Tedd Pullano
Acts 2

Pentecost II

(In the tone of a speech, like Peter on Pentecost)

Fellow followers of Christ, fellow travelers, friends and visitors, I pray that these words this morning would be worthy of listening to carefully. Jesus, born of Mary, worker of many wonders verified by many saints before us throughout the years, has made 2 promises to us and to all people. These promises were fully in line with our Holy Scriptures, and were made to ensure that we have joy, peace, strength and hope. Jesus, knowing our very human needs and frailties, and knowing that he had to leave, did not want us to be without strength and insight, promised to take care of us.

With this in mind, before he ascended into the heavens to be seated at the right hand of God Almighty, the man of Nazareth, our own Jesus, made each of us 2 promises. These were promises that could and would shape and empower the lives of many folks. He first promised that he would one day return in glory. We still hold to that promise and await that glorious day. And he also promised us this: that in his absence, before he came again in glory, he would not leave us in this world alone. These were his words: "for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." And he also said: I will ask the Father, and he will give you another, an Advocate, to be with you forever. 17 This is the Spirit of truth. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you." You see, he promised he would send to us a gift -- his Holy Spirit -- a gift who would be a Helper for us, an Advocate. Our Lord Jesus promised he would send to us, for us, real, true Power from on high to be with us, to fill us with strength, to guide us, to cleanse us from our sins, to strengthen us so that we could be his witnesses, his spokespeople, his press secretaries, everywhere, even to the ends of the world. This Spirit, which long ago God Almighty had also promised to pour out on us as the prophets have told us, is indeed the Spirit of the Living God. It is the Spirit of Life, the same Spirit God breathed into Creation as he began life. Hear from Genesis chapter 2 verse 7: 7then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being. This breath of creation is surely the same Spirit which God and Jesus have promised to pour out on us, to pour out into us -- filling our hearts and souls with God's own Spirit. It is a Spirit all need, which this world needs, and all are welcome to.

Today, fellow Israelites, fellow believers, journeyers, fellow searchers, we celebrate that Spirit's arrival in a tangible, touchable, feelable, real way. We celebrate its power, its strength, its majesty. As the wind blows, as the air fills our lungs and gives us life -- just like at our creation -- so the Spirit of God fills our souls with all that we need to live lives pleasing to God and full of joy. Sisters and brothers, Jesus made a promise to us, a promise to all the saints who came before us and all those coming up after us. And on the Day of Pentecost, that promise has been fulfilled. Thanks be to God for this awesome gift! The Spirit is alive, well and here amongst us. It is the Spirit of power and joy for the people of God. It is the same Spirit through which our God raised Jesus from the dead, destroying the barrier that our sin creates between God and us. Because of this gift, we no longer have to be captive to those things which move us to unhealthy behavior. In this Spirit, we have freedom from the hold of sin and new life. It is the same spirit which fills and empowers our celebration of the Lord's Supper.

This Spirit is the Holy Spirit which allows us to read the Scriptures and make sense of them. It is the Spirit which causes compassion to well up in each of us so that we can respond to the needs of our neighbors in pain and tell them of the marvelous deeds of our Lord and Savior Jesus. And it also is this Spirit which empowers and strengthens us to do the work of God. It is the Spirit which our brother Martin Luther King Jr. called upon in breaking the chains of racism and hatred in this country. It is the Spirit Mother Teresa called upon to do her work with the poor. It is this same Holy Spirit which brings this group here and empowers it and encourages it to share its food, its energy, its resources of mind and heart. It is only through this Spirit that we are able to do what we do.

Know that the promise and the gift are for each of you. If it is alive in your life, give Praise to God. Work to keep it alive and share the good news of this Spirit with all you meet. The Spirit itself will give the words to speak if you but try -- as it did on that 1st Pentecost when all were able to hear for the glorious works of God in their own language. If not, know that you are welcome to accept it, to have your lives and hearts be changed, to find your way out of a culture with too much sickness and pain and into a life of power and peace. I urge you to do so. I urge you to, on this Day of Pentecost, to accept the gift of New Life which God in Jesus has made available to you. May you turn to God, claim the promise, accept the gift, and be a child of God.