Pentecost Yr A 2026
Easter • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 1 viewSpiritual gifts are given for some end. At baptism we receive the Isa ch 11 gifts for sanctification and union with Christ. The Apostles received the Spirit in John ch 20 to establish or structure the Church. The Jerusalem Church received a particular gift of the Spirit on Pentecost to explode it into mission, to cross boundaries. Paul says that everyone is given the spiritual gift they need for some benefit to the church. So live your gifts according to their ends. Prioritize the Isa ch 11 gifts, value the gifts given to the hierarchy, expect the gifts needed for the ministry God calls you to, and avoid the confusion of finding status in gifts rather than humility and mixes speaking in foreign languages with ecstatic speech of 1 Samuel.
Notes
Transcript
Title
Title
The manifestation of the Spirit for some benefit.
Outline
Outline
When we talk about the Spirit we often forget the ends
When we talk about the Spirit we often forget the ends
That is, our three readings each speak of a reception of the Spirit, but the different receptions have different ends.
We receive the Spirit in Baptism for sanctification and union with Christ
We receive the Spirit in Baptism for sanctification and union with Christ
These gifts, often forgotten, are those of Isa ch 11 and they were received by Christ so make us like him. And they are necessary.
The Apostles received the Spirit in John ch 20 to establish the Church
The Apostles received the Spirit in John ch 20 to establish the Church
They will lead the Church as Christ led his band. The one power mentioned is binding and loosing that we would see in Canon Law and Reconciliation. This shows that the Church was functioning before Pentecost and that this leadership is needed for it to hold together.
The Jerusalem church received the Spirit on Pentecost to explode it into mission
The Jerusalem church received the Spirit on Pentecost to explode it into mission
God gathers Jewish pilgrims from many languages into Jerusalem and then the Spirit rushes upon the 120 to impel them out the doors speaking those languages. Instant evangelism of their world. 3000 are added to the Church.
Paul points out that each one is given a gift from the Spirit for some benefit
Paul points out that each one is given a gift from the Spirit for some benefit
That is, for some missional or pastoral benefit of the Church, not their benefit. These can change as God puts a person in a different situation. They are not necessarily permanent. Love, seeking the good of the other, is permanent. The end, then, is the growth and building up of the Church.
So live your gifts according to their ends
So live your gifts according to their ends
Prioritize the Isa ch 11 gifts that are given to everyone, for everyone should be seeking to be like Jesus, to become a saint.
Value the gifts given to the hierarchy, passed down through ordination, for we fall apart without their leadership.
Expect the gifts needed for the ministry God calls you to. He will hand you the tool when you need it. They are growth and outwardly directed for the most part.
Finally, avoid the confusion that assigns status to giftedness rather than humility, that mixes up speaking foreign languages (which the Fathers discuss) with the ecstatic speak of Saul and others in 1 Samuel, and that does not making being like Jesus the goal to which we are headed and to which we seek to draw others.
