Sunday 31 May 2009

Background

Today is Pentecost - the festival when Christians celebrate thecoming of the Holy Spirit. This passage from Acts is the account ofit.

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea andSamaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

In the original Greek, the word 'power' from this verse is'dunamis', which means the divine ability to do what ordinarily youwould be unable to do.

This promise of God came to pass, and the disciples began to speakin languages they had not spoken before.

This astonished the people who were visiting Jerusalem at that timeto celebrate a Jewish festival. They came from all over the East -Asia, Libya, Egypt and many other countries. Differentnationalities heard the disciples speak their own language and theywere astounded, for this had never happened before. The peoplemarvelled at the disciples because they were telling the gatheredcrowds of the wonderful works of God, and each could hear in theirown language.

The unusual had occurred and none of the disciples were excludedfrom this extraordinary encounter with the Holy Spirit.

For Christians, the Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity -the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The grace to do the extraordinaryhad come upon the disciples, who only weeks before, had beendevastated at the loss of Jesus, their beloved friend and leader.But through the coming of the Spirit, they learnt how to let Godchange them and work in their lives. They received a new revelationof what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Christians believe that the life and power of God, flowing withinthem through the Holy Spirit, brings an extraordinary change. Youreceive the boldness to do what ordinarily you could not. Like thedisciples at Pentecost, timidity and fear goes, your speechchanges, you speak in love not hatred. A divine encounter with Godcan change the life of a person forever. You become a sign and awonder to your generation.

To Ponder

To what extent is the 'dunamis' power stillavailable to us today?

Have you experienced the unusual in your life?How has it affected you and those around you?

Is the Holy Spirit still relevant today? Whatrelevance does it hold for you?