Feast of Pentecost
Today, the Coptic Orthodox Church celebrates one of the Major Feasts of our Lord Jesus Christ, namely Pentecost! On this day, the Church was born when the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples while they were fasting and praying in the Upper Room. The Holy Spirit gave birth to One Church & One Family for God. Today, let us work with God’s Spirit to keep the unity and harmony of the Church. We can do that by adopting THREE edifying attitudes:
1. Let’s Move Forward:
• Unity is brought about by an attitude of “moving forward”.
• So often, we have a tendency to dwell on the past and feel negative and guilty, and so we get caught and held back by past negative experiences.
• Christ calls St. Peter to adopt an attitude of “let’s move forward”. “Do you love me…take care of my sheep…feed my sheep” (john 21) then it is written that immediately after this, Jesus said to St. Peter “ “Follow me!” Let’s move forward!!!
• There is an inspiring quote that says “If you cannot say goodbye to your past, you can’t say hello to your future.”
2. Let’s Stay Focused
• Harmony is brought about by an attitude of “Staying focused”.
• St. Paul was thinking of a similar harmony when addressing the Corinthians. He said: “I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in harmony with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose” [1 Corinthians 1:10].
• St. Paul tells the Hebrews to “keep [their] eyes fixed (i.e. focused) on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith” (Hebrews 12:2)
• Stay focused on God’s promises and not on explanations!
3. Let’s Encourage One Another
• Unity and Harmony are brought about by an attitude of “Encouragement”.
• Stephen R. Covey, in “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change”, wrote: “Treat a man as he is and he will remain as he is. Treat a man as he can and should be and he will become as he can and should be.”
• “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
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