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Pentecost – Year A – RCL

Scripture: Acts 2:1-21 and 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13

This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday when we celebrate the birth of the Christian church. Believers from far and wide were gathered together in one place, after Jesus had gone back up to heaven, and they were praying and worshipping together. Suddenly there was the sound of a mighty wind that entered the building, and tongues of fire appeared over the heads of the believers. They began to speak in languages that they had not learned before. The message of God’s love was spoken out loud in many different languages. The Holy Spirit was helping the Gospel reach the many language groups of the world.

Not all of us can speak two or more languages. It’s a wonderful thing if you do; it’s a blessing to be able to talk to people from different countries and continents. But if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, even if you cannot suddenly speak in a different language, you can always speak the language of love.

The language of love, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, does not always rely upon spoken words. When you see someone in need, and you help them, you are speaking the language of God’s love. When you defend someone who is being bullied or harassed or beaten down with words or deeds, you are speaking the language of God’s love. When you show care and give healing to one of God’s creatures, even something as small as a sparrow, you are speaking the language of God.

On that Pentecost Day, the Holy Spirit did miraculously cause the believers to speak out in languages that they had not learned. They were able to tell people that did not understand them before about God’s love for the world. But even today, when we let the Holy Spirit fill us and guide us, we can speak God’s language of love in action that shows others the love of God, even if they cannot understand our words.

Prayer: Dear God, please fill us with the Holy Spirit and guide us in the ways of love. Help us to reach out to those who need to see love in action.

Today is the seventh Sunday, the last Sunday of the Easter season. If you were going into the church, into the sanctuary for worship services, you would see the color white on the altar and the pulpit. The pastor might be wearing a white stole draped over the robe. White is the color of Easter. This is the last Sunday in the Easter season, and then comes the celebration of Pentecost. That’s when the color changes to red.

So the Easter season of the church year is still here. Jesus died and rose from the grave. Then he went up into heaven to be with God the Father again. When Jesus returned to heaven, it was called the “Ascension.” Before Jesus ascended, he promised his disciples that even though they would not see him with their eyes, he would be with them always in their hearts. The Holy Spirit would be with them to guide them and let them know that God was always with them.

On Ascension Day, Jesus went up, (or ascended) into heaven right before the disciples’ eyes, on Mount Olivet. And they were so amazed, that they stood there looking up, not moving for a long time. They didn’t move, in fact, until two angels, sent from God, spoke to them and asked them what they were doing. The angels assured them that Jesus would be back. He was not gone forever.

The disciples finally came down from the mountain and began to pray and to wait for the Holy Spirit to come to them.

It was hard for them to come down from that mountain, the last place that they were able to see their beloved Jesus. But they could not stay on the mountain forever. Jesus wanted them to tell the world about his love. Jesus had told them, “You will be my witnesses here in Jerusalem and all over the earth.”

Because those disciples did come down from the mountain, and did tell others about Jesus, the Gospel has reached every country and every language in the entire world. That is something to celebrate. And we can continue to spread the message of God’s love to all the people that we know.

Prayer: Thank you, Jesus, for always being with us, even when we cannot see you with our eyes. Help us to tell others about your love, all over the world. Amen.

We are all trapped in a time of waiting. The world is waiting for it to be safe once again to go outside and meet up with friends. The world is waiting, staying put for safety, knowing that we are helping others by keeping our distance. It seems like a long time to wait.

I wonder if any of you have ever tried watching a flower that’s all closed up. The flower will eventually bloom; it just takes time. Trying to pull the flower open will not help. That will only damage the flower. For some things, you just have to wait patiently. Eventually you will be rewarded by getting to see a beautiful flower opened up to the sun.

When Jesus was walking around here on earth, the Jewish people, God’s chosen ones, were waiting. They were waiting for the Messiah, a Savior who had been promised by God. They trusted that the Messiah would come, but they did not know when or where. They may not have known it, but they were waiting for Jesus.

The coming of Jesus is sometimes described as a flower blooming. Here is a song that we sometimes sing at Christmas:

“Lo, how a rose is blooming; from tender stem has sprung. From Jesse’s family coming, as men of old have sung.” 

The prophets in the Old Testament told us that the Messiah, Jesus, was coming. But this birth was a long time in coming.

Palm Sunday is the celebration of Jesus being revealed for who He really is. Like a flower opening up, the people finally saw the beauty, the truth of Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus was the one! Jesus was the Savior! The people in Jerusalem knew that this was true and so they had a parade.

As Jesus came riding into town, seated on a young donkey, the people cut down palm branches and waved them overhead as a sign of welcome and celebration. They were so happy that the time of waiting was over.

This Palm Sunday, we celebrate that Jesus is our Savior but we are sad that we cannot all celebrate together in church. We are waiting. We are waiting for this virus danger to pass, but we are also waiting for Jesus to come again. And while we wait for both, God wants us to be patient and above all, to be loving towards others. We show love in our words and actions, especially in our families. We are spending lots of time with our families now and we need an extra share of love and patience.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, help us to be loving and patient while we wait. We trust that the world will open up once more like a flower blooms in the spring. We thank you for sending Jesus to be our loving Savior. Watch over all of us on this Palm Sunday. Amen.

Baaabara and the Blossom