The Day of Pentecost, the day the promised Holy Spirit arrives begins the transformation and change from and through which Christianity grows. It is the power of the Holy Spirit that helps us make sense of an ever changing world. This was incredibly necessary for the early church as they would begin to move into uncharted territory. Gentiles would be included, important customs like circumcision and ritual purity would be challenged and changed. With the power of the Holy Spirit, the early church would, in numerous places, be breaking from its’ deep Jewish ties of the Old Covenant, as Christians moved to live under the New Covenant found in Jesus Christ. An important role and purpose of the Holy Spirit was and is to help Christians and the church to navigate those changes.

one of uncountable billions of stars in the universe

Moving a head a decade or so, an example of the Holy Spirit at work has been in the church’s understanding of space and the universe. The church long held as literal fact the creation story from the book of Genesis, which placed the earth and humanity at the center of all creation. In the first days of the first books published by those who observed the solar system by telescope like Galileo in the 16th century, the church tried to deny the physical reality of the solar system. Yet, the Holy Spirit has lead most Christians, but not all, away from believing that the earth at the center, to know that the sun is at the center of our solar system, and then to understanding that our sun is, in fact, just one of uncountable billions of stars in the universe. The Holy Spirit guided the church and Christians to understand more fully the true movements of planets and stars, and yet at the same time we have grown in a fuller spiritual understanding of the awesomeness of creation.

we are on the verge of yet another technological leap

In our current time, the Holy Spirit continues to be a much needed guide for the Christian Church. We are all aware of the how quickly the world is changing around us. The rise of computers, digital cameras, sensors, smartphones, the internet, robots, drones, all converging with artificial intelligence means we are on the verge of yet another technological leap that will change how we live and work. These technological leaps are transforming how we relate with others and with the world. In this change, we are required to continue to examine our faith, and find new ways to express our faith and the love of Christ in this transforming world. And we need to constantly be finding both a new and fuller understanding of our faith and a new language with which to express the Good News of Christ to the next generation.

What we celebrate about the Day of Pentecost is not a celebration of an event that was one and done. The Holy Spirit can and will change us everyday.

The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to find faithful meaning and new ways to express the Gospel in an ever-changing world.

The Holy Spirit was promised and arrived for a greater purpose then to demonstrate God’s power and to fulfill Jesus promise on a single day. The Holy Spirit was promised and given to be an ongoing source of strength and guidance to us as Christians and to the Christian Church. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to find faithful meaning and new ways to express the Gospel in an ever-changing world.