Dear brothers and sisters,
I pray that this Bishop’s Note finds you safe and well this week after the Ascension! As we did last week, this week we will take a break from our discussion of the Burial Rite in the 2019 Book of Common Prayer so we can focus on the big feast coming up in our churches, the Day of Pentecost.
This day marks a massive shift in the relationship between humanity and God. Prior to the fall humanity lived in intimacy with God. We can read about it in Genesis where Adam walks with God in the garden. After the fall the whole situation changes. There’s a distinct separation between God and man, and we try to bridge that separation by ourselves and on our own terms. It’s not about us seeing God for who he is, but us trying to drag him down to our level or worse equating him with idols. We can see that kind of behavior in the construction of the Tower of Babel and the golden calf at Sinai. If we try to bridge that gap on our own by dragging down God, it won’t go well.
In Pentecost we have God himself bridging that gap. Rather than us building up to God, it’s God coming down in the person of the Holy Spirit to indwell the hearts of the faithful. In the Old Testament we hear about the Spirit being upon prophets, but never dwelling in this much more intimate way. The Day of Pentecost is a day to not only give thanks for that indwelling, for the love God has for us and his presence with us, but also to think about the role the Holy Spirit has in our lives. There are so many things like our faith and our love that people assume they’ve come to on their own when in reality they’re not capable of it without the Spirit’s presence in their lives. Pentecost is about giving the Holy Spirit credit for the work he’s done in our lives.
I pray you all have a blessed Pentecost! |
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