Dear New Horizon family,

As we celebrate Pentecost many of us have sung this hymn,

Breathe on me, breath of God, fill me with life anew, that I may love what thou dost love, and do what thou wouldst do. … Breathe on me breath of God till I am wholly thine, till all this earthly part of me glows with the fire divine.

As the Discipleship Ministries note, Pentecost was originally an agricultural festival celebrating the first harvest of the growing season. Later it became a commemoration of the giving of the land of Canaan to the people of Israel; and then even later, it morphed into an observance of the giving of the law to Moses on Mount Sinai. All are important times of celebration, but nothing to indicate the power that was unleashed on this day. I’m sure it caught the disciples by surprise too. They were used to a low-key holiday (not like Yom Kippur or even Rosh Hashana), but instead found themselves in an encounter with God that literally blew them away.

The Day of Pentecost came like the sound of a violent wind, Luke tells us. It was fire; it was power; it was chaos and noise, but it was also meaning, and it was hope. And then to be filled with the power to be, the power to grow, the power to love as Christ loved.

Let’s prepare our hearts and souls, minds and bodies for the power and breath of God.

See you Sunday.

Love Jacqui