...Pentecost!Though it is a dated resource now, I do enjoy the way Kenneth Scott Latourette describes the significance of Pentecost for Christians in the first volume of his master work A History of Christianity.
The disciples, not only the eleven but also the larger circle who had been won by Jesus in the days of his flesh, were further strengthened and empowered by the fulfillment of a promise which had been given them by their risen Lord. On Pentecost, the Jewish feast which came fifty days after the second day of Passover, there came upon the group in Jerusalem...what they called Holy Spirit. It was that occasion to which a large proportion of later Christians looked back as the birthday of the Christian Church. The continuing presence of the Holy Spirit was regarded by Christians as an essential feature of their life and faith...The effects of the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples were and are of major importance. From discouraged, disillusioned men and women who sadly looked back upon the days when they had hoped that Jesus “was he who should redeem Israel,” they were made over into a company of enthusiastic witnesses.
Happy birthday, Church. Come, Holy Spirit, come.
Yours in the journey, Rev. Brian
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