Pentecost is one of those days that can be tricky to handle. What is there to say about Pentecost that hasn’t been said a thousand times before. Is there anything to say about it other than maybe it is the birthday of the church, or tongues of fire are pretty cool, or even back then folks were accused of morning drinking?
Thankfully there is a lot to say about Pentecost and if it turns out what I have to say has been said already I’m okay with that. I’ve related frequently the best piece of advice about preaching, namely, preaching is about speaking truth, not novelty. All that being said I was curious as to how the Holy Spirit would direct me to think about Pentecost for all of us.
My sermon title was another question, “That was then . . . what about now?” I like sermon titles that are questions because it forces me to come up with an answer and what are church and our faith communities if they aren’t places we can ask and even answer questions? The thing tying Pentecost to today is the unbroken presence of the Holy Spirit from then (and before then of course) to now. It is the same Holy Spirit who is giving us spiritual gifts every bit as amazing and wonderful as who gave tongues of fire. The sound of a rushing wind* and tongues of fire were what the Spirit did then, She is doing something else now that doesn’t need those signs; our signs are different. Not better or worse, but different.
I’m always curious to hear what you think about what I have to say, so don’t be shy about dropping me a line in the comments, or on Facebook, or by email, or anything you can find.
Blessings,
*Which was ironic considering you might very well hear the sound of the Saskatchewan wind that was gusting to 75 km/hour outside my house as I preached.
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