I hope you are well and that the gifts of joy and springtime are alive in your heart even as we are lacking a bit of sunshine these days!
As we look ahead to Sunday, perhaps our hearts will be even more joyful as we remember the Day of Pentecost when, as we hear in the Book of Acts, the disciples were all together in one place and suddenly from heaven there came the rush of a wind. Tongues of fire rested on each of them, and they each were filled with the Holy Spirit. As that gift of the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples, the Church was born. It truly was a miraculous and wonder-filled day.
But of course it is not the only miraculous event we celebrate during the Church year. In our Christian calendar, the celebration of Pentecost occurs fifty days after our Paschal celebration of Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead. And during the time spanning from Advent to Pentecost we move through the seasons of Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week and Easter, during which God gives us grace to help us prepare for and celebrate God's gift of the incarnation, God draws us nearer to him as we journey with the wise men to the star and with Christ to the cross, and God raises us to new life as we celebrate the glorious gifts of the resurrection, ascension, and the Holy Spirit.
God is doing so much in our lives and in the life of the world, and especially as the days, weeks, and months move from December to May, it sometimes can seem that as soon as we finish celebrating one holy day, event, or miracle, another one is upon us. On one hand, this is great news because it means that God is continually healing, raising, abiding, and gracing us - more than we might ever know or imagine. At the same time, this busy time of the church year can fly by, and while I love the meaningful busy-ness and energy of these months, sometimes I wish for a little more time to really soak in the stories from Scripture, to give thanks for the gifts given to us through each miracle, and to live into the moments and seasons of grace.
You and I can't slow down the passage of time, but a good piece of news for us might be that from now until November 26th, we will be journeying through the Season after Pentecost. It is also called "ordinary time" - not so much because it is ordinary, or bland, but the weeks are counted in an ordinal fashion. We will have twenty-seven weeks, and a good portion of them during the somewhat slower summertime, when we might take some time to let the awe, joy, wonder, and grace of God's work during the "busy season" wash over us.
During this upcoming season, we might revel in all the wonders that God has done throughout salvation history, all the wonders that God has done in Christ and through the life of the Church, and all the wonders that God has done and is continuing to do in each of our lives. We all are being given gifts of new life and gifts of the Holy Spirit, each day and in the life to come.
So yes indeed, God has done so much for us! In this green and growing season of ordinary time ahead, Christ is calling us to continue to give thanks and experience the awe, wonder, and joy of the gift of our Christian lives. So, enjoy the season! And thanks be to God!
In Christ,
