Small Talk
June 2014
The Church’s festival season is drawing to an end. That end comes with a beginning! That’s not surprising for disciples of the One who always is doing a new thing, who always is turning expectation upside-down and inside-out.
The festival season ends with Pentecost, the 50th day after the Resurrection of the Christ. The time of waiting was and is over. When one thing ends, another begins. The end of the festival season brings us the beginning of “ordinary time”. That means “the first Sunday…the second Sunday…the third Sunday…” in order.
Pentecost is a beginning too. It’s the beginning of the hands-on mission of spreading the Good News anywhere and everywhere.
The book of Acts records the Pentecost event. It’s when the promised Spirit blew through the midst of Jesus’ closest disciples. They heard the wind. They saw the tongues of fire dancing on their heads. They felt the prophetic urge to speak.
Pentecost is when and how God’s people find their passions and live them in the world so that the Giver of these gifts is honored. So what is your faith-passion? I know most of you well enough to believe that you know the answer to that question! Could it be Bible study, social justice, Christian Education? Could your passion be for worship or a mission project? Could it be visiting a friend or helping with a mailing?
Many of you have more than one passion, and together, this congregation brings the Pentecost Spirit to the world. Remember the theme of last fall’s annual campaign? It was “GO…and do likewise!” That’s the passion of Pentecost. It’s ordinary and it’s extraordinary…and it’s all yours.
Unless the eye catch fire, The God will not be seen.
Unless the ear catch fire, The God will not be heard.
Unless the tongue catch fire, The God will not be named.
Unless the heart catch fire, The God will not be loved.
Unless the mind catch fire, The God will not be known.
William Blake (1757-1827) from Pentecost
Faithfully,
Jill
The Reverend Jill H. Small