Advent Devotions
All are invited as we Make Room this Advent season.
Pentecost
Today’s author is Prince of Peace member Steve Sveom.
There are three primary festival days in the Christian calendar. Christmas and Easter are the first two. Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection are the focus. The third key festival is Pentecost. Jesus promised to send his Spirit and Pentecost celebrates that gift. What is the significance?
The giving of the Spirit is the assurance that God’s work is not simply in the past, but that it continues. It holds the promise of God’s presence with us, in us and through us. And, in a way, it is a redemptive gift – bringing hope and healing to an injured world.
In Genesis, we hear that God’s creation is good. We also see how sin and separation bring disruption and corruption to what was good. One example is the Tower of Babel. It shows both human achievement and human pride: people believed they no longer needed God and could build a tower reaching the heavens. Yet in the story, God cannot even see this tiny tower without “coming down.” The people start to speak different languages and can no longer understand each other – pride is their downfall and their judgment is an inability to work together in harmony.
While this story may be an ancient attempt to explain things like different languages and the dispersion of people to different parts of the earth, it is a story about human pride, failure to acknowledge God, and the disruption of a society that becomes too proud and self-centered.
If we look at ourselves today, we see an Ebola outbreak in Africa that is impacted by the discontinuation of USAID. We see human pride bring war and undermine long-standing alliances.
The story of Pentecost, in Acts 2, is a reversal of the Babel story of Genesis. The disciples, filled with the Spirit, speak in other languages and the people hear the message of God’s love, in Christ, each in their own language. Pentecost is about God’s grace and God’s work to influence and overcome our human arrogance and divisions. It is redemptive. The message of Pentecost is that the Spirit continues to do God’s work in the world and through God’s people. Thanks be to God.
By your Spirit, o God, continue to speak to us in our own language and move us to be people of humility and grace in the world. Amen.
Previously…
Down from the Mountaintop
If we’re lucky, we’ll find moments in life when we feel completely in tune with God’s presence—when we experience joy, clarity, or a deep sense of purpose. These mountaintop moments remind us of God’s glory. Yet, as much as we might cherish them, life is not lived solely on the mountaintop. We must come down into the valley, where struggle and uncertainty await.
Transfigured
Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain, and suddenly, everything changes. His face shines like the sun, his clothes gleam, and he stands with Moses and Elijah. Peter wants to stay in this moment of glory, but Jesus leads them back down, where suffering and struggle still await. The transfiguration is a glimpse of God’s ultimate reality—one that will reshape everything, even the way of the cross.
Restored to Community
Today's author is Prince of Peace member, Gary Olson. Please read Luke 7:36-50. There are three people in this story: Simon, who was a Pharisee. Pharisee’s were a group of, mainly, laymen in Judaism who were concerned that the rites, rituals and...
An Unexpected Grace
Today’s author is Prince of Peace member & retired ELCA Pastor, Rev. Scott Tunseth. This past Sunday the theme of the service focused on forgiveness. I don’t know about you, but I am struggling these days with forgiving. It is at the very center of our Christian...