Life in the Spirit

Red was the colour of the day for many churchgoers on Sunday, June 8.

That day we celebrated the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit of God descended with great power on male and female Christian believers as they gathered in prayer in an upper room in Jerusalem.

Red represents the tongues of fire that rested on the heads of the believers.

The name Pentecost comes from the Greek word ‘pentekoste’, which means 50th, and this event occurred on the 50th day after Easter.

The Holy Spirit gave these believers the ability to speak in various languages to the Jews who had gathered in Jerusalem from all over the known world for their Pentecost Festival 50 days after Passover.

Pentecost fulfils an Old Testament prophecy from the Book of Joel that God would pour out God’s Spirit on all people, no longer only selected people such as prophets and Jesus the Christ.

With the ability to speak in different languages on that day, the Christian believers were able to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the gathered Jewish believers, and so this event marks the beginning of the Christian mission to share the Gospel with the whole world.

So, how does this event about 2000 years ago affect us?

Although the Holy Spirit has been in the world for ever, we can now personally receive the Holy Spirit through our belief in the Lord Jesus Christ.

With the indwelling Holy Spirit in our lives, we are given the ability to share the good news of Jesus with others, no matter how inadequate we may feel.

And when the opportunity arises, what we are given to share is so worth sharing sensitively.

The Holy Spirit in us helps us navigate our days no matter what may come our way.

In this world of chaos and uncertainty the peace of the Spirit of God is so essential to living life as best we can.

As St Augustine of Hippo once wrote, ‘You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless, until they rest in you.’

This is my last Crossroads article. I have been minister at Echuca Moama Uniting Church for seven years.

It is now time to move on, time for me to retire, but I look forward to what God has in store for me in the future.

I will miss all the wonderful people of the Echuca Moama Uniting Congregation, the Tuesday Community Lunch diners and helpers, the residents of Wharparilla and Bupa who have attended the Uniting Church service, and the ministers and members of the other churches whom I have come to know over the years.

Memories of all these people will stay in my heart.

To those who continue to live in Echuca Moama, look after your beautiful twin towns, and strive to be an inclusive community where acts of love and justice flourish.

Continue to welcome people, both tourists and residents alike.

With much fondness, I say goodbye.

Rev Michele Lees, Echuca Moama Uniting Church minister

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