Sunday, June 8, 2025

It is Pentecost Sunday, so remember to wear red. This week’s liturgy will feature multiple languages, as a reminder of the ability given to the disciples by the Holy Spirit to proclaim the gospel in the heart-languages of all gathered in Jerusalem.

Sermon Notes

This week, we finish up the Narrative Lectionary for the 2024-2025 year. As such, we go back chronologically to the first Pentecost Sunday, fifty days after Passover. According to Luke and Acts, Jesus appeared to the disciples over forty days, and ordered them to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They went as far as Bethany, where the disciples asked Jesus if it was the right time for him to restore the kingdom to Israel. He tells them, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by [their] own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”  Then Jesus ascended into heaven.

We have seen what happened after that: the gift of the Holy Spirit that gave Stephen the courage to proclaim the name of Jesus before the Sanhedrin. We heard of Philip proclaiming the good news to the Samaritans, and even an Ethiopian Eunuch. The Holy Spirit who showed Peter a sheet with unclean animals and had Cornelius send for him. The Holy Spirit who called Paul to leave his zealous pursuit of The Way and become an apostle to the gentiles. It was the Holy Spirit already at work that caused the Jerusalem Council to understand the call to the gentiles apart from the law.

But as we go back to that first Pentecost, we find the disciples afraid and unsure. They have elected a new ‘number 12’ disciple (who we will never hear from again). As they wait in the upper room, people are gathering in Jerusalem for the festival of Shavuot, the celebration of God’s giving the gift of Torah at Mt. Sanai.

We also continue reading from Paul’s letter to the Galatians, as he continues encourage them in how to best balance these two gifts, the law of Moses and the Holy Spirit. As a guide he contrasts a life led by the ‘flesh’ and a life led by the Spirit, listing ‘fruits’ that come from each.

Questions

What is your understanding and comfort level with the Holy Spirit?

What kind of fruit do you produce? Are there some branches that may need pruning?

What kind of fruit is being produced by those around you or those you listen to? What does that say about what they are living from?