On Pentecost Sunday in our congregations, churches are adorned in red to symbolize the fire of the Holy Spirit, readings tell the story of Pentecost, and hymns invite the Holy Spirit to come into our lives. It is the day we commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples (Acts 2:1-13), after which the disciples became confident witnesses to Christ in the world and the church began to grow as more and more people come to believe in Christ.
But Pentecost is more than a special day in the life of the church. It is the beginning of a season which recognizes how the Holy Spirit is foundational to our life together in Christ. The Holy Spirit is the One who calls us to faith, as we take to heart God’s word, and answer the call to serve our neighbor in the name of Christ.
In the Small Catechism, Martin Luther points out in his explanation to the Third Article of the Apostles’ Creed that, on our own, we would not even be able to believe in Jesus Christ or come to him, “but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with his gifts, made me holy and kept me in the true faith.” Luther continues by saying that the Holy Spirit, in the same way, “calls, gathers, enlightens, and makes holy the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”
Have you ever considered that the Holy Spirit is at work in you when God’s word comes to you through a favorite Bible story and touches your heart and mind? Or, similarly, when you are enriched by a special hymn, a sermon, or a kind word or deed shared with you when you needed it most? The Holy Spirit is at work when we are moved to believe God’s words about Jesus, and even more so when we come to believe that Jesus himself is the Word made flesh that came and lived among us – that he is Emmanuel, God with us. The Holy Spirit of God is present at our baptism, in the Lord’s Supper, in our prayers and intercessions on behalf of others, and as we live out and share in words and deeds the way of Jesus. Consider the role of the Holy Spirit that not only calls us to faith, but also calls us to live the faith in our lives and in our witness to others.
During this Pentecost season, let us celebrate the work of the Holy Spirit which “calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies (us and) the whole Christian church on earth.” Let us celebrate that Pentecost is about the coming of the Holy Spirit not only to those first disciples, but to all of us as well. Let us celebrate that in Christ we are a new creation and can now look outside of ourselves toward Christ and the work he would have us do, confident that God’s Holy Spirit accompanies us and gives us the ability and strength to carry out this holy calling entrusted to us.
+Bishop Wilma S. Kucharek
