Please note: The reflections and opinions expressed in this piece are those of the author and are shared in the spirit of personal faith and contemplation. They do not necessarily reflect the official views of the Diocese of Palmerston North.
The outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit on Pentecost took the Mission of Jesus beyond Israel, geographically and generationally.
Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven beforehand didn’t wrap up God’s existence on earth. Definitely not! This 50th day after the Resurrection inaugurated the irreversible presence of Jesus forever.
The Gospels, from start to finish, still shout out today for us to boldly challenge injustice, work towards right relationships, and care for those of little account.
We have been gifted to pick up our Baptismal responsibilities. We are enabled to express and experience God’s Holy Spirit, and to be unapologetic witnesses, down here on the ground in our everyday lives.
Jesus has every confidence in us when He says, “know that I am with you always: yes, to the end of time” (Matthew 28:20).
But do we really and truly believe this, or do we take it with a grain of salt?
Jesus says to Mary Magdalene, “go and tell them…” (John 20:17). Imagine if she said, “No thanks. Religion, like politics, is personal.”
Or imagine if Peter snapped back at Jesus, saying, “Nope, I’m the reserved type,” when Jesus said to him, “Look after my sheep” (John 21:17).
And what do we tell Jesus when we encounter a situation that needs His involvement, and He says, “Go and teach” (Matthew 28:19)?
The primary point of the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30) isn’t about shrewd financial investment, but about the inability to ‘use’ the spiritual gifts entrusted to us.
Our greatest obstacle is not so much our refusal to believe we are capable of articulating the many gifts we’ve been given, but forgetting that Jesus ignores our real or imagined inadequacies. Ring any bells for you? It does for me — all the time!
For instance, God didn’t consider Moses’ stutter a difficulty in negotiating with the mighty Pharaoh (Exodus 4:10); or Samuel, who was just a boy, in becoming a critical prophet between God and Israel (1 Samuel 3); or Susanna who actively assisted Jesus after being healed from an evil spirit (Luke 8:1–3); or Lydia, who became a Christian after her heart was opened (Acts 16:11–15).
To be a missionary disciple in 2027 is to give ourselves permission to welcome God’s Holy Spirit — i.e., to feel the fear, but do it anyway.