Pentecost
This coming Sunday is the high festival of Pentecost. We celebrate the day when Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to His Church. Like Christmas and Easter, Pentecost is a special day of thanksgiving and praise to God for His gift of the Spirit. For the Holy Spirit distributes the salvation and forgiveness that Jesus won on the cross.
The risen Savior told His disciples “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations” (Luke 24:47). They were to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15) and “make disciples of every nation” (Matthew 28:19). This was a huge undertaking. The disciples would need help. Therefore Jesus told them, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me…to the end of the world” (Acts 1:8).
Jesus sent the Holy Spirit on the feast of Pentecost. By His power, the disciples, who had fled Jesus and hid in the upper room, now boldly spoke about Jesus to the large crowd. Peter, the one who denied Jesus three times, now declared to the crowd, “God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). The Holy Spirit moved over 3,000 people who heard Peter’s sermon to repent, believe on Jesus, and be baptized.
Ever since that Pentecost day, the Holy Spirit has been working through His Word to call people by the gospel, enlighten them with His gifts, and keep them in the one faith. Since He is the Spirit of truth, He will testify the truth about Jesus as the savior of the world. The Holy Spirit will also glorify Jesus, “for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:15) and will “teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26).
The Holy Spirit’s work is to proclaim Jesus Christ as the crucified, risen, and ascended Redeemer of the world. As Jesus once said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). So the Spirit does not promote Himself, but Jesus.
Indeed, the Holy Spirit granted the apostles the power to heal the sick, to drive out demons, to speak in different languages, and to prophesy. However, these miracles were meant to establish the truth about the apostles’ words about Jesus.
When St. James stated, “Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth” (James 1:18), he was restating Jesus’ word, “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). The Holy Spirit unites His gracious and powerful Word with the water in baptism to make it a water giving spiritual life and faith in Jesus. St. Paul told the believers in Thessalonica, “Our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and the Holy Spirit and in much assurance” (1 Thessalonians 1:5). The Spirit’s divine power works through His Word to give salvation to all who believe it (Romans 1:16).
Faith is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). The Holy Spirit helps us in our Christian life, as St. Paul wrote, “it is God who works in us to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13) and “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
On the Feast of Pentecost, we have many reasons to thank God the Holy Spirit for His work for us.