The Day of Pentecost: Come, Holy Spirit!

Fr. Pete has recorded a video talking about the coming Day of Pentecost View and listen here. And read on for the text of the video.

​Aloha! Welcome to St. Timothy’s! You and I are about to experience one of the most important feast days in the church year. No, it’s not Christmas. Nope, not Easter. It’s Pentecost! The day we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell within every believer. 

Last Sunday was Mother’s Day, and we honored our mothers with red roses and loving prayer. It was also the Sunday after the Ascension of Christ, when Jesus returned to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father. Together we considered Psalm 1, and we thought about the path of life we are following. The psalmist gives us guidance to make sure we find the right path and stay on it throughout our lives. Of course, we all take detours, usually painful ones. But, we learned that the more we walk in the way of righteousness, the more we’ll be able to see all the pieces of life make a little more sense… the more we can trust God to work out the messy parts of our lives… and the more the psalmist’s promise to yield good fruit in our lives can come true, as we’re planted by streams of living water.

This Sunday we’ll hear the account of the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. That word “Pentecost” means “50th day,” and it’s used in both the Old and New Testaments. In the New Testament it refers to the coming of the Spirit on the Jewish feast day of Pentecost, 50 days after Jesus’ resurrection. On Pentecost, Jesus’ promise to send an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, comes true for each of us. The Spirit dwells within our hearts to guide us and care for us, if we’re open to that. And the Spirit draws and gives life to the body of Christ in the world, the church—including St. Timothy’s! In fact, some call the Day of Pentecost the birthday of the church.

I like what Pope Francis said about the Holy Spirit in his book Encountering Truth: “To put it simply: the Holy Spirit bothers us. Because he moves us… he pushes the Church to go forward. And we are like Peter at the Transfiguration: ‘Ah, how wonderful it is to be here like this, all together!’… But don’t bother us. We want the Holy Spirit to doze off… we want to domesticate the Holy Spirit. And that’s no good, because he is God, he is that wind which comes and goes and you don’t know where. He is the power of God, he is the one who gives us consolation and strength to move forward. But: to move forward! And this bothers us. It’s so much nicer to be comfortable.”

Food for thought as we prepare for this day! And as the Day of Pentecost is a perfect day to do so, we’ll also renew our own baptismal vows as we baptize our beloved triplets, Ruthann Natalie, John Murphy, and Joy Elizabeth Ridge. Please pray for them and their parents, Sara and Francis, as they are welcomed into Jesus’ spiritual family. 

I hope you’ll join us on Sunday morning at 9 in the Chapel, or worship with us on Facebook Live. The liturgical color for Pentecost is red, so if you can, please wear red this Sunday!

I am praying for you, dear sisters and brothers, and I ask for your prayers for St. Timothy’s, our dedicated staff, and our devoted lay leaders. May God bless you all!
Come, Holy Spirit!
Aloha ke akua,
Fr. Pete+

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