Pentecost Sunday
May 11, 2008
Acts of the Apostles 2:1-11
1
Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13
John 20:19-23
I read recently that Pentecost is not the coming of the Holy Spirit.
But rather it is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on human flesh to
give birth to the church. How fitting then, that this year Pentecost
happens to fall on Mother’s Day. In fact many consider Pentecost to
be the birthday of the church.
I don’t know about you, but usually around my birthday I tend to take
stock of my life. It’s a time to assess how I am and where I am. For me,
it’s also a time of gratitude, not only for all the gifts God has given me
but for simply having survived another year.
The Holy Spirit is the gift of new breath. The breath of life becomes a gift
to the world. When we share our life, our love, our hospitality, our spirit
with others we are proclaiming the presence of God among us. We need
to radiate that Spirit and by our words and example, invite others to
share
it. The gifts we have are not for ourselves; they are meant to be
shared.
After the coming of the Holy Spirit, as we have seen in today’s Gospel,
the disciples did not stay in that room relishing in what they had been
given. They burst out to tell the world how much God loves everyone and
how he wants us all to experience that love. The disciples who were
previously weak and burdened with common human failings, were
transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit.
By giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit, God awakens in each of us the
gifts that He needs to continue to be here and present in our lives and
in our world.
What are you doing to radiate your gifts of the Spirit to yourself and
others? How have you been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit?
Blessings,
Denise Wiley
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