Hello everyone, I’m Ty’Ann Brown, encouraging you to keep the faith.
When you think about the Christian calendar, what two events immediately come to mind? Most likely you’re thinking Christmas or Holy Week, which includes the observance of Good Friday and Easter/Resurrection. And you’re right, both of these are cornerstones of the faith.
But there is another sacred observance that many Christians seem to skip over, and some don’t even know about. I’m talking about Pentecost Sunday.
Why is it important? Because it actually marks the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles and the disciples while they were together in Jerusalem. And they became so inspired that they began to speak in tongues. This also marks the time when Apostle Peter first went out to preach the Good Word. That day, his sermon converted 3,000 people and the church took off.
So actually Pentecost represents the birth of the church. All of this is detailed in the book of Acts. Before this day, the apostles were in hiding since Jesus’ crucifixion. They were cowering in fear, wondering if they too would be crucified. But when the Holy Spirit came, fear diminished and they were fully empowered to carry out the ministry of Jesus.
Have you ever been immobilized by fear? I know I have, we all have, especially during this time of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s easy to want to just curl up on the couch and never move from there. It’s tempting, I get it.
But no, there is a better way. And what Pentecost teaches us is that not only to we have access to this amazing power of the Holy Spirit, but it is also calling us to be actively involved—and note the word actively—involved in the work of salvation and redemption.
So what can you do during this unprecedented time of fear in the world? Acts 2:42 says, “So they gave themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, and to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.” So pray, pray by yourself, pray with others, pray for others, pray without ceasing. And break bread with others to those who need to hear the Good Word.
Now I know during this time of quarantine, breaking bread literally with others is very limited, but you can be creative and reach out and create community and take the time to listen to someone else. Tap into the power just like the apostles. The Holy Spirit is with you, so God bless you and keep the faith.
