Sunday May 20, 2018

Old Testament Joel 2:21-3:2 (The land, the beasts, and the people are told not to fear, because the Lord has done great things, and the people will know that “I am the Lord your God, and there is none besides: and my people will not be confounded for ever.” And after this, the Lord will pour out His Spirit on al flesh, and in the last days, everyone that calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.)

Epistle: Acts 2: 1-21 (At Pentecost [which was the day of the giving of the Law of Moses] a mighty rushing wind comes upon the Apostles and they are filled with the Holy Spirit, and they go out and speak in all foreign languages to all people in Jerusalem.)

Gospel: John 14: 15-29 Jesus tells the Apostles that He will ask the Father, and the Father will send the Holy Spirit that He may live with them forever.

Psalms 149 and 150 “Sing you to the Lord a new canticle: let His praise be in the church of the saints. Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him: and let the children of Sion be joyful in their king…” “Praise you the Lord in His holy places: praise you Him in the firmament of His power. Praise you Him for His mighty acts: praise you Him according to the multitude of his greatness…”

My Friends,

We are in worship today on a Sunday at the time of Pentecost, so why is today’s worship called the Vigil of Pentecost? Well, tomorrow Monday, May 21 is actually the day of Pentecost; 50 days after the resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus the Christ according to the Western Rite. So that makes today the Vigil of Pentecost. Let us begin.

In our Old Testament reading we have a prophecy that has been partially fulfilled. We see in our epistle reading today that on the day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles and they spoke to the people in all languages, Peter stood and stated that the prophecy of Joel; speaking about the spirit being poured out on all flesh was now fulfilled. We all receive the Holy Spirit in our Baptism and Chrismation. Being poured out on all flesh does not mean that all who are born are given the Holy Spirit. All who are born are given the light of life, a spark of Christ at birth; That was the true Light, that lights every man that comes into the world. (Gospel of John). But not everyone recognizes this light, many refuse to see and are called blind and they fight against this light that is in them, this light guides one’s conscience. Once one sears their conscience it is rare for that one to come back bit in God it is not impossible because all things are possible with God.

When we recognize this light and begin searching for truth there will be many false teachings that will be shoved into our life, these false teachings, coming from false prophets and false preachers of the Gospel come in swiftly and appear to be truth. This is why we must never cease to seek the truth and not simply settle for the charm and smile of a nice church that makes us feel good when we are there. Remember that the devil was the supreme angel, he appears as light. Satan is the shining one spoken of in Isaiah; he was the most beautiful and powerful of the angels. He still appears as light and he is the great imitator of the true Light which is Jesus the Christ. We must seek diligently the true light through much prayer and worship, never being complacent when we are seeking.

The rest of the prophecy in Joel is only partially realized, the earth and all that is in it should be rejoicing in the knowledge that Jesus has come and is now seated on the right hand of God serving as our Great High Priest and Mediator and that He will come again and then the rest of this prophecy will be fulfilled.

In our gospel we see Jesus promising the gift of the Holy Spirit who will remind the apostles of all that Jesus had taught and to further relate to them things that they could not possibly bare now until the Holy Spirit was in them fully. The same is true for us today, without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit we cannot possibly understand all that we could understand. Do not fooled, as I spoke earlier, beware of the wolves. Many false prophets and false teachers and preachers of the gospel misuse the words of our Lord and claim new revelations and new doctrines claiming the continuing revelation from the Holy Spirit. These wolves love to speak about the things that we cannot know until the proper time, although this may be true, the things that we learn do not change the true Gospel which has already been preached.

We are not to know the time of the coming of our Lord, period. Discern all you want, the teaching is plain and clear, it is not for us to know the day and time. Jesus states in today’s Gospel that He is leaving and also that He is the times coming back. Discern the times but never will we know the day and time. Do not waste time looking, preach the true Gospel and warn as many as will listen, plant as many seeds as possible. Do not attempt to second guess our Lord and determine the day and time that only the Father knows.

Let us along with the Psalmist; praise God in all things and at all times. Rejoice in His name and the glory that is His alone and that He is coming for those who live a life confessing and repenting and living the life that Jesus commands. Love God first; with all of your heart, all of your soul, all of your mind, and all of your strength. Then love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

God can do all things; there is no situation that we get ourselves into that God cannot help us out of. Don’t think though that if there is some earthly penalty that we must pay that we will escape this because we suddenly come to God for help. We simply must have the faith and believe. Keep in mind however; God's plan is far above ours. We suffer and we have plenty coming based on what God Himself has in store for us whether it is for purging, for testing, or for reward or necessity for our life. God is in control.

We do not know when this will end and the new beginning will be, in spite of the many modern prophets who make a living selling Jesus and the destruction of the world; we have no clue when it will be. In the meantime, it rains on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. The sun shines on us all, haters and lovers of Jesus. We remain together in this world until that day. So take a lesson from the readings. Continue to praise and worship Jesus the Christ and the Father through Him. Never cease to pray and live according to the gospel. Allow the Holy Ghost to guide you. Love God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your mind, and with all of your strength; love your neighbor as yourself. You never know whose life you will change because of this love of God in you.

The light has entered the world and the times; they are a-changing.

If one does not have love for the soul of mankind and the desire that all come to the truth than one does not have Christ in them fully.

Little children, love one another; because this is our Lord’s command and if you fulfill this, nothing else is needed. Through love and because of love we will follow all of the commandments that we have been given. They are written on our hearts by the hand of Almighty God. We simply need to see them within us and follow.

Remember; if we confess our sins and repent, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity.

May the peace of our Lord Jesus the Christ be with you throughout this day and the rest of your life. May the Holy Spirit fill us all to overflowing so that everyone in whose path we cross may receive a blessing from our Lord Jesus the Christ.

Blessings

In Christ.