Firestorm

Good afternoon all,
I'm sending out tomorrow's reading early because many of us will be on retreat tomorrow. This is a familiar story to most of us; probably the most familiar story in the whole Book of Acts. In our opening reading Jesus told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem because they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit before long. Today we see that promise come true. We often say Pentecost is the birthday of the church, since it is by the Spirit's power that the group of 120 people who threw lots to chose a twelfth apostle in this morning's reading became a world wide movement changing lives and reshaping the world.

Throughout Acts we see a similar pattern. People believe the good news about Jesus, they accept the faith and seek baptism and then the Holy Spirit is poured out on them. We aren't used to seeing the Spirit in such dramatic ways today, but God's powerful Spirit is still working in the church and in individual believers around the world. Often the challenge for us is to seek the Spirit's guidance and to allow space in our lives and plans for the Spirit to show us new directions. God isn't done with us so let us listen and trust.

Blessings,
Sam

Saturday 2/20 Acts 2:1-13

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.3Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”