PENTECOST

Whitsunday.

The Collect.

O GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by sending* to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen.

For the Epistle.

Acts 2. 1.

WHEN the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilæans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, where in we were born? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome. Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.

The Gospel.

St. John 14. 15.

JESUS said unto his disciples, If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us. and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you be fore it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do.

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Whitsunday. (2)

The Collect.

ALMIGHTY and most merciful God, grant, we beseech thee, that by the indwelling of thy Holy Spirit, we may be enlightened and strengthened for thy service; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end.  Amen.

The Epistle.

1 Corinthians 12. 4.

NOW there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifes-tation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.

The Gospel.

St. Luke 11. 9.

JESUS said to his disciples, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

PENTECOST SUNDAY

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
   ²And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
   ³And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
   ⁴And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
   ⁵And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.
   ⁶Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.
   ⁷And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?
   ⁸And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?
   ⁹Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
   ¹⁰Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
   ¹¹Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.
(Acts 2:1-11)

The Collect for Whitsunday - Book of Common Prayer

"O GOD, who as at this time didst teach the hearts of thy faithful people, by sending to them the light of thy Holy Spirit; Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, world without end.  Amen."

The Universal Proclamation of the Gospel

The promise of the gospel is that whosoever believes in Christ crucified shall not perish, but have eternal life.[1] This promise, together with the command to repent and believe,[2] ought to be declared and published to all nations,[3] and to all persons promiscuously and without distinction, to whom God out of His good pleasure sends the gospel.

[1] Jn 3:16; 1 Cor. 1:23;     [2] Acts 2:38, 16:31;     [3] Matt. 28:19

(Canons of Dort, Second Head of Doctrine: The Death of Christ, and the Redemption of Men Thereby, Article 5)

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"The church was not the fruit of the organizational genius of a group of zealots who came to believe that Jesus had risen in their hearts as they tried to cope with the disappointment they felt once Jesus was put to death by the Romans and His glorious kingdom did not manifest itself as promised. Instead, the biblical record tells us that the church was founded by a risen Savior who appeared to His chosen witnesses the first Easter, confirming that His death on Good Friday was the ultimate triumph over human sin. The church was not organized by Jesus’ disappointed followers trying to cover-up their embarrassment. The church was founded by Jesus Christ Himself.

"This becomes clear when we consider that the post-resurrection appearances of our Lord to His disciples do not take place in a vacuum. Our Lord’s resurrection appearances take place against the backdrop of His three-year messianic ministry during which Jesus demonstrated that He was the One promised throughout the Old Testament and that He had come to establish His kingdom and found His church. Pentecost (Acts 2), which is often considered the official birthday of the church, is the culmination of all of our Lord’s promises and only makes sense against the backdrop of our Lord’s messianic ministry."                    ____Kim Riddlebarger

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Whitsuntide, Pentecost & John the Baptist

*This is a cross-post of a comment I made on Ray Comfort's blog earlier today.

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 "As it is written in the book of the words of Esaias the prophet, saying, The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be brought low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways shall be made smooth; And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." (Luke 3:4-6)

[Ray Comfort:]...John’s sole purpose was to be a voice in the wilderness, preparing the way for the One who would come to save human beings from God’s just wrath. He was clearing the path so that wicked sinners would hear the words of life, from the pure lips of the everlasting God manifest in human form....

Hi Ray, Happy Whitsuntide!

How appropriate (and providential) that the text of today's sermon features John Baptist, God's chosen prophet who introduced to the world Jesus Christ as "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world."

I say "appropriate" because much of historic Christianity recognizes this season as that in which world-wide evangelism got underway. Ascension Day commemorates Christ's ascending into heaven and taking the seat of authority at the Father's "right hand." Whitsunday and the two days following are remembered as when the enthroned Christ sent the Holy Spirit to empower the church to "make disciples of all nations," preaching the good news to all peoples of all languages throughout the earth. The good news was (and is) that, on the cross, Jesus Christ has defeated sin, the grave, and the devil, and is gathering a people to be his very own possession.

What a privilege for us as believers to, in whatever locations and circumstances Providence has placed us, point people towards Jesus, the Lamb of God.

Happy Whitsuntide and happy Pentecost to all my brothers and sisters.

Craig B.