Pentecost, Again

WED., MAY 17, 1989, 6:21 AM
FARM, STUDY

Can I truly have enough to say about Pentecost, yet again to fill these pages? You are uncertain about the capacity, but you start off in faith. I have done it before, with less provocative titles. Trust that I still am active.

As I have told you, Pentecost is a symbol… a symbol of Spirit coming to energize and transform. In a symbolic way My body, the Church, took on life at Pentecost. There was a time of languishing, after My death, resurrection, and ascension, as Jesus. My memory lingered and there was careful retelling of My teachings and of My life story. But without Pentecost that would have died out with the demise of the who experienced Me personally.

Yet it is legitimate to ask… if I, as Almighty God wanted this Church to develop, couldn’t I have accomplished this in other ways also? Of course. But Pentecost was the way I chose. I used a natural event – the coming together of the disciples – and turned it in to a supernatural happening. I used ordinary “elements” – wind and fire – but they came forth in a supernatural way, so now they are important symbols of the power and influence of spirit.

I used another ordinary, natural part of life – human speech – and it took on supernatural “trappings,” for instead of being divisive… a language that many could not understand… it became inclusive, and all could understand this message of salvation.

“Jesus has done it… and we all benefit.” It is not a matter of doing, but of being… faithful. It is first a matter of believing, but then must come knowing. My Spirit offers you the capacity of knowing, and this is the great leap out of the need to do this or not do that. It is the leap toward walking with Me… and toward Me walking with you. For I came at Pentecost to those gathered. They did not have to mount a pilgrimage to some holy mountain or sacred place (and there were lots of them in the neighborhood). I came to them, where they were.

Thus, the church was born. There had been gatherings. I had chosen My disciples to carry on My ministry. Yet this symbolic happening was necessary. The symbol was: I chose you. Now I abet your strength, and you shall succeed. You shall endure. Like a body, certain cells will die and be replaced by new healthy cells. There may be disease or malfunctioning, but healthy bodies recover… especially when the spirit is strong.

Most churches go through a lot of machinations and procedures and postures to attain more growth, recover from crises, enliven the spirit of the congregation. The “secret” is not to do, but to be. Just relax and be the church. There are no contests to achieve more than another church. It is not a race, in which only one receives the prize. It is being… what I created at Pentecost, and being such in a variety of forms. Oh, a church can change… can grow in numbers or in outreach. Yet it is not necessarily a better church than one who just remains faithful. “The first shall be last, and the last, first”. This is a continuing process that reminds you of the need for humility.

Like the birth of an individual, Pentecost came once. Like birthdays, it can be celebrated annually, with remembrance. Like unto births, it can be happening continuously… including some rebirths. The life of humankind can be seen as birth, life, and then death. But out of that life that finally dies comes birth, and humankind is perpetuated. There is a Pentecost to remember and celebrate, but there also is a Pentecost each day, especially each Sunday. “This is the first day of the Church’s new life”, despite its acknowledged chronological age.