One of the things I personally love about Pentecost & Shevout
is that I get to celebrate TWO birthdays this week...
my natural birthday and my spiritual birthday!
Chag Shevout/Pentecost Sameach!
ACTS, CHAPTER 2
Sometimes—
when I read my Bible
I imagine myself
there, in the rumpled, dog-eared pages
where and when remarkable things
were happening
For instance—
Oh, I wish I could’ve been
in the room that morning in Jerusalem
on the Day of Pentecost
when an astonishing sound
of rushing wind came from Heaven
and filled the place with the Holy Spirit
wish I could’ve been among
the crowd of bewildered people
clutching garments and belongings
securing food baskets and money bags
amid the sound of whirring wind
wondering what was going on
I would’ve seen with startled eyes
blazing tongues of fire appear
then split and rest above us all
would’ve heard the Galileans
miraculously uttering languages
they did not know
proclaiming good news
to people of every nation
Oh, joy! Euphoria!
I would’ve heard
preposterous ridicule and accusations
that we were drunk with wine
Drunk with wine so early in the morning!
Had I been there, I would’ve seen
Peter stand with his brethren
and quote the prophet Joel
and speak of Jesus
Crucifixion, Resurrection
and call us to repent
and finally, would’ve witnessed
three thousand souls receive salvation
and I would’ve been in that number
Oh! How great that would’ve been
How exciting to imagine
but, I didn’t need to be there
God had other plans—
On another Holy Pentecost
His Spirit came to rest on me
just as surely as it did
on the early believers
in Jerusalem, that day
and just the same as they
I have been changed
forever
Maude Carolan Pych
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