Saturday, May 19, 2018

The Daily Readings for SUNDAY, May 20, 2018 - Pentecost Sunday


The Daily Readings
SUNDAY, May 20, 2018 - Pentecost Sunday
(Revised Common Lectionary Year B)

Opening Sentence
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Prayer of the Day (Collect)
Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.

Confession and Forgiveness
Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.  If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;  but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.  If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

Dear Heavenly Father, we lower our heads before you and we confess that we have too often forgotten that we are yours. Sometimes we carry on our lives as if there was no God and we fall short of being a credible witness to You. For these things we ask your forgiveness and we also ask for your strength. Give us clear minds and open hearts so we may witness to You in our world. Remind us to be who You would have us to be regardless of what we are doing or who we are with. Hold us to You and build our relationship with You and with those You have given us on earth. Amen.


The Lessons

The First Lesson
Acts 2:1-21
The Coming of the Holy Spirit
2:1 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. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”
Peter Addresses the Crowd
14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: 17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. 18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. 20 The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day. 21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

The Response
Psalm 104:25-35, 37 Benedic, anima mea
25 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
in wisdom you have made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
26 Yonder is the great and wide sea
with its living things too many to number,

creatures both small and great.
27 There move the ships,
and there is that Leviathan,

which you have made for the sport of it.
28 All of them look to you
to give them their food in due season.
29 You give it to them; they gather it; 
you open your hand, and they are filled with good things.
30 You hide your face, and they are terrified;
you take away their breath,
and they die and return to their dust.
31 You send forth your Spirit, and they are created;
and so you renew the face of the earth.
32 May the glory of the Lord endure for ever;
may the Lord rejoice in all his works.
33 He looks at the earth and it trembles;
he touches the mountains and they smoke.
34 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will praise my God while I have my being.
35 May these words of mine please him;
I will rejoice in the Lord.
37 Bless the Lord, O my soul.
Hallelujah!

The New Testament
Romans 8:22-27
8:22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labor pains until now; 23 and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. 26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. 27 And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

The Gospel
John 15:26-27; 16:4-15
15:26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. 16:4 But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.
The Work of the Spirit
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.


Here ends the Lessons

Click HERE to read today's Holy Gospel Lesson message

The Apostle's Creed
We believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth.

We believe in Jesus Christ, his only son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Benediction
Lord, support me all the day long of this troublous life, until the shadows lengthen and the evening comes, and the busy world is hushed, and the fever of life is over and my work is done. Then, of Thy mercy, grant me a safe lodging, and a holy rest and a peace at last through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Blessing of Mark
O Sovereign and almighty Lord, bless all your people, and all your flock. Give your peace, your help, and your love unto us your servants, the sheep of your fold, that we may be united in the bond of peace and love, one body and one spirit, in one hope of our calling, in your divine and boundless love. Amen.
~ From the Liturgy of Mark, 2d Century A.D.

The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 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.

"Wind, The Breath Of God" Sermon for SUNDAY, May 20, 2018 - Pentecost Sunday


"Wind, The Breath Of God"
by Rev. Tim Zingale
St.Olaf Lutheran Church
Fort Dodge, Iowa

15:26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. 27 You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. 16:4 But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; 11 about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
~ John 15:26-27; 16:4-15

Grace and peace to you from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ the risen Lord. Amen

Imagine today you are with the disciples in the upper room. You are hiding there not knowing what to expect. Jesus has ascended into heaven and you are told to go to the upper and wait. Wait for what? Jesus said the Counselor would come. Jesus said the Spirit would come. You wait. You wonder what it will be like when this spirit comes? You wait, you pray, you wait some more.

Then you hear it. A small wind, A larger wind. Then an even larger wind blows into the room. The door is still locked, but the wind is there. A might y wind. A wind that you have never experienced before.

It is the wind of God. The breath of God which came over the land and created the earth. It is the breath which filled Adam’s lungs and gave him life. It is the wind, the breath of God. The breath of God breaks into tongues as of fire. They rest upon your head. You feel the breath of God enter into your body. You are somehow alive. You are somehow made different.

You along with Peter rush out into the street and you begin to preach. You preach in other languages. You preach about the risen Christ. You preach about the good news of the gospel. You preach and your preach. As the day ends many have been understood and accepted the good news of the gospel.

A story is told of that day with Peter preaching to the crowds, it says:

A man pushed his way through the crowd, and said: "Peter, do you think there is hope for me? I am the man who made that crown of thorns and placed them upon Christ’s brow; do you think he will save me?"

"Yes," said Peter," ’whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall b e saved.’ You are a ’whosoever’; if you call he will hear your cry. He will answer your prayer and save you." The man might have cried then and there, and the Lord saved him.

Another man pushed his way up and said to Peter, "I’m the man who took that reed out of his hand, and drove it down upon that cruel crown of thorns, sending it into his brow: Do you think he will save me?"

"Yes," said Peter, ’’he told us to go into the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, and he did not mean you to be left out; salvation is for you. He did not come to condemn men; he came to get his arm under the vilest sinner and lift him up toward heaven."

Another man, elbowing his way through the crowd, pushed up to Peter and said, "I am the Roman soldier who took the spear and drove it to his heart, when there came out blood and water; do you think there is hope for me?"

"Yes," said Peter, "there’s a nearer way of reaching his heart than that: ’Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lo rd shall be saved.’ " And the Roman soldier might have cried then and there, and might have obtained forgiveness and salvation.

The day of Pentecost is the birthday of the church. It is the day that the holy spirit of God, the breath of God comes into the world. This day is not celebrated like Christmas or Easter. But the importance of this day cannot be overlooked.

Maybe you are like King George in the following:

On July 4, 1776, the members of the Continental Congress meeting in Philadelphia signed the Declaration of Independence. With this action, the American Revolution was launched and a new nation was born.

It is ironic that on that very day George III, King of England, made this entry in his diary: "Nothing of any importance happened today."

Nothing of importance happened in the life of the church, right. Wrong! The beginning of the life of the church happened today. Something of great importance happened today. The breath of God came into our lives. The breath of God came today so that we might be saved from death and brought into new life. The breath of God came today so that sinners, you and I would be brought into a few life, here on earth. And then brought into an eternal life after we have breathed our last breath.

Rick Kirchoff spoke these words at an annual conference of the Methodist church:

"It is a time to open up to the mind-blowing, heart-warming, life-changing power of God.

The power of God can invade the body, inflate the mind,swell the soul, lift the Spirit and make us more than we ever imagined.

It’ll make you young when you’re old,and it’ll make you live even when you die.

The power and presence of the Spirit will disturb, delight,deliver and lift.

When God sends forth the Spirit,"the whole face of the earth is renewed."

When God sends forth the Spirit chaos is changed into creation the Red Sea opens up to a highway of freedom.

When God sends forth the Spirit:

A young woman says "Yes".

Jesus is born and life is never the same.

When God sends forth the Spirit amazing things happen:

barriers are broken,

communities are formed,

opposites are reconciled,

unity is established,

disease is cured,

addiction is broken,

cities are renewed,

races are reconciled,

hope is established,

people are blessed,

and church happens.

Today the Spirit of God is present and we’re gonna‚ have church.

So be ready, get ready...God is up to something...

discouraged folks cheer up,

dishonest folks, fess up,

sour folks, sweeten up,

closed folk, open up,

gossipers, shut up,

conflicted folks, make up,

sleeping folks, wake up,

lukewarm folk, fire up,

dry bones, shake up,

and pew potatoes stand up!

But most of all, Christ the Savior of all the world is lifted up...

Can you feel the excitement which Rick wrote and spoke those words? This is not a day of no importance, but a day of great importance. The breath of God comes to shake up the world. The breath of God comes to form the church and gives us the power to spread the good news. The good news of the gospel which says all are saved by the life and death of the risen Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Holy Spirit comes to earth on this day of Pentecost so that we might be able to spread this good news. At our Baptism, we were given the Spirit by the Word of God and that Spirit dwells in us. It is that Spirit which allows and even encourages us to reach out to others.

The wind, the breath of God which came to that upper room, also visits each of us. We are filled with that wind. Sometimes, we ignore it. Sometimes we allow it to move us. No matter what we do, the wind of God, the breath of God dwells in us.

The breath of God, the wind of God is powerful. Look around you. We see the wind blow into tornadoes. We see the wind blow into hurricanes. We see the wind blow across desert places moving sand in its path.

The wind of God, the breath of god, the Spirit of God came to earth today in a different kind of way. It came to give power to the church so that it might proclaim the mighty acts of God through Christ. It came to earth not to destroy, but to build up. It came to earth so that Peter was compelled to leave that upper room and go into the highways and preach.

Can you and be like Peter? Can we be so filled with the breath of God that we pour out of this church into the highways and spread the good news of Christ?

A closing story speaks about the saving power of Christ:

"There was a missionary who became a good friend of an Indian pearl diver. The two had spent many hours together discussing salvation, but the Indian could not understand anything so precious being free. Instead, in making preparation for the life to come, the diver was going to walk the 900 miles to Delhi on his knees. He thought this would buy entrance into heaven for him. The missionary struggled to communicate to his friend that it is impossible to buy entrance into heaven because the price would be too costly. Instead, he said, Jesus had died to buy it for us.

Before he left for his pilgrimage, the Indian gave the missionary the largest and most perfect pearl he had ever seen. The missionary offered to buy it, but the diver became upset and said that the pearl was beyond price, that his only son had lost his life in the attempt to get it. The pearl was worth the life blood of his son. As he said this, suddenly the diver understood that God was offering him salvation as a priceless gift."

Amen

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The Bible texts of the Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel lessons are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the USA, and used by permission. Sermon contributed by Rev. Tim Zingale on May 29, 2006.
Imagine today you are with the disciples in the upper room. You are hiding there not knowing what to expect.

The Morning Prayer for SUNDAY, May 20, 2018 - Pentecost Sunday


Almighty God, whose blessed Son our Savior Jesus Christ ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all things: Mercifully give us faith to perceive that, according to his promise, he abides with his Church on earth, even to the end of the ages; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, in glory everlasting.
Amen

Verse of the Day for SUNDAY, May 20, 2018 - Pentecost Sunday


John 15:26-27 (NIV) “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

Read all of John 15

Listen to John 15

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Un dia a la Vez - Oración por los hijos del divorcio


Oración por los hijos del divorcio

El Señor [...] restaura a los abatidos y cubre con vendas sus heridas.
~ Salmo 147:2-3 (NVI)

Ay, Señor, aquí sí que calificamos varias personas. En la actualidad, es muy común ser hijos de padres divorciados. A pesar de eso, hoy vengo a ti como hija afectada por ese mal. Vengo como madre y mujer que pasó por divorcios y, por consiguiente, dejé a mis hijas en un hogar disfuncional.

Padre, acudo a ti porque sé que eres el único que nos puedes sanar esas heridas, porque sé que eres el único que puedes ayudar a pasar este trago amargo a muchas personas que lo viven hoy. Porque tú, mi Dios, das consuelo y eres el único que en medio del dolor no nos abandonas.

Te pido, por favor, que guíes a cada padre y madre involucrados en divorcios en este momento. Permite que tomen decisiones adecuadas a fin de que no solo piensen en ellos y sus beneficios, que dejen a un lado el egoísmo y piensen en sus hijos y en las consecuencias de un divorcio. También te pido por los hijos de modo que mitigues el dolor que están experimentando y puedan creer que no son los culpables de los problemas de sus padres, ni de ese divorcio.

Ten misericordia de cada hijo afectado, desde los pequeños hasta los grandes, porque para todos es doloroso ver partir a mamá o papá de casa. Te pido protección para que cada hijo del divorcio pueda seguir adelante y encuentre su identidad en ti. Que aunque sean hijos de padres divorciados, logren seguir adelante y ser felices cuando los adultos puedan tener hogares sólidos.

Dios mío, sana las heridas de cada familia y bendícelos. En el nombre de Jesús, amén y amén.

Un Día a la Vez Copyright © by Claudia Pinzón
Oración por los hijos del divorcio

Standing Strong Through the Storm - FIGHTING MATERIALISM


FIGHTING MATERIALISM

Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”
~ Luke 18:24 (NIV)

How is the god Mammon conquered? The Bible offers a perspective from which to view all of life’s economic decisions. The Holy Spirit is with us; Jesus is our present teacher. The following are some suggestions:

Get in touch with our feelings about money. Get in touch with our fear, insecurity, guilt, pride or envy. We are afraid to be short of money. And our fears, though irrational, are real. We need to face up to these feelings before we can apply God’s promises to our financial situation.

Stop denying our wealth. Instead of seeing the small picture of our situation, let us become world citizens, looking at ourselves in relation to all humanity.

• Create an atmosphere in which confession is possible. Much of our preaching about money has been either to condemn it or to praise it but not to help each other relate to it. Many of us feel isolated and alone. How much better if we could confess our fears and temptations.

Discover one other person who will struggle with you through the money maze. Together covenant to help each other detect when the seductive power of money is beginning to win. This
needs to be done in a spirit of love and graciousness but also rebuking and prodding.

Discover ways to get in touch with the poor. One of the damaging results of affluence is allowing us to distance ourselves from the poor so that we no longer see their pain.

• Give with glad and generous hearts. Giving has a way of rooting out the tough old miser within us. The very act of letting go of money, or some other treasure, destroys the sin of greed.

Chinese house church leaders met together to discuss their problems. They concluded that their number two problem (after gossip) was money and the lure of materialism. There are two main sources of this. One is the rising standard of living in the coastal areas, which is tempting good teachers into commerce, depriving the church of much-needed leaders. The other is the kind, but often indiscriminate, giving of some wealthier Christians and missions to house church networks.

RESPONSE: Today I commit to living a simple life style and not give in to materialism.

PRAYER: Lord, I want to follow You all the way. And I want to be obedient as You direct and instruct.

Standing Strong Through The Storm (SSTS), a daily devotional message by SSTS author Paul Estabrooks. © 2011 Open Doors International. Used by permission.

LHM Devotion - May 20, 2018 - Fairest of Them All

https://www.lhm.org/dailydevotions/default.asp?date=20180520

Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"Fairest of Them All"

May 20, 2018

And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

I remember when I was little watching the wicked queen go up to the magic mirror and say, "Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" The queen was shocked and enraged when she found out she had been demoted to second place. The rest of the movie traces the queen's plots to get rid of Snow White and reclaim her position of first-place position of beauty.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" Almost anyone remembers those lines.

Somehow, someway, those words seem to hit home, seem to reflect a little bit, a dark little bit of the pride which lurks within all of us. You see, most of us would like to think we are the fairest or the smartest or the gentlest or the kindest of them all. Most of us would love to have our mirror converse with us and give us some kind of confirmation that we are the best at something.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who makes the best oatmeal raisin cookies of all?" Please don't deny it: we are, in a humble sort of way, proud as peacocks. If nobody were around eavesdropping, we'd be pleasantly pleased to have the mirror reply, "You have the most beautiful eyes" ... "the firmest abs" ... "the best head of hair" ... "the nicest Halloween decorations of anyone in your neighborhood." In something, anything -- we'd like to be the fairest of them all.

Now I know humble people like you and me would never publicly admit to such desires, but I think I'm right. Observe a young child and you will see, beyond any shadow of a doubt, he believes the world revolves around him. Even worse, he believes that is the way it should be. That beautiful baby -- that charming child -- wants what he wants, when he wants it, and no excuse is going to placate him, no explanation is going to pacify him. That is the way we all start out.

Now, I know you're going to say, "Yes, but we grow up. We change. We're not like that anymore."

Maybe. But I've talked to a lot of preschool and kindergarten teachers. They tell me when graduation time comes they find it is best to give every one of their children an award for being best at something: "Ladies and gentlemen, let's have a round of applause for Bobby who is the most improved at not using his scissors to cut the hair of the girl who sits in front of him." "Let's give it up for Amanda who has gone an entire month without socking anybody in the nose."

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?" Exactly when do we grow out of our pride? The World Series, Wimbledon, the Olympics, the Stanley Cup, the Indy 500, the Super Bowl, the Masters, and a host of others tell us who is the fairest athlete of them all.

"Mirror, Mirror ..." Miss World, Miss Universe, Miss Earth, Miss International, Miss Tourism Queen International, American Junior Miss, and a host of other contests tell us who are the fairest of them all. Remember, every year People magazine publishes the list of the fairest men of them all.

In contrast to us, we have the Savior. Isaiah, by the Spirit's direction wrote, " For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not" (Isaiah 53:2-3).

Look at that list: no form, no majesty, no beauty, and undesirable. Jesus found Himself despised, rejected, living a life of sorrow, grief, and without respect.

Isaiah described Jesus' life; Paul spoke about the death of our Savior. Jesus humbled Himself up to and including His death on the cross.

Because Jesus was who He was, because Jesus did what He did -- we have been rescued and redeemed, which explains why our hearts, in gratitude, say, "He is the fairest of them all."

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, it is impossible for me to understand why Jesus would leave heaven and humble Himself to die for me on His cross. Even though I may not understand, may I still be eternally grateful for His sacrifice. In His Name I pray. Amen.

Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
I remember when I was little watching the wicked queen go up to the magic mirror and say...

Notre Pain Quotidien - Une nouvelle communauté

https://www.ministeresnpq.org/2018/05/20/une-nouvelle-communaute/

Une nouvelle communauté


Tous ceux qui croyaient étaient dans le même lieu, et ils avaient tout en commun. (V. 44)

Maija, la fillette de 5 ans de mon amie Carrie, se fait une idée intéressante de la récréation. Elle se plaît à réunir des poupées issues de différents jeux pour se créer une nouvelle communauté. Dans son monde imaginaire, tout va ensemble. Ce sont ses intimes. Elle croit qu’ils ne sont jamais aussi heureux que lorsqu’ils sont ensemble, même s’ils diffèrent de taille et de forme.

Sa créativité me rappelle les desseins de Dieu pour l’Église. Luc nous dit que, le jour de la Pentecôte, « il y avait en séjour à Jérusalem des Juifs, hommes pieux, de toutes les nations qui sont sous le ciel » (AC 2.5). Bien que ces gens aient été de cultures et de langues différentes, l’arrivée du Saint‑Esprit a fait d’eux une nouvelle communauté : l’Église. Dès lors, on allait les considérer comme un seul et même corps, uni par la mort et la résurrection de Jésus.

Les leaders de ce nouveau corps formaient un groupe d’hommes que Jésus a réunis durant son séjour ici‑bas : ses disciples. Si Jésus ne les avait pas rassemblés, il est très peu probable qu’ils l’aient fait d’eux‑mêmes. Et voilà que d’autres personnes – environ trois mille (2.41) – devenaient disciples de Christ. Grâce à l’Esprit, ces gens auparavant divisés « avaient [maintenant] tout en commun » (V. 44) et désiraient partager leurs avoirs avec les autres.

L’Esprit continue de faire le pont entre les groupes de gens. Il se peut que nous ayons parfois des avis différents et du mal à nous comprendre, mais comme disciples de Christ, notre union va de soi.

Le Saint-Esprit fait de nous une seule et même famille.


© 2018 Ministères NPQ
Maija, la fillette de 5 ans de mon amie Carrie, se fait une idée intéressante de la récréation.