This coming Sunday is Pentecost, the day when we remember the Holy Spirit descending upon the Apostles and calling together people from many different nations to hear what God had done in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:1-21). We will celebrate at First Presbyterian Church of Berthoud by welcoming our friends from Neema African Fellowship in Aurora to worship with us. Following worship, Pastor Jemimah Ngatia will give a presentation about her recent trip to the Holy Land while we enjoy a lunch of Kenyan food together. I can think of no better way for us to celebrate together the way the Holy Spirit binds us together in one Church as "saints from every tribe and language, people and nation" (Revelation 5:9).
In his book The Go-Between God, the Anglican missionary, bishop, and theologian John V. Taylor argued that one of the ways the Holy Spirit works in our world is to make us aware of others. Taylor calls the Spirit the “Go-Between God” because he sees the Spirit at work in every interaction we have, going between us and the others to whom God sends us and "opening our inward eyes, making us aware of some ‘other’ beckoning and calling in its separate identity” (p. 107). This happened on Pentecost, with the Spirit enabling people from different languages to understand each other. It happened in Acts 10 when Peter encountered Cornelius and saw the Holy Spirit poured out on Gentiles. And the Spirit can move this way in our lives today. As we pray and prepare for Pentecost, let's pray for the Spirit to open our eyes and hearts to those with whose fellowship he wishes to bless us.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Chris