Pentecost

For most Christians, Pentecost is when the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles in the upper room and transformed them. They were given the ability to speak the Gospel to all those who were present for the festival. People from different areas were able to understand the gospel in their own language. Today many people associate the Holy Spirit and Pentecost only with ‘speaking in tongues.’ But the truth is that the Holy Spirit does so much more.

John 16:7-13 is part of the passage where Jesus is speaking to his disciples the night before he was to be crucified. Christ tells them what is to happen, but he also tells them not to be afraid, sad, and not to stumble. Jesus tells his disciples that it is to their advantage that he goes away, because the Holy Spirit will come to them. Some bibles use words like Comforter, Helper, Advocate, or Intercessor to describe the Holy Spirit (16:7). This is to stress the role of the Holy Spirit in helping us grow in faith and commitment to the God. It also stresses the role of the Holy Spirit in enabling us to move forward in our walk of faith, even when we are faced with trials and tribulations.

Verse 13 refers to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth. Many of us fear the truth for one reason or another. But Jesus told his disciples that ‘the truth will make you free’ (John 8:32). In John 14:6, Jesus also states, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life…’ So the Holy Spirit will lead us to the truth of the Gospel which liberates us from doubts, illusions, and fears. The Holy Spirit will lead us to the truth which enables us to live the life that God intended us to live, in Jesus.

In the Book of Acts, the Holy Spirit was constantly leading the Christians to new mission activities. It was leading them to new places or understandings that they did not have before. For example it leads some of them to preach to the very same people who crucified Christ just 50 days earlier. It leads others to preach to Samaritans, a eunuch, and Gentiles. It led the Christians to having a loving relationship with those who were their enemies.

This is transforming power of the Holy Spirit. To lead us to God and to see all those around us as our brothers and sisters. People who Christ lived and died for, and people, who we should live and die for.

On Pentecost, when the disciples spoke in tongues, it was so that others could understand the Gospel message. More than a display of power, it was a display of love. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13, more than prophecies or speaking in tongues, it is important to have love. The Holy Spirit transforms the individual, so the individual can transform society.

Rev. Shibi Abraham

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE MAR THOMA CROSS

This cross is a proclamation that God himself came and atoned for all humankind, and redemption is freely available by faith in Jesus Christ without any regard to any form of karma