Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift! —2 Corinthians 9:15
This morning, along with the rest of the Western church, we remember the events of the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2. Known as Whitsunday in the English-speaking world, this celebration focuses on the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church. Red is used on the bulletin cover and in the decorations in the sanctuary to remind us of the tongues of flame which fell upon the disciples in the upper room. Hymns such as Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Come Down O Love Divine, and Breathe On Me Breath Of God celebrate the Comforter who visits us with “ardor glowing” and “fills us with life anew” such that we may endure and do all that we are called to do. It is quite fitting, then, that on this day when we remember the gift of God’s Spirit we come to a passage in 2 Corinthians about “cheerful giving.” As the hymn Let Thy Blood In Mercy Poured puts it, “Thou didst give Thyself for me, now I give myself to Thee.” —Henry C. Haffner