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Dear Covenant Family,
We celebrated Pentecost last Sunday, that Spirit-filled festival that marks the end of the Easter Season and links us to the traditions of our Jewish siblings. Red is the color of Pentecost, symbolizing the “tongues of fire” referred to in the Book of Acts.
I remember one pastor told the story of teaching a confirmation class on seasons of the church. When no one knew what Pentecost was, he said it was when the church was sitting in a group and the Holy Spirit landed on them like tongues of fire on their heads and they spoke the gospel in all the voices of the world. Most of the kids took the information in stride, but one girl looked shocked. Finally, she said, “Pastor, we must have been absent that Sunday!”. He said the beauty of that moment was not that she misunderstood about Pentecost, but that she understood about the church. She thought the church she had seen and known had that possibility and imagined that God could give such a gift, a gift she might have missed.
I don’t want us to miss the gift. I know the Spirit of God is blowing through our lives, unpredictable and free. In those moments when all seems lost, when there is no way out, no way forward and yet a door opens. When scripture comes alive, when prayer becomes dynamic, when following Jesus becomes a way of life, when service is a joy, when we know beyond doubt that we are loved by God, then the Holy Spirit, God’s greatest gift, is blowing in our midst. When we see signs of new dreams and visions, breakthroughs in generosity, radical unity and equality, the Spirit of God is in our midst.
Where do you see the Spirit at work in your life?
Where do you see the Spirit at work at Covenant?
There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.” When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” (Exodus 3:2-4)
May we recognize the holy ground on which we stand.
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