Pentecost 2017
Today Christians remember and celebrate how Jesus' promise to his disciples was fulfilled, that they would receive power to be his witnesses when the Holy Spirit came upon them. And they did. And they were blown out of their privacy onto the streets to take the message of Jesus to festival goers in Jerusalem and eventually, through them, to all the world. Here is the start of the Day of Pentecost story from Acts 2, the momentous occasion that gave birth to the Christian church in Jerusalem 2000 years ago. "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. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability." (Acts 2: 1 - 4 NRSV) The problem for Christi...