Pastor’s Weekly Message 5-23-21

Dear Friend of Carmel Mission,

 

Today we celebrate the great feast of Pentecost, often called the birthday of the Church. We remember when the disciples were visited by the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus had promised. Tongues of fire hovered over their heads, and a kind of spiritual universal translator allowed their words to be understood by all who heard them. They were enabled to proclaim the mighty acts of God in ways hitherto unimaginable. That is quite a birthday celebration, it even beats mimosas and tiramisu!

 

I was inspired by the thought of Pentecost as a birthday celebration to explore the idea of the Church’s origins more deeply. The Church was born on Pentecost, when the disciples were empowered to begin the Church’s mission of spreading the Good News of the Gospel. The Church was also born on a hill at Calvary, when Love conquered fear and hate. The Church was born in an empty tomb, when Love conquered death forever. The Church was born in a stable in Bethlehem, where one woman’s trust in God’s promise allowed Love to be born into the world. And the Church is born anew every time we baptize a person here at our Mission in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  

 

In our own lives, birthdays are cause for celebration, and also a moment for reflection, of where we are and where we are going. As the Church celebrates her birthday this Sunday, it is an opportunity for us to reflect on where our own community of Carmel Mission is, where we have been, and where we are going.  We celebrate our accomplishments, and our struggles as well, for often it is these very struggles and difficulties that spur our growth as a community. Through it all we strive to remain a people of faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit to spread the Good News and to move always forward.