The Spirit of God now dwells in us
Pentecost Sunday takes us full circle in the great drama of our redemption. The great event in our history begins with the Word made flesh and comes to a grand crescendo when He who is our life promised and delivered the Holy Spirit our Advocate to be with us always. It all begins when the Son eternally with the Father takes on our humanity.
What we celebrate on Pentecost Sunday is not far removed from what we celebrate on Christmas day. No, it’s not the same thing, but it’s not too far removed. The two celebrations are related.
Remember Christmas day- – the day when God himself took on our human nature. The Divine Word becomes flesh and dwells among us. God becomes man and the course of the world is changed forever. Glory to God in the highest, we sang, and peace to his people on earth.
The melding of God and man in the baby Jesus is the irrevocable promise that the care of humanity will forever be of the utmost importance to God. God takes on the human cause as His own. By his Incarnation God is forever united with humanity.
In a type of reversal, Pentecost indicates we become sanctified with God’s Spirit through our baptism and the course of our lives are changed forever. Our flesh has been filled with God’s Spirit.
The cares of God, expressed so eloquently in the life of Jesus, becomes our cares. The mission of God, lived out so faithfully by the person of Jesus, becomes our mission.
Pentecost, really does mean something in our everyday lives. “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim. The Spirit allows us to speak a different language, to speak in different tongues. A language not of a foreign tongue or nation but one that finds its source and home in God.
It is a language that allows us to speak words of comfort in the midst of pain- – “peace be with you, and now I send you.”
A language that allows us to speak words of hope in the midst of darkness– “the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.”
A language that allows us to speak words of forgiveness even in the midst of our own hurt — “whose sins you forgive are forgiven them.”
The language of the driving, powerful wind from heaven. The language of truth and confidence the Spirit enables us to proclaim. It changes the course of our very lives, we are filled with the divine Spirit of God. Yes, it is that strong and powerful.
When used, it changes the course of another’s life who hears the new language from our lips and is observed through our actions. Yes, it is that strong and powerful. We can speak words coming from the Holy Spirit, tongues that we now possess.
“Peace be with you,” Jesus says. The language of God’s Holy Spirit. The Spirit brings true peace, the words of true peace to be breathed on one another as they have been breathed on us. God’s cause of peace and forgiveness has become our own.
We have come full circle. The Son of God took on our flesh, the adopted children have been given his Spirit.