prophesied has come true,” he said. “God has made Jesus both our Savior and our Friend. Through him, God’s wonderful dream is coming true.”
“What can we do to realize God’s dream?” the people cried.
Peter said,
“Return to God and be baptized so your sins will be forgiven. You will be given a new life, and you too will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” [1]
What a thought-provoking question and one I commend to you… what can we do to realize God’s dream?
With the new life we’ve received from God, we’ve been given gifts. Those gifts are how we participate in realizing God’s dream. So, my friends, what are your gifts?
My dog Eddy has been thinking about the gifts we’ve all been given and you can find us sharing our thoughts about that on Facebook. Here’s a link to our latest post.
I know two things for sure about gifts from God:
First: everyone’s got ‘em! It’s no secret what they are either. It’s what you’re good at. The things that make your heart sing and your pulse quicken. It’s where you find joy.
One of my gifts is organizing and I’ve often thought that if you could put one of those devices on my head that measures brain activity while I am working on a cleaning project, my brain would be red all over. (I’m pretty sure I’m not accurately describing how those measuring devices work. I’m also sure I’m inviting all kinds of jokes about my brain activity!) The point is that God made me this way with a love for bringing order to chaos, so this is an area of giftedness for me.
The second thing I know for sure is that every gift from God is meant to be given away. There is no holding on to them and keeping them just for ourselves. That is how God’s dream is realized – when we use the gifts God gives us to bring God’s vision of joy and justice for all God’s children.
The gift of the Holy Spirit is a powerful gift. Richard Rohr says that the Holy Spirit’s empowerment is the ultimate answer to our prayers.
We pray not to change God but to change ourselves. We pray to form a living relationship, not to get things done. Prayer is a symbiotic relationship with life and with God, a synergy which creates a result larger than the exchange itself. God knows that we need to pray to keep the symbiotic relationship moving and growing. Prayer is not a way to try to control God, or even to get what we want. As Jesus says in Luke’s Gospel (11:13), the answer to every prayer is one, the same, and the best: the Holy Spirit! God gives us power more than answers. [2]
A powerful gift indeed! We are given power instead of answers. Gifts to be given away so that we might partner with God in realizing God’s dream.
So my friends… what are your gifts? And how are you giving them away? What can we do to realize God’s dream?
Go make peace, my friends.
Pastor Leanne
{1] Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Children of God Storybook Bible. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2010).
[2] Adapted from Richard Rohr, Breathing under Water: Spirituality and the Twelve Steps (Cincinnati, OH: Franciscan Media, 2011, 2021), 57.
Community Presbyterian Church
32202 Del Obispo
San Juan Capistrano. CA 92675
949-493-1502
info@sjcpres.org