Vigil of Pentecost
Greetings in Christ Jesus
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.
Bishop William’s videos; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW8XyPtkmtu6a1vVg6MEiNg
Many Blessings!
+William
