Today’s Scripture – John 20:19-23
The great novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote that “there are no second acts in American lives.” But Fitzgerald was wrong. There are plenty of them. Pentecost Sunday celebrates the power of the Holy Spirit in enabling us to have not only second, but third, fourth, fifth, or more, chances to get it right. This is the power and mystery of God’s grace and powered by the Holy Spirit.
The disciples experienced a very direct imparting of the Holy Spirit into their lives and this came with an authority and power unheard of – the power to forgive sin. God is always a “sending” God; sending us to mission, to heal, to serve, to help, but God is also a forgiving God. For the disciples, and that means you and me, Jesus gave us marching orders to forgive sin in others. This is a powerful charge and accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is this presence of God in each of us which brings the authority of God and his power into direct action to free people from guilt and shame. Sometimes our “Act Two” is learning to live into that authority and power.
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”
~Helen Keller
Let us gather our gifts together and offer them to
God and the church in gratitude and praise
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