Whence Comes the Holy Spirit
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Scripture: Acts 2:1-41
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
Sometimes, when the wrongs of the world are particularly overwhelming, I am frustrated by my own failure to do enough. I don’t actually know what would constitute enough, but in my bones I know I’m not yet doing it.
As I write this, Orange Shirt Day just past. It’s an annual event intended to inspire conversation about Canada’s residential schools and their legacy. I think that’s important. And yet, the problem of Canada’s treatment of Indigenous people is centuries long and continues. Somehow, wearing an orange shirt and posting something timely on Facebook seems like the miniscule-est drop in this bucket of needed change.
I recently heard about yet another investigation into a much-loved Christian leader and influencer in the world, accused by multiple women of sexual assault. I’m so tired of women being treated like objects to be owned. I’m so tired of people using their power and reputation to hurt others. I’m so tired of organizations that refuse to believe women’s stories because they don’t cohere with the accused’s reputation. And I am again frustrated that I’m not doing enough.
I am still angry about Breonna Taylor’s death and all that led to that moment. I’m frustrated that it appears no one is being held to account. I’m frustrated that hers is just one of so many deaths at the hands of police officers. I’m frustrated by the racism and hate that are too frequently allowed to thrive amongst those who make and uphold the laws of the land. I’m frustrated that I’m not doing enough.
Sometimes, when the wrongs of the world are particularly overwhelming, spending my time coordinating worship services, studying Scripture, and preparing and delivering sermons feels inadequate, to say the least. That’s when God reminds me that I am but one of perhaps billions of people He has gifted and empowered to do something so that together those somethings will be enough. This is what the Pentecost story of Acts 2 is about. It’s about God launching the Church to manifest and grow His kingdom footprint in the world. What I do is not enough. I am not capable of ever doing enough in the face of all that’s wrong in our world. But that’s o.k. because God continues to establish His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, despite the ugly opposition that fights Him and His ways at every turn. What’s required of me is nothing more and nothing less than that which was required of the first disciples of Jesus: that I embrace the gifts God has given me, follow Jesus wherever He leads, and trust that my faithfulness to God’s call on my life is, in fact, enough.
On Sunday we’ll be considering the story of Acts 2:1-41. As you prepare for Sunday, I invite you to read the story for yourself. I invite you to consider the Holy Spirit. Is this Spirit of God an old friend? a stranger? someone you want to know? someone you are afraid to meet? When you imagine the experience of those first disciples, can you imagine yourself in that story? What character do you play? Are you one of the disciples? Are you one of the curious crowd? Are you excited or are you skeptical? As you prepare for Sunday, I encourage you to spend some time in prayer, asking God to help you recognize His Spirit and experience whatever it is He wants to offer you. I promise that while the Spirit’s offering may or may not be dramatic or spectacular, it will be enough.