Pentecost literally means 50th. It is a feast
celebrated
on the
50th day after the Passover feast by the Jews and a feast celebrated on the 50th day after the feast of the Resurrection
of
Jesus by the Christians. The Jewish Pentecost was originally
a post- harvest thanksgiving feast. Later it was celebrated to remember God’s covenants
with Noah after the Deluge and with Moses at Mt. Sinai
The event
On the day of Pentecost 1) The Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and Blessed
Virgin Mary as fiery tongues. 2) The frightened apostles
were transformed
into fiery preachers
and evangelizers by a special anointing of the Holy Spirit. 3) The audience
experienced a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit with the gift of tongues, hearing Peter speaking in their languages. 4) The early Christians became powerful witnesses and brave martyrs for faith.
The role of the Holy Spirit in Christian life
1) As an indwelling God, He makes us His Living Temples (I Cor 3:16). 2) As a
strengthening God, He strengthens us in our fight against temptations and in our mission
of bearing
witness
to Christ by transparent
Christian
lives.
3)
As
a
sanctifying God, He makes us holy through the sacraments: a) He makes us children
of
God and heirs of heaven through Baptism. b) He makes us temples of God, warriors and defenders
of
faith, through Confirmation. c) He enables us to be reconciled to God by pardoning our sins through Reconciliation. d) He gives us
spiritual nourishment via the Holy Eucharist
by converting bread and wine into
Jesus’ body and blood through Epiclesis. 4) As a teaching and guiding God, He
clarifies and constantly reminds us of Christ’s teachings. 5) As a listening and
talking God, He listens
to
our prayers and enables us to pray, and He speaks to us through the
Bible. 6) As a giver of gifts, He
gives us His gifts, fruits and charisms.
Life Messages
We need to
permit the
Holy Spirit to take
control of our lives:
1) By constantly remembering His holy presence, and behaving well.
2) By
praying for His daily anointing so that we may fight against our temptations and
control our evil tendencies, evil habits and addictions.
3) By asking His daily assistance to pray well, by listening to
God through meditative
reading of te Bible and
by talking to Him.
4) By asking the help of
the
Holy Spirit to do good to others and to be reconciled to
God and others every day.
THE FEAST OF PENTECOST (MAY 27, 2012) JOHN 20: 19-23
Readings
First Reading: Acts
2: 1-11
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12: 3-7
Gospel: John
20: 19-23
Anecdotes
1) "
Well, Chippie
doesn’t sing much
anym o r e.” It happened
in Galveston, TX. A woman was cleaning the bottom of the cage of her parrot Chippie with the canister vacuum cleaner. She was not using an attachment on the tube. When the telephone
rang, she turned her head to pick it up, continuing to vacuum the cage as she said, "Hello," into the phone. Then she heard the horrible noise of Chippie being sucked into the vacuum. Immediately she put down the phone, ripped
open the vacuum bag, and found Chippie in there, stunned but still alive. Since the bird was covered with dust and dirt, she grabbed it, ran it into
the
bathroom, turned on the faucet, and held the bird under the water to clean it off. When she finished that, she saw the hair dryer on the bathroom sink. She turned it on and
held the bird in front of the blast of hot
air
to dry
him off. A few
weeks later,
a
reporter from the
newspaper that
originally published the story went out to the house to
ask the woman, "How’s
Chippie doing now?"
She said, “He just sort of sits and stares."
Today’s gospel tells us
that
it was what happened to the apostles. They
all were traumatized by the arrest
and crucifixion of their master and bewildered by his post-resurrection appearances and his command to prepare for the coming of his
Holy Spirit. Many of us can identify with Chippie and the apostles. Life has sucked us up, thrown cold water on us, and blown us
away. Somewhere in the trauma, we
have lost our song. Hence, we, too, need the daily anointing of the Holy Spirit to keep us singing songs of Christian witnessing through agape love.
http://www.biblestudyresources.com/devotionals/jesus/he_keeps_me_singing.htm
2) “Lower your bucket-- t ast e and see”: More than a century ago, a great sailing ship was stranded off the coast of South America.
Week after week the ship lay there in the still waters with not a hint of a breeze. The captain was desperate; the crew was dying of
thirst. And
then, on the far horizon, a steamship appeared, heading directly toward them. As it drew near, the captain called out, "We need
water! Give us water!"
The steamship replied, "Lower your buckets where you are." The captain was furious at this cavalier response but called out again,
"Please, give us water." But the
steamer gave the same reply, "Lower your buckets where you are!" And with that they sailed away! The captain was beside himself with anger and despair, and he went below. But a little later, when no one was
looking, a yeoman lowered a bucket into the sea and then tasted what he brought up: It was perfectly sweet, fresh
water! For you see, the ship was just out of sight of the mouth of the Amazon.
And for all those weeks they had been sitting right on
top of all the fresh water they
needed! What
we are really seeking is already inside us, waiting to be discovered,
waiting to be embraced: the Holy Spirit of God who has been living within us from the first second of our life.
The Holy Spirit is saying to us at this very moment, "Lower your buckets where you are.
Taste and see!" from deep in our heart: Come, Holy
Spirit! Fill our
hearts, and set
us
on fire! Amen.
Introduction
The Jewish Pentecost: Both the Jews and the Christians now celebrate Pentecost.
Along with the Feast of the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles, Pentecost was
one of the major feasts of the Jews.
During these three great Jewish festivals, every male Jew living within twenty miles of Jerusalem was legally bound to go to Jerusalem to
participate in the feast. The word Pentecost is Greek for pentecostes which means
“fiftieth.” The feast received this name because it was
celebrated fifty days
after the
Feast of the Passover. Another
name for the Jewish Pentecost is Shebuot or "The Feast of Weeks."
It was originally a day of thanksgiving celebrated seven weeks after the
beginning of the harvesting for the completion of the harvest.
During Passover, the
first omer (a Hebrew measure of about a bushel), of barley was offered to God. At Pentecost, two loaves of bread were offered in gratitude for the harvest. Later, the Jews added to the Feast of Pentecost the element of Yahweh’s covenant with Noah, which was made fifty days after the great deluge. Still later, this feast became an
occasion to thank God for His Sinaitic covenant with Moses, which occurred fifty
days after the beginning of the Exodus from
Egypt.
The Christian Pentecost: Pentecost marks the end and the goal of the Easter season. For Christians, it
is a memorial of the
day the Holy Spirit descended
upon the
apostles and the Virgin Mary in the form of fiery tongues, an event that took place
fifty days after the resurrection of Jesus.
The Paschal mystery of the Passion, the Death, the Resurrection, and the Ascension of Jesus is completed in the sending of the Holy Spirit by the Father at the request
of the Son upon his disciples. The feast
also commemorates the official inauguration of the Christian Church by St. Peter’s
apostolic preaching, which
resulted
in the conversion of 3000 Jews
to the Christian faith. Pentecost is thus the official birthday of the Church. But This Rock Magazine reports that there are now 34,000 Protestant denominations which means, on the average, more than sixty-nine new denominations have sprung up every year since the beginning of the Reformation in 1517.
So whose birthday is it anyway?
You
could say, Pentecost is the birthday of the Church Jesus established nearly 2,000 years ago. Today’s Scripture readings remind us that Pentecost is an event of both
the
past and the present. The main theme of today’s readings is that the gift of the
Holy Spirit is something to be shared with others.
That is, the readings remind us that the gift of the Holy Spirit moves its recipients to action and inspires them to share
this gift with others.
The first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts
2:1-11) describes in detail the miraculous transformation that took place during the first Pentecost, thus fulfilling Jesus’ promise to his apostles. There was first “a noise like a strong, driving wind.” Then there were “tongues as of fire” resting on the disciples, and each of them was filled with the Holy Spirit. The first manifestation of their reception of the Holy Spirit came when the apostles rushed out to the street and began to proclaim the
good news of Jesus, and everyone there
(regardless of their many different
native languages), was able to understand them “in his own tongue.” The Jews in the
crowds came from sixteen different
geographical regions. The miracle of tongues on Pentecost thus reverses the confusion of tongues wrought by God at the Tower of
Babel, as described in Genesis 11. Later, the Acts of the Apostles describes how the Holy Spirit empowered the early Christians to bear witness to Christ by their sharing love and strong faith. This "anointing by the Holy Spirit” also strengthened the early Christian martyrs during the period of brutal
persecution that
followed.
In the second reading (I Cor 12:3-7, 12-13), St. Paul explains how the sharing of the
various spiritual
gifts of
the Holy Spirit
enriches the
Church. He refers to
the varieties
of
gifts given to the church as coming
from
the same Spirit who activates all
of
them in Christians for
the common good. They are described as the gifts, fruits
and charisms of the Spirit.
They may take different forms like prophecy, teaching, administration, acts of
charity, healing and
speaking in tongues, and
they
may reside in different persons like apostles, prophets, teachers, healers and so on.
Paul lists the fruits of the Spirit in his Letter to the Galatians “What the Spirit brings is … love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
gentleness and self-control” (5:22). He continues, “Since the Spirit is our life, let us be directed by the Spirit” (5:25). Paul insists
that these spiritual gifts are
to be used in the present time for the benefit
of
others, for
the common good and for the
building up
of the
body of Christ.
T o day’ s g o spel
relates how the risen Jesus gave his apostles
a foretaste of Pentecost on the evening of Easter Sunday by appearing to them and entrusting to them the continuance of the mission given him by his heavenly Father.
He then empowered them to do so
by breathing upon them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
On the day of Pentecost, Jesus fulfilled his promise to send the Advocate or Paraclete. The gift of the Spirit would also enable them to fulfill Jesus’ commission
to preach the gospel to all nations. Today’s gospel passage tells us how Jesus, at the same time,
gave to the Apostles the power and authority to forgive sins.
“Receive the Holy Spirit.
For those whose sins you forgive,
they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.” These wonderful words which bind together inseparably the presence of the Holy Spirit and the gift of forgiveness are referred to directly in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. But they have a much wider meaning.
Those words indicate the power
we are all given of being the agents
of
forgiveness in the world of today, which is often fiercely
judgmental and vengeful.
Exegetical Notes
Role of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer and of the Church: How beautiful is
the thought that the Holy Spirit
lives within us! Saint Paul
reminds the
Corinthian community of
this fact when he asks, "Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells
in you?" (I Corinthians 3:16).
It is the Holy Spirit who develops our
intimacy with
God. "God has sent the
Spirit of His Son into our hearts crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Gal 4:6). "God’s love has been poured into
our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us"
(Romans 5:5). "No one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by
the Holy Spirit"
(I Corinthians 12:3).
Moreover, we know that it is the Holy Spirit
who
teaches us to pray (Romans 8:26).
By the power of the Spirit, we also know the
Lord Jesus through his
Church. Pentecost Sunday is the birth date of the Church.
It is the Holy Spirit who enlivens, enlightens, guides, and sanctifies the Church. The Psalm
refrain for this Sunday says it so well, “Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face
of the earth.” We
know Jesus through the Sacramental Mysteries of the Church,
and Holy Spirit is at the heart of the sacramental life of the Church.
Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders are the Sacramental Mysteries through which people receive the seal of the Holy Spirit.
It would be impossible for us to receive Jesus in
the
Eucharist without the descent of the Holy Spirit at the Epiclesis of the Divine Liturgy.
Even the forgiveness of sins comes through the Holy Spirit (John 20:21-23). The
Holy
Spirit both
confirmed
the apostles in Holy Orders
as
priests and empowered them to forgive sins by His power, a work which He continues today in each
of our priests.
Life Messages
1) We need to
permit
the Holy Spirit
to direct our lives: a) By constantly
remembering and appreciating His Holy Presence within us, especially through the
sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation.
b) By fortifying ourselves with the help of the Spirit against all types of temptations. c) By seeking the assistance of the Spirit in our thoughts,
words, and deeds,
and
in the breaking of
our
evil
habits. d) By listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to us through the Bible and through the good counsel of others e) By
fervently praying for
the
gifts, fruits
and charisms of the
Holy
Spirit.
f)
By asking the
Holy Spirit to renew our lives through
a
fresh anointing. g) By living our
lives in the
Holy
Spirit,
with His
help, as lives
of commitment, of sacrifice, and of joy. We are
called to love as Jesus loved, not counting the cost. As Saint Paul exhorts us, "Walk by the Spirit and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit" (Galatians 5:16,
25).
2) We need to cultivate the spirit of forgiveness. The feast of the Pentecost offers us the chance of looking at the role which forgiveness should play in our dealings with others.
Thus, we are challenged to examine our sense of compassion, patience, tolerance and magnanimity. Learning to forgive is a lifelong task,
but the Holy Spirit is
with us to make us agents of forgiveness. If we are prepared on this day of
Pentecost to
receive
the Holy Spirit into
our lives, we
can have confidence
that our lives will be
marked by the Spirit
of
forgiveness.
2) We need to observe Pentecost every day. "It will always be Pentecost in the
church," affirmed Oscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador, on Pentecost Sunday
1978, "provided the church lets the beauty of the Holy Spirit shine forth from her countenance. When
the church ceases to let her strength rest on the power
from above which Christ promised
her and which he gave her on that day, and when the
church leans rather on the weak forces
of
the power or wealth of this earth, then the
church ceases
to be newsworthy. The church will be fair to see, perennially young, attractive in every age, as long as she is faithful to the Spirit that floods her
and she reflects that Spirit through her communities, through her pastors, through her very
life"
(The Violence of Love, The Plough Pub.
Co., Farmington, PA: 1998). Archbishop Romero’s declaration reminds us -- as does today’s Gospel -- that
Pentecost is not just
one
day, but every day.
Without breath, there is no life.
Without the Spirit, the
church is a field of dry, dead bones. Fulton J. Sheen once said about the Church,
"Even though we are God's chosen people, we often behave more
like God's frozen
people--frozen in our prayer life, frozen
in the way we relate with one another, frozen
in the way we celebrate our faith."
Today is a great day to ask the Holy Spirit to
rekindle in us the spirit of new life and enthusiasm, the fire of God's love.
Let us
repeat Cardinal
Newman’s favorite
little
prayer, “Come Holy Spirit:”
“Come Holy Spirit Make our ears to hear Make our eyes to see
Make our mouths to speak
Make our hearts to seek
Make our hands to reach out
And touch the
world with your love. AMEN.”
Jokes
a) The gift of wisdom: Four-year-old Amanda was taken to the doctor’s office with a
fever. The doctor looked in
her ears and asked, "Who’s in
there?
Donald Duck?" She said, "No." He looked in her open mouth, "Who’s in there?
Mickey Mouse?" Again
she said, "No." He put his stethoscope on her heart and asked, "Who’s
in there? Barney?" Amanda replied, "No, Jesus is in my heart.
Barney is in the pocket
of my underwear."
b)The gift of understanding: A kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom
of children while they drew pictures. She would occasionally
walk around to see each
child's artwork.
As she came to one little girl who
was
working diligently, she asked what the drawing was. The girl replied,
"I'm drawing God."
The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows what God looks like." Without missing a beat or looking up
from
her drawing, the girl
replied, "They will in a minute."
c) The gift of counsel:
Just after receiving
his driver’s license, a Lutheran minister’s
son wanted
to
talk about using the family car.
“I’ll make a deal with you,” his father said.
“Bring your grades up, read your Bible more often, and get a haircut. Then
you
may use the car once or twice a week.” A month later
the question came up
again.
“Son,” the father
said, “I’m proud of you. I see you studying
hard and reading
your Bible every day. But you didn’t get a haircut.” After
a moment’s pause, the son replied, “Yeah, I’ve thought
about that.
But Samson had long hair,
Moses had long hair, and even Jesus had long hair.”
“True,’ the father replied,
“but maybe you noticed
that they walked wherever they went?”
d) The gift of fortitude: A mother refused to permit her little boy to go for a picnic
with his classmates.
On the day of the picnic, however, she changed her mind and gave him
permission.
But
he
sighed and confessed, "It's
too late Mummy, I've already prayed for rain
on the
school picnic day!"
e) The gift of knowledge: The story is told of a man who went to the priest and said,
"Father, I want you to say a Mass for my dog." The priest was indignant. "What do you mean, say a Mass for your dog?" "It's my pet dog,"
said the man.
"I loved that
dog and I'd like you to offer a Mass for him."
"We don't offer Masses for
dogs here," the priest said.
"You might try the denomination down the street.
Ask them if they have
a service for you." As the man was
leaving, he said to the priest, "I really loved that dog.
I was planning to give a five thousand-dollar stipend for the Mass."
And the priest said, "Wait
a minute! Why didn’t tell
me that
your dog was Catholic?!"
f) The gift of piety: The Rabbi, the Cantor and one member of the congregation
were
the
only ones present for the service.
The Rabbi intoned, "Adonai, before you I am as nothing." The Cantor intoned,
"Adonai, before you I am less than nothing."
The member of the congregation intoned, "Adonai, I too am nothing and less than
nothing."
The Cantor looked at the rabbi, and gestured
toward the member of the
congregation. "Look who thinks
he's nothing!"
g) The gift of fear of God: Do not ride in automobiles: they are responsible for 20% of
fatal accidents. Do
not stay home: 1% of all accidents occur in home.
Do not walk on the streets or sidewalks: 14% of all accidents occur at such times. Do not travel by air, rail, or water: 16% of all accidents happen on planes, trains or boats. Only .001%
of
all deaths occur in worship services in church, and these are usually related to previous physical disorders.
Hence, the safest place for you to be at any time is at
church!!!
1) Treasure within: An old beggar lay on his deathbed.
His last words were to his youngest son who had been his constant companion during his begging trips. “Dear
son," he said, “I have nothing to give you except a cotton bag and a dirty bronze
bowl which I got in my younger days from the junk yard of a rich lady.”
After his father’s
death, the
boy continued
begging, using the
bowl
his father had given him. One
day
a
gold merchant dropped a coin in the
boy’s
bowl and he was
surprised
to hear a familiar clinking sound. “Let me check your bowl,” the merchant said. To his
great
surprise,
he
found that the
beggar’s bowl was
made of
pure
gold. “My dear young man,"
he said, “why do you waste your time begging?
You are a rich man.
That bowl of yours is worth at least thirty thousand dollars.” We Christians are often like this beggar boy
who
failed to recognize and appreciate the
value of his bowl. We fail to appreciate the infinite worth of the Holy Spirit
living within each of us, sharing His gifts and fruits and charisms with us.
On this major feast day we are invited to experience and appreciate the transforming,
sanctifying
and strengthening
presence of the Holy Spirit
within
us. This is also
a
day
to renew
the
promises made to God during our Baptism and Confirmation, to profess our faith,
and
practice it.
2) Why are the Swiss watches gone? If in 1968 someone had asked which country would dominate watch making in the 1990s, most people would have said Switzerland. This is because Switzerland had dominated the world of watch making for
the previous sixty years. They led the search for new ways to manufacture better
and
more durable
watch parts. They developed
the best waterproofing
techniques. In fact, in 1968 the Swiss made 65% of all watches
sold in the world, and laid claim to 90% of the profits. However, by 1980 in Switzerland, watchmakers
had been laid off by the thousands and the Swiss controlled a paltry 10% of the watch
market. Why? The Swiss had ignored an important new development, the Quartz
Movement. Ironically a Swiss invented the Quartz movement,
but
it was rejected because it had no mainspring or knob. It was too much of a paradigm shift for them to
embrace. It was too new and too strange.
Today's text from Acts tells of a powerful
paradigm shift in the people of God, of "God's deeds of power,"
the miraculous activities that
accompanied the
descent of the Holy
Spirit on the apostles.
80,000 barrels a day. All Mr. Yates needed
was suddenly provided.
When I read that
old story, one that Bill Bright tells, I wondered if it might
be a
parable of our spiritual life. “All I have needed God's hands have provided,”
says the hymn. The power we
need to become what God intended us to
be is already in our souls.
about the race of the sailing yachts in which Australia finally defeated the USA for
the prized America's Cup. “For 132 years the cup was kept and defended by the United
States. Again and again there were challenges for the cup, but each time it was retained by the USA. Finally, in 1983 Australia mounted a serious challenge. The
event took place as scheduled, and after six races, the two yachts were deadlocked at three wins each. Now the whole world seemed
to take notice. Australia was alive
with anticipation. The sporting world was focused
on the race. The day came for the final race. After more than 100 years, the United States was in danger of losing its
very precious cup. Thousands of people came to watch the race. Television
cameras were ready to beam the race by satellite around the world. The crews were ready.
The
boats were polished. The yachts pulled into place at the starting line. All was
ready, but there was no race! There was not enough wind. In yachting, no wind
means no race!"
In the life of the church, as in yachting,
no wind, no race. Who
would deny that the church today lacks power, life, energy, excitement?
The
church
today needs the power of the Holy
Spirit.
‘Sunday
Homilies’).
family told
him rather
proudly: "This
camper sleeps
eight people."
Then he asked: "What is the capacity of your church, Pastor?"
The beleaguered pastor replied rather glumly, "Oh, it sleeps about eighty." It is embarrassing sometimes how little
the
modern-day church resembles the church that first Pentecost: the sound of a wind-storm, tongues of fire, disciples speaking in different languages, thousands
being added to the church and lots of excitement – excitement everywhere! (L/12)
***********
From Sermons.com
***********
From Sermons.com
Sermons for Pentecost:
Acts 2:1-21 - Are You Pentecostal?
John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 - God's Two Hands - by Leonard Sweet
The well known author and preacher Fred Craddock tells a rather funny story about a lecture he was giving: A few years ago, when he was on the west coast speaking at a seminary, just before the first lecture, one of the students stood up and said, "Before you speak, I need to know if you are Pentecostal." The room grew silent. Craddock said he looked around for the Dean of the seminary! He was nowhere to be found.
The student continued with his quiz right in front of everybody. Craddock was taken aback, and so he said, "Do you mean do I belong to the Pentecostal Church?" He said, "No, I mean are you Pentecostal?" Craddock said, "Are you asking me if I am charismatic?" the student said, "I am asking you if you are Pentecostal." Craddock said, "Do you want to know if I speak in tongues?" He said, "I want to know if you are Pentecostal." Craddock said, "I don't know what your question is." The student said, "Obviously, you are not Pentecostal." He left.
What are we talking about this morning? Is the church supposed to use the word Pentecost only as a noun or can it be used as an adjective? And so I ask you: Are you Pentecostal?...
There is a reason the disciples are best known as the "duh!-ciples."
Jesus hand-picked his own team, these twelve companions in ministry and mission. How could his chosen dozen have been so duh! and dumb?
Come on, now. Don't deny that this very thought has not crossed your mind at some point or another when reading any of the four gospels! From the safe distance of twenty centuries it is easy to look back self-importantly at Galilee and assert that, "If I'd been there I'd have 'gotten it!'"
Really? You think?
The Man - the charismatic Jesus, the greatest communicator and most creative person the world has ever seen.
The Message - the master teacher of Torah with revolutionary claims and astonishing insights.
The Miracles - the signs and wonders that made divine powers a seaside, roadside, bedside experience.
It is easy to wonder. After all, the disciples lived with Jesus. They were as close to him as anyone could get. They traveled with Jesus. They listened to his every word...
_______________________
You Are in the Spirit
It's like the story of the shark and the whale. Both were swimming in the sea when the shark swam up to the whale to engage in conversation. As they swam along, the shark said to the whale, "You are so much older than I, and wiser too. Could you tell me where the ocean is?" The whale responded, "The ocean is what you are in now." The shark would not believe it. "Come on, tell me where the ocean is so I may find it!" The whale repeated, "The ocean is here, now; you are in it." Unbelieving, the shark swam away searching for the ocean.
The moral of the story, I believe, is this: don't spend too much time looking for God because the Spirit of God is here in the now of your life, dwelling within you, within me, within this community. And that truth is nurtured in prayer.
Susan M. Fleenor, The Indwelling Spirit of Pentecost
________________________________________
Control
A wealthy family from Massachusetts used to take a month's vacation every summer to the coast of Maine, taking their maid with them. The maid had an annual ritual at the beach. She wore an old-fashioned bathing suit, complete with a little white hat, and carried enough paraphernalia to stock Wal-Mart. She would settle herself on the beach, cover every inch of her exposed flesh and journey down to the water's edge. There she would hesitate while taking deep breaths and working up her courage to enter the icy-cold water. Finally, she would daintily extend one foot and lower it slowly into the water until she barely had her big toe submerged. Then she repeated the act with the other foot. Then, having satisfied her minimal urge for a swim, she would retreat to her chair and umbrella and spend the remainder of the vacation curled around a book.
I'm afraid that may be a parable of our Christian commitment. Are we afraid to give in to the Pentecost experience, fearful that we might lose control? That's what it is really all about, isn't it? Control. We want to be in control. Well, if Pentecost is to do nothing else, it should remind us that we are not in control, not even - or perhaps I should say especially - of ourselves.
Randy L. Hyde, Time to Deliver
____________________________________
I'm afraid that may be a parable of our Christian commitment. Are we afraid to give in to the Pentecost experience, fearful that we might lose control? That's what it is really all about, isn't it? Control. We want to be in control. Well, if Pentecost is to do nothing else, it should remind us that we are not in control, not even - or perhaps I should say especially - of ourselves.
Randy L. Hyde, Time to Deliver
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They All Come Together
John Ortberg tells the story of a friend who made his first trip south of the Mason-Dixon Line from Chicago to Georgia. On his first morning in the South he went into a restaurant to order breakfast, and it seemed that every dish included something called grits...which, as my Tennessee friends tell me, is exactly the way God intended it. Not being familiar with this southern delicacy, he asked the waitress, "Could you tell me, exactly what is a grit?" Looking down on him with a mixture of compassion and condescension, she said, "Sugar, you can't get just one grit. They always come together."
John Wesley knew there was no personal holiness without social holiness, and Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Dillard says, "You can no more go to God alone than you can go to the North Pole alone." We're just like grits...you can't get just one. They come together.
John E. Harnish, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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John Ortberg tells the story of a friend who made his first trip south of the Mason-Dixon Line from Chicago to Georgia. On his first morning in the South he went into a restaurant to order breakfast, and it seemed that every dish included something called grits...which, as my Tennessee friends tell me, is exactly the way God intended it. Not being familiar with this southern delicacy, he asked the waitress, "Could you tell me, exactly what is a grit?" Looking down on him with a mixture of compassion and condescension, she said, "Sugar, you can't get just one grit. They always come together."
John Wesley knew there was no personal holiness without social holiness, and Pulitzer Prize winner Annie Dillard says, "You can no more go to God alone than you can go to the North Pole alone." We're just like grits...you can't get just one. They come together.
John E. Harnish, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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Peace
The peace Jesus gives to us through the Holy Spirit is more than we can ever imagine:
Peace means the cessation of all warfare, but it also means much more.
Peace means a feeling of inner well-being, but it also means much more.
Peace means an end to psychological tensions, but it also means much more.
Peace means halting interpersonal conflicts, but it also means much more.
Peace means the settling of silence on the soul, but it also means much more.
Peace means a feeling of inner well-being, but it also means much more.
Peace means an end to psychological tensions, but it also means much more.
Peace means halting interpersonal conflicts, but it also means much more.
Peace means the settling of silence on the soul, but it also means much more.
In Valyermo, California , the Benedictines converted a 400-acre ranch into a religious community called St. Andrew's Priory. As you enter the grounds, you find that the land is posted: "No Hunting Except for Peace."
The world is hunting for peace. What will we give it?
Leonard Sweet, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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The Church on Fire
Two persons were talking together before a large church which was being destroyed by fire. The first man spoke in a voice which could be heard above the voice of the firemen: "This is the first time I ever saw you at church." To this the second responded: "This is the first time I ever saw the church on fire." There are many prophets of doom saying that the age of the Christian Church is over - that it has lost its zeal! We're taking a beating right now in this country and around the world. Our theology is being questioned. Everyone is writing a critical book against the organized church. We have had to take some unpopular stands on social issues. Magazines are attacking the ministry, and it isn't the thing to do anymore to join the church. John Kelman said, however, "God pity the nation or city whose factory smokestacks rise higher than her church spires."
Why Belong To The Church?, anthology, CSS Publishing Company, Inc.
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Waves of Worry
Several years ago a submarine was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to the harbor, the captain was asked, "How did the terrible storm last night affect you?" The officer looked at him in surprise and exclaimed, "Storm? We didn't even know there was one!" The sub had been so far beneath the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as "the cushion of the sea." Although the ocean may be whipped into huge waves by high winds, the waters below are never stirred.
This, I believe, is a perfect picture of the peace that comes from Christ's Spirit. The waves of worry, of fear, of heartbreak, cannot touch those resting in Christ. Sheltered by His grace and encouraged by His Spirit, the believer is given the perfect tranquility that only Christ can provide.
Adrian Dieleman, Receive the Holy Spirit
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Humor: How Were You Attired?
Humor: How Were You Attired?
Recently, a judicial friend was presiding over a case in a small, rural county. The defendant was charged with drunk driving and trying to assault the police officer who arrested him. To convict the defendant on the assault on an officer charge, the District Attorney had to proved that the defendant knew the person he was assaulting was a police officer. And the easiest way to do that is to show that the officer was wearing a police uniform, and therefore the defendant knew that this was a police officer.
So the District Attorney asked the officer on the witness stand "And how were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?"
The witness looked at him blankly. It was clear he didn't know what the District Attorney meant by "attired". Everyone saw this but the District Attorney.
"Would you repeat the question, please?"
In a slightly irritated voice the District Attorney said, "And how were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?"
The witness still was puzzled. "Say that again", he pleaded.
"How were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?" barked the District Attorney.
My friend said you could suddenly see the light bulb come on in the officer's head, and he proudly proclaimed "I was traveling on standard issue radial tires!"
This officer needed an interpreter even within the English language!
That's what I'm getting at: We all need our own personal interpreter, full time, 24/7. So much of what we hear, even within the English language, we don't understand. And nowhere is that truth more evident than with people who are new to the church.
Leonard Sweet, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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Lost and Found
Picture a little girl lost in a big city. There she sits, crying on the curb. A policeman finds her, puts her in his cruiser and drives her up and down the streets, hoping she'll recognize something familiar. Which, at last, she does. She sees a steeple with a cross on it. Tears vanish.
Speech returns. "That's my church," she says. "I can find my way from here."
You're not the only one, little girl.
William A. Ritter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
So the District Attorney asked the officer on the witness stand "And how were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?"
The witness looked at him blankly. It was clear he didn't know what the District Attorney meant by "attired". Everyone saw this but the District Attorney.
"Would you repeat the question, please?"
In a slightly irritated voice the District Attorney said, "And how were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?"
The witness still was puzzled. "Say that again", he pleaded.
"How were you attired when you pulled the defendant over?" barked the District Attorney.
My friend said you could suddenly see the light bulb come on in the officer's head, and he proudly proclaimed "I was traveling on standard issue radial tires!"
This officer needed an interpreter even within the English language!
That's what I'm getting at: We all need our own personal interpreter, full time, 24/7. So much of what we hear, even within the English language, we don't understand. And nowhere is that truth more evident than with people who are new to the church.
Leonard Sweet, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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Lost and Found
Picture a little girl lost in a big city. There she sits, crying on the curb. A policeman finds her, puts her in his cruiser and drives her up and down the streets, hoping she'll recognize something familiar. Which, at last, she does. She sees a steeple with a cross on it. Tears vanish.
Speech returns. "That's my church," she says. "I can find my way from here."
You're not the only one, little girl.
William A. Ritter, Collected Sermons, www.Sermons.com
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What Is Your Other Plan?
Erasmus, the famous Renaissance scholar, once told a classic story which was designed to emphasize how important it is that we take up the torch of Christ's ministry with great commitment. In the story, Jesus returns to heaven after His time on earth. The angels gather around Him to learn what all happened during His days on earth. Jesus tells them of the miracles, His teachings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.
Erasmus, the famous Renaissance scholar, once told a classic story which was designed to emphasize how important it is that we take up the torch of Christ's ministry with great commitment. In the story, Jesus returns to heaven after His time on earth. The angels gather around Him to learn what all happened during His days on earth. Jesus tells them of the miracles, His teachings, His death on the cross, and His resurrection.
When He finishes his story, Michael the Archangel asks Jesus, "But what happens now?"