Sermon - 2020 - 05 - 31 - Pentecost

Today, we celebrate the Day of Pentecost.  The day in which God bestows His Holy Spirit upon all the people to be led and guided in all that they do and all that they are.  The Holy Spirit comes and influences all the people who have encountered it.  The Holy Spirit uses the people as instruments to show the glory of God in the world.  Others bear witness to this glory. 

There are those who see and believe.  Those who will bear witness to the work of the Holy Spirit will often wonder how?  How is this possible, how can we understand, and know that this is part of God’s Will?  They will soon realize that it is only because of the work that God is doing within the world, that these things could have happened.  The work of God allows people to be united, gathered together in God’s name.  They will see and believe that these things are taking place. They are in awe.  

There are those who see and do not understand. Those who will bear witness to the work of the Holy Spirit will also wonder how? They think that it is just nonsense.  They will attribute the work to the person’s abilities, the knowledge that others have gained, or simply to the wine and the imagination of the people who are the instruments.  It makes sense to them.  

There are those who are a part of it.  The people who are filled with energy, time, and an ability that does not make sense, which calls them to help others in their lives.  They are able to do the work that God is calling them to do. God doesn’t call just one person to do the work but, calls others to work together. They are able to do the work together.  As God calls them to do the work, God also provides a support system for which they are able to be a part.  

The day of Pentecost is our calling, it is your calling.  God is calling you to be a part of his mission in the world, calling you by name so that it is clear.  Yet there are moments in our life that we may also doubt.  There are moments in which we shall suffer and falter in our own faith, and understanding of what God is doing in the world.  However, we are called to listen, to serve, and help one another in our work.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us to forgive others so that we may truly care for one another.  

What is the work that God is calling us to be a part of with the Holy Spirit? People who are part of the Christian faith wanted to help others understand, and help them be apart of the work that God was calling them to do.  So they added it to the Third part of the Apostle’s Creed.  

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church.  God calls us to gather together in his holy name.  Catholics, Protestants, Orthodox, Coptic, and all people where they gather together in the name of Jesus Christ.  

the communion of saints - We gather united with the people who are alive but also those who have gone before us and shared the faith with us.  

the forgiveness of sins - that we are indeed forgiven and receive that comfort and peace which comes from having a right relationship with God and one another in the community.  

and life everlasting. - As we gather with all these people and in relationship to one another.  We shall receive this gift for all eternity as a gift given by God.  Not because we deserve it, not because we earned it, but because it was a pure and simple gift given to us by a Heavenly Father who loves us so much.  

So as we go forth this day.  May we be filled with the Holy Spirit of God.  May we remember our Baptism.  For it is here that God called us by name and bestowed upon us His Holy Spirit so that we are equipped and will be led and guided to do God’s Will.  And may we always be working towards the bringing forth of the Heavenly Kingdom into this world for which others can be a part.  Amen.