There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. Jesus enters the upper room and breathes on the Apostles gathered giving them power and authority. Today, fifty days after the Resurrection and ten days after His Ascension the Holy Spirit fills the upper room and descends on all there.
There are different kinds of spiritual gifts but the same Spirit; there are different forms of service but the same Lord; there are different workings but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit.
Jesus enters the upper room and breathes on the Apostles gathered giving them power and authority. Today, fifty days after the Resurrection and ten days after His Ascension the Holy Spirit fills the upper room and descends on all there. From there, through the work of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit flows out into the streets. By the end of that day about three thousand persons were added.
The Church then, and in this very place today, continues to grow. The Holy Spirit is poured out from here by you, the very workers God has chosen.
The Spirit chooses us because we are the perfect receptacles for the varied spiritual gifts He gives, the service we have the skills and abilities to offer, and the workings He calls us to perform.
The Holy Spirit has benefits, a treasury of benefits, for the three thousand and more outside these doors. We are the ones who make it happen. All it takes is a simple welcome, a kind invitation, heartfelt words shared in conversation, a prayer offered, a hand held, and in the way power is shared through trust and respect.
In Poland this day is traditionally called Zielone Świątki, literally the Green Holy Day. It is custom in Poland as well as in Orthodox tradition to decorate the parish church and our homes with green branches.
Look at our windowsills and note the new green branches in each. These branches are symbolic of our new life in the Holy Spirit, the gifts in us that must flourish with the new Kingdom vision we received.
We have been given, as we previously discussed, Jesus’ kingdom plan. The blueprints are in our hands and hearts. The beautiful Holy Spirit has given us the gifts to make it happen, to reach those three thousand and more who are waiting for us.
