May 24, 2026 - Pastor Message
May 23, 2026When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together.
“When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim” (Acts 2:1-4).
This weekend we celebrate the feast of Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and sent them out to fulfill the mission entrusted to them by Jesus to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). As a sign that the Spirit would enable them to fulfill that mission, they were gifted with the ability to speak foreign languages, a gift which they put to immediate use on the streets of Jerusalem.
But the Christian feast of Pentecost has roots in the Jewish feast of Pentecost, also known as the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-21). Celebrated on the sabbath of the seventh week, or fifty days, after the feast of Passover, the Feast of Weeks began as a harvest festival in which the Jewish people offered to God the firstfruits of their crops and livestock in gratitude for liberating them from slavery in Egypt and bringing them into the Promised Land. Later, after the destruction of the temple, the feast took on additional significance as a celebration of God’s gift of the Law through Moses on Mount Sinai, the Law which represented his enduring presence among them and made them the People of God.
The apostles, who were all Jews, were observing the Feast of Weeks when God’s Spirit came upon them, adding yet another meaning to the feast. Just as the Jews celebrated God’s liberating them from slavery and gifting them with the Law, establishing them as his special people in the Promised Land, so we as Christians celebrate God’s liberating us from sin and death and gifting us with his own Spirit, establishing us as the new People of God, the Church, on the road to the ultimate “Promised Land” of the Kingdom of God. And just as the Jews expressed their gratitude to God by offering him their most precious gifts, so we as Christians are called by the Spirit we have received to offer God our gifts.
While this includes our material gifts, just as and even more importantly we are called to offer God our gifts of time and talent. The Holy Spirit gives each of us special gifts that only we have, and Pentecost gives us the perfect opportunity to reflect on those gifts and renew our commitment to offering them to God by using them in his service in and through the Church. That could be through our existing ministries, the list of which can be found in the parish directory that each family should have received, but, if you haven’t received one, please stop in the church office and request a copy. It could also be in a new ministry that doesn’t exist yet but that you might be called by the Spirit to start. Whatever it is, all of us are called to use our gifts in God’s service, so take some time today to listen to God’s call anew and say “Yes” by committing to one or more of our parish ministries, and have a very blessed feast of Pentecost.
Fr. Marc Stockton
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