Pentecost 2006

PENTECOST 2006

The work of the Holy Spirit can be readily perceived in the ancient patriarchs and prophets as well as in the lives of the apostles before the first Pentecost. The Holy Spirit works in us too. However, the faith before the first Pentecost was a little different from the faith after the Pentecost .
The faith before the first Pentecost contained the first Advent and the anticipation of Christ while the faith after the first Pentecost contains faith in the crucified and risen Christ who sent his disciples to conquer the world for the Gospel.
In the conviction that Jesus is alive the Apostles could gather joyfully and happily after the Lord's ascension and on the day of Pentecost. It was in Pentecostal joy that the church was born in the presence of Jesus Christ. On that day the congregation of believers grew to three thousand members!
Scientists are often sceptical about such biblical miracles as the healings, the resurrections and the walking on water, etc. But it is a miracle in itself that Peter, who had thrice denied Jesus, started to proclaim the Gospel in a very hostile Jerusalem. This is a particular and spectacular miracle: three thousand people heeded Peter's sermon and were baptized on that day.
Until this point the plan of the leaders who had condemned Jesus was successful. They thought that by having Jesus killed they would nip the movement in the bud and it would disappear as it usually happened when religious or political movements lost their leaders.
When the Roman authorities killed Jesus exactly the opposite took place. Even though soldiers were sent to guard the grave, Jesus' body disappeared. Trustworthy persons swore that they had seen the risen Jesus Christ, that they had met him and talked to him, that he was alive; he rose from the dead on the third day; around five hundred saw his ascension into heaven.
The Pentecostal miracle is the birth of the Christian Church and its survival for over two thousand years. This enduring Church is proof that the living Lord works in us to this day through the Holy Spirit.
Let us praise the Lord always.
Amen.

Rev. Attila L. Gyorgy

English version was adjusted by Mary White Feher