Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; John 14:8-17, 25-27, and Acts 2:1-21
Today is the day of Pentecost. This day is significant and thankful. Because we know that two of our attending members are participating in the Confirmation of Faith today, we welcome them as members of our Knox community. What is even more heartwarming is that after the service, I am going to visit Laura’s home and baptize her son.
In Acts 1, Jesus overcame the power of death and rose from the dead. He gave the disciples a great mission. He also promised them the coming of the Holy Spirit and then ascended to heaven. So, the disciples elected Matthias as the new apostle to replace Judas. Now God shifts His ministry from centered on Jesus to spreading the gospel through the apostles. Their first steps in spreading the gospel throughout the world, including Israel, are listed in Acts. This expansion of the gospel confirms why we are gathered here today. It is truly a blessing. The believers who had previously followed Jesus now began to form a community of faith centered around the apostles. The church was established in Jerusalem, as the Holy Spirit, promised by Jesus, was with this community. That very beginning is the message from today’s Acts 2.
Pentecost was a holiday held seven weeks after Passover at the time, and it coincided with the barley harvest. In Old Testament times, this day was known as the Feast of Weeks. It was one of the three major feasts of Israel. If Passover commemorates the Israelites’ freedom from Egypt, the Feast of Weeks commemorates their entry into the land of Canaan, which was promised to them by God. It commemorates the end of a long life in the wilderness and a new beginning as God’s people in the promised land given by God. The significance of the Pentecost celebration continues today with the beginning of the new kingdom of God and the establishment of the church in the New Testament era.
This is verse 4. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit.” Dear beloved, I hope we are filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit that Jesus had promised came upon the disciples who had gathered together to pray. God promises to pour out His Spirit upon us. The disciples received this, and today we cannot discern the Holy Spirit with our eyes, but we believe that the Holy Spirit is with us. Now is the age of the Holy Spirit, and so we gather together, just as the disciples did two thousand years ago, to pray, share the Word, welcome new believers, share the Communion together, and remember Jesus. Together with the Holy Spirit, we remember: “Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God,” Peter confessed. We also confess this by faith, because the Holy Spirit has made this truth known to us and has helped us to believe it.
Sometimes, we witness church members who have attended a famous pastor’s revival meeting experience miracles and receive grace. What I am thankful for is seeing believers continue to live this kind of life filled with the Holy Spirit. However, during my ministry, I have often witnessed many people lose the grace and gifts they received within a short period. Just as you have to keep refueling your car so it can continue running, we must keep walking with the Holy Spirit.
We cannot see the presence of the Holy Spirit in the upper room of Mark, but we can see the results of Her ministry. The work of the Holy Spirit appears in various ways. People who haven’t changed for decades change. Sometimes, she makes the seemingly impossible possible. The work of the Holy Spirit continues today in our Knox Presbyterian Church. The Holy Spirit makes us love our fellow believers. She opens our hearts to a deep love for Knox Church. Our elder and I visited our members at the Senior Home this week and could feel their love and trust. The Holy Spirit invites you to be generous to newcomers and new pastors, and encourages us to be more inclusive of our neighbors and the communities we serve. You are only a little older than I, but you are doing the Lord’s work as if you were younger than I.
Dear friends, let us praise our God. Let us rejoice in our God. Let us firmly trust in the Lord and practice what the Lord has done, just like the apostles. Advocate, let us spread the peace of the Lord to this world together with the Holy Spirit. Let us proclaim salvation by calling on the name of the Lord and spreading the gospel of the Lord to the whole world. Just as the 120 disciples gathered in the upper room on Pentecost day have led to hundreds of millions of Christians following Jesus today, let us do the Lord’s work together with the Holy Spirit today. I believe we will eventually see the works of the Holy Spirit. Amen.