Boldly Speaking
Yesterday, as we were headed to Woodlawn Cemetery, traveling through the streets of the Bronx, we encountered a sidewalk preacher at one of the traffic lights.
He was barking to the crowd in short sound bites of ministry, seeming to reach no one, for none stopped or took notice.
Was he filled with the Holy Spirit, or just doing his own thing?
When they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness. - Acts of the Apostles 4:31
Today is Pentecost, marking fifty days after Easter, the day Jesus returned from death to be among us one more time. During that time, he set his disciples on a mission, and he left them help, in the form of the Holy Spirit, who on this day, descended on them, not like a dove, but like fire.
What, if anything, do we undertake so boldly? In what ministry does the Spirit move us to shake the world?
As Christians, we all have one. We were given special gifts, which lay dormant until such time as we are motivated, either by our own doing or by a wakeup call from God, to get started.
Not everyone could stand on a street corner with a microphone and amplifier, preaching the Gospel, but we can spread the word in other ways.
I know many who say they spread the Gospel through actions rather than words. I used to say the same thing. It was easy. I could just be me and let my example speak for me.
But people don't always equate what I do with why I do it. In fact, I may not make the connection at times, either.
It helps to look for those connections and share them as well. I can tell people that I do this in the name of Christ, for example.
People don't have to believe in Jesus to believe the things we do come from the heart, from our love for one another, as taught by him.
So, here is the challenge I see on this day of the Holy Spirit's coming. We are called to be aware of our connection with God through Jesus and to recognize the many manifestations of that love and grace in us when we encounter others.
If I truly wish to live as an example, I should be able to say that at the end of the day, I was successful in being a reflection of God's love today.
And I should be able to say that boldly, as though I really mean it.
Let's see how I do this day.
More to come...