Pastor's Message

May 2024

God’s Beloved People,

Commencement: Many high school and college seniors are preparing to graduate at this time of year.  Graduation ceremonies are called commencement exercises.  It’s the end of high school or college education for whole classes of young people.  They are graduating from high school or college.  But commencement actually means the beginning.  To “commence” something means to start it, to begin it.  So in a larger sense, high school or college graduation is the beginning, the start of a whole new chapter in life.  Commencement: beginning. 

Pentecost Sunday falls on May 19th this year, 50 days after Jesus’ Resurrection Day.  Pentecost is the commencement of the Christian church.  Pentecost is the beginning of the whole Christian church.  According to Acts chapter 2, the Holy Spirit blows on the followers of Jesus and empowers them to be his witnesses in the world.  Without the gift of the Holy Spirit, the church would not have commenced.  But the Holy Spirit blows on them, enflames and empowers them to go out and share the good news of Jesus with other people: many, many different people.  Pentecost is the commencement of Jesus’ church.  We often call Pentecost the birthday of the church.

In the Pentecost miracle recorded in Acts 2, the Holy Spirit comes as a mighty rushing wind and tongues of fire on the heads of the believers.  And remember please that wind, spirit and breath are all the same word in Greek, also in Hebrew.  But the focus is actually not so much on the wind and fire, but on the words that the believers are speaking.  The believers are telling of the mighty acts of God, especially what God has done through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  People from all over the known world are hearing those words in their own languages.  So the Spirit is transforming the infant church into a community of prophets: a community of messengers of the good news of Jesus.

On the Day of Pentecost, only 50 days after Jesus’ Resurrection, there are about 120 believers according to Acts 1 and the Spirit is given to all of them.  They all become messengers of the good news of Jesus.  In the Lutheran Church we talk a lot about the priesthood of all believers and that we are all in a sense, priests of Jesus Christ, which is very true.  Perhaps we should also talk about the prophet-hood of all believers, because we are also, all of us, called to be prophets: to tell and share the saving good news of Jesus with others in our own languages.  The ongoing miracle of Pentecost is being able to hear each other beyond our differences. The ongoing miracle of Pentecost is being able to share in the good news mission of Jesus with other people, despite our differences.    

In the Spirit with you, Pastor Dennis