Pentecost Day. May 28, 2023. Acts 2,1-21 & John 20,19-23. Rev. Neli Miranda Shavuot “The Feast of Weeks” is one of the three major festivals celebrated in the Jewish tradition since the time of the Old Testament, and like Passover , it was part of the cycle of agricultural celebrations. It marked the beginning of the wheat harvest and was celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover ; hence its name “The Feast of Weeks”. On this day, people brought the first fruits of the harvest to the temple and offered two loaves of bread made from the new wheat. Shavuot is also associated with the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. According to the account of Exodus, the Israelites were liberated from Egypt on Passover, so it is believed that seven weeks later, on the fiftieth day, they were given the Law and committed themselves to serve God. In the New Testament, Shavuo t is called “Pentecost” – a Greek term for “fifty” – and this word is first used by Luke in the book of Acts
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Seventh Sunday of Easter Acts 1,6-14; John 17,1-11. Rev. Neli Miranda Today we celebrate the last Sunday of Easter, which was preceded by the celebration of Ascension Day on Thursday. In today’s first lesson from the book of Acts (1,6-11), Luke tells us about Ascension Day when Jesus and his community of disciples are gathered together in Jerusalem. In the preceding verses (1,1-5), we learn that Jesus has been with them for forty days teaching about the Kingdom of God. He has also ordered them to stay in Jerusalem to wait for the promise of the Father, the coming of the Holy Spirit: “ While staying with them, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait there for the promise of the Father” (1,4). Today, we read that just before Jesus’ ascension the apostles, the leaders of the community of disciples, ask him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” (1,6). Do they continue thinking about and earthly kingdom and seeking positions of pow
Sixth Sunday of Easter John 14:15 Rev. Neli Miranda During the past few months, I have experienced what it is like to feel like an orphan, even though I am an adult. Within a matter of eleven months my mother and father passed away leaving me with a deep feeling of orphanhood. Hence, Jesus’ words, "I will not leave you orphans" touch me and make me think of the difficult moments that the first community of disciples experienced when Jesus announced his coming departure. In today’s Gospel we read that Jesus can perceive how they feel, that is, like orphans! Orphanhood brings about deep feelings of intense sadness and grief, of helplessness, vulnerability, hopelessness, and loneliness. Jesus recognizes that his departure distresses his disciples and in the midst of this moment of acute feelings, Jesus tenderly calms down his disciples by saying, “I will not leave you orphaned.” Jesus also encourages his disciples to take heart for a Helper is coming to b
Fifth Sunday of Easter John 14:1-14 Rev. Neli Miranda Today, our Christian spirituality invites us on a journey that will lead us to Ascension Day, which happens forty days after Jesus’ resurrection. To guide us on this path, the lectionary leads us through a series of lessons that tells us about the endearing moments that Jesus and his disciples spent together just before Jesus’ arrest and crucifixion. So, for three Sundays we listen to some sections of Jesus’ farewell discourse he gave to his first community of disciples at the Last Supper. For the Johannine community these words were very relevant, and they are included in the Gospel account so that Jesus’ words could reach the disciples throughout the centuries. Today we read chapter 14 which is preceded by the account of Jesus who washes his disciples’ feet during the Last Supper and foretells his coming suffering, Judas’ betrayal, and Peter’s denial . “ Little children, I am with you only a little longer...,” Jesus