Day of Pentecost, 2022
Scriptures: Acts: 2:1-21; John 14:8-17, 25-27
Key Verse: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” (John 14:27)
What is giving birth like? For those of you who have had this experience, how do you tell your story? After listening to her own birth story, my daughter told me, “Wow! I don’t want to have babies.” Then I knew that I scared her! I wish I had told her from a different perspective, a better and joyful one. We all know that both child bearing and giving birth can be planned but complications can happen. Having a new life can be an unsettling experience; nonetheless, it’s meant to be a blessed one.
There were many church bearing and birthing stories recorded in the book of Acts. Some didn’t live long because of persecution like Stephen’s story in Acts 7; some were jailed with confusion but had a good ending like the stories of Paul, Silas, and a jailer and his family in Acts 16; some were laughed at and ridiculed for speaking in tongues in Acts 2; some were blessed with a smooth birth like Lydia’s story in Acts 16. How about those bearing and birthing stories recorded by the four gospel writers, Mark, Matthew, Luke and John? Thousands and thousands of people were touched by the Gospel that Jesus proclaimed and became the seeds of life, and many of those seeds started germinating later on.
As a matter of fact, there are new bearing and birthing stories happening each day, even at this moment. Do you remember the new birthing story of Nicodemus when he met Jesus in John 3:1-10? A new bearing or birthing story happens when we experience the Gospel in a new way, bringing us a new hope which invites us to live differently. As we live differently by following the path God has paved for us, the purpose of our life seems to be clearer than the one we thought we knew. It is a daily miracle that can happen to you, to me, or to anyone since our lives and the relationships we have with others are giving opportunities constantly to be renewed.
This can happen to any group or any community just as it happens to an individual. When a group or a community is touched by the Gospel in a new way that offers a new hope, a seed for a new life is formed and an opportunity of having a new birth is expected. The process of birthing a new life can be planned but complications can happen as I mentioned earlier. If a new hope is not owned unanimously by the group or the community, and if the purpose of the new life is not clarified or prioritized, the process of bearing the life can be unsettling.
When that happens, it’s important to remember what Jesus said in 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” What a comforting and assuring message that Jesus has given to us. Let’s give thanks to God for Jesus’ peace that the world needs terribly. God has so much to offer and has entrusted you and me to pass on that peace. With the help from the Holy Spirit, we shouldn’t be afraid to share that peace at any given moment, right? Thanks be to God for we are not on our own, we have each other and our Triune God who is in us and we are in them. Amen.
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