Tuesday, 14 May 2024

The 3 Purposes of Pentecost by Fr Nelson Lobo OFM Cap

 

WONDERING GURU

19 May 2024

Acts 2: 1-11;1 Cor 12: 3b-7, 12-13 or (Gal 5: 16-25)

Jn 20: 19-23 or (Jn 15: 26-27; 16: 12-15)




We celebrate the birth of Jesus & most of the world pauses to celebrate Christmas with us. We celebrate His resurrection and recognize Easter as a very special day on the calendar. But unfortunately, Pentecost does not receive the worldwide fame and importance. Yet, this day is important to us, because Pentecost is the birthday of the Church, & God has given us the wonderful opportunity of being a part of it. Pentecost was a once in history event, when the Church was born. So let me share with you three things that we learn from "Pentecost."

 

I. THE CHURCH IS THE WORK OF GOD- It’s God who started the Church not any man. God brought the Church into existence & it is His Church, not ours. We are just a part of it. It is essential for us to realize that.

II. THE CHURCH WAS BORN TO COMMUNICATE THE LOVE OF GOD-The mission of the Church is to communicate the love of God to a lost & dying world. The theme of Pentecost actually is communication. God gave the gift of tongues to the apostles for one purpose, & that was for the purpose of communication.  They had a problem because of different languages and cultures. So language barrier was the main issue.  Because God wanted each of them to hear the message in his/her own language, He performed a miracle, & gave the apostles the gift of tongues so they could communicate His message to everyone there.  The mission of the Church is to communicate the message. Today that gift of speaking in tongues is put into black and white. And therefore today, we have translated the Bible into hundreds of different languages & dialects.

III. THE CHURCH WAS BORN TO CREATE UNIQUE FELLOWSHIP AMONG BELIEVERS-On the Day of Pentecost there are 3,000 new converts, & they suddenly share something that has never been shared before. All of them know they are guilty - by their sins they are guilty of crucifying Christ. But now they have repented of their sins. They've been baptized. They've been redeemed, & they've been given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Suddenly, they are part of a new society, new fellowship.  They've come out of a world of slavery & superstition, of selfishness & greed.  Now they're part of a new fellowship where they can share things about themselves with others whom they know will listen & be kind & compassionate towards them.

IV THE CHURCH IN THE MODERN WORLD- How does the feast of Pentecost affect the church in the modern world? Let me share a story.  "A young man was apprenticed to a master artist who produced the most beautiful stained glass windows anywhere. The apprentice could not approach the master’s genius so he borrowed his master’s tools, thinking that was the answer. After several weeks, the young man said to his teacher, ’I’m not doing any better with your tools than I did with mine.’ The teacher replied,’ So, it’s not the tools of the master you need; it’s the spirit of the master you need.’

The Spirit of our master Jesus Christ has been with the Church since the first Pentecost, so that it could enter our spirit and enable us to be the kind of people God intended for us to be. Each day we need to renew ourselves and allow God’s Holy Spirit to replace our pride full spirit so that we can bear His cross in this world. The Holy Spirit works constantly with our spirit so that our lives may be transformed, be made new and rewarding.

 

 

 

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