The Lord be with you!
Come Holy Spirit, and fill the hearts of your faithful people!

The Festival of Pentecost is the great fiftieth day of the Easter celebration. The color is red to recall the fiery red tongues that sat on the heads of those who witnessed the first Christian Pentecost. Before this, the Jewish festival was concerned with gathering the first fruits of crops with thanksgiving that the Lord had provided for them yet another year in the Promised Land. Now, we witness to the truth that God Himself has a harvest of souls that have been called by the Holy Spirit and constantly are being harvested into the Christian Church. As we pray the Collect of the Day, we pray for the same Holy Spirit to give us Godly understanding and enlightenment through hearing the comforting Word of our forgiveness.

Let us pray:
O God, on this day You once taught the hearts of Your faithful people by sending them the light of Your Holy Spirit. Grant us in our day by the same Spirit to have a right understanding in all things and evermore to rejoice in His holy consolation; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

Numbers 11:24-30
The Spirit of the Lord was active also in the Old Testament, even in the barren wilderness where the children of Israel wandered for forty years. The seventy elders, including two who walked among the people of the Israelite camp, were prophesying, that is, speaking the Word of the Lord as a witness to the Holy Spirit being active among the holy people. This activity of the Spirit did not nullify Moses and Aaron’s authority to serve as God’s mouthpieces, but it does help us realize that the treasure of God’s saving Word is for all believers to enjoy and use.

Acts 2:1-20
This is the story of the first Christian Pentecost, and the official beginning of the ministry and work of the Holy Christian Church. Jesus gave the command, Go and teach the Gospel, baptize all nations, then the Holy Spirit came and gave the power that Jesus promised them before His ascension. The Spirit is unseen, but His presence is identified by three signs: the sound of a mighty rushing wind, tongues of fire on those who were in the room, and their sudden, miraculous ability to speak other, recognizable languages. And not just any random languages, but the particular languages of those visitors who were able to listen in on the precious Word they were proclaiming!

John 7:37-39
The Holy Spirit proceeds as a gift to us from the Father and the Son. What is it to be thirsty? To desire the gifts of God that we do not deserve but the Lord has nevertheless promised to give to us. Forgiveness, comfort, peace, confidence in the resurrection of the dead at the last day and certainty of the life of the world to come. These are what we Christians thirst for, along with the same salvation to be for our friends and family, yes, for the entire world! Let us come to Jesus and drink of the Holy Spirit that flows like refreshing water from His crucified, glorified body.

The work of the Holy Spirit is often misunderstood. As Jesus said, He is like the wind that blows where it wishes and no one knows from where it came. But at Pentecost, we have renewed confidence that God has chosen us to receive His precious gifts and to witness to the world all the good that He has done for all people. The Spirit is not locked up, not under quarantine or social distance. He blows freely into the hearts of those whom God has chosen for eternal life. Thank God that in the Holy Spirit, He has chosen you!

Here’s Hymn 501, stanza 4:
And so the yearning strong, With which the soul will long,
Shall far outpass the pow’r of human telling;
No soul can guess His grace Till it become the place
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Next Sunday is our first Divine Service together. At 9 am we will meet outdoors in the front courtyard to better meet the safety guidelines. We hope to see you, even though we’ll all keep ourselves at a distance. If you are feeling ill or otherwise must stay home, we understand completely and will pray for you. God bless you!

Pr. Stirdivant