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...
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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 po...
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 co...
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......
Fourth Sunday of Eater 2023 The Good Shepherd Sunday Acts 2:42-47, Psalm 23, 1 Peter 2:19-25, John 10:1-10 Rev. Betsey Moe “By Name” I had a teacher in high school who was especially gifted with knowing names. His name was Sam Adams, and he would stroll down the hall, which was crowded between classes, and wave and call students by their names, as many as were in his line of sight. He made everybody feel like a somebody. Mr. Adams was a math teacher, and a good one. But he was more than a math teacher because he understood us to be more than math students. We weren’t objects to be taught; we were subjects, real people with stories and abilities of our own. Mr. Adams knew that if we trusted that he cared about us , we would care about the math. And it worked; student math scores soared in Mr. Adams’ class. Because we were known, we flourished. In today’s scripture lesson from John, we hear about a shepherd who knows his sheep “by name.” Knowing sheep b...
Third Sunday of Easter Luke 24,13-35 Rev. Neli Miranda The Easter proclamation The Lord is risen! broke with the power and dominion of death in the world and wrested the destructive, abusive power from the religious leaders and the imperial authority over the people. In raising Jesus up from the dead, God revealed a living power that transformed suffering and death into life. However, the first disciples were so overwhelmed by the power of death that they struggled to recognize the newness of life, Jesus’ resurrection. On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene and the other women were so overwhelmed by grief that they did not understand the sign of the removed stone at the tomb. And the other disciples were so confused and frightened that they did not receive the announcement of Jesus’ resurrection and locked themselves in for fear of suffering Jesus’ fate. How dark and confusing some days may become that we cannot see, hear, and feel the presence of the Risen One! T...
Second Sunday of Easter 2023 John 20:19-31 Rev. Neli Miranda The last two chapters of John’s Gospel (20 and 21) tell us how the first community of disciples lived, understood, and responded to Jesus’ resurrection. Mary Magdalene, Peter, the beloved disciple, and Thomas, each show us different human paths on how to respond and embrace the transformation that God brings us through Jesus’ resurrection. The first thing we notice in John’s account is that no one in the community expected Jesus’s resurrection. No one had understood his previous announcements… it was the love, devotion and service of Mary Magdalene and the other women that brought the great announcement of life to the community, for where there is love and service, there is life and light! Mary’s devotion led her to be the first person to see the Risen Jesus on Easter morning and after her encounter with Jesus, she was sent to announce the great news. She is recognized ...