May 24, 2026 (Pentecost)
Beulah UMC & Oak Grove UMC
I have always found the church calendar placement of Pentecost problematic. I know there’s nothing we can do about it. Pentecost, by virtue of its name always lands on the 50th day after Easter Sunday.
This means that Pentecost Sunday, the explosive moment when the Holy Spirit filled and empowered Jesus’ followers is the same time frame when our schedules begin to slow down a little bit. And not to mention this year with it falling on Memorial Day weekend when a lot of people aren’t even in church because of travel plans.
There always seems to be this disconnect between Pentecost and the summer rhythm of the typical church.
Ideally, Pentecost would work much better when school starts up again. Everybody is getting back into a routine around the middle of August, and people are in need of that extra boost of energy as our schedules get a little busier.
But maybe this is the whole point of celebrating Pentecost this time of year. Pentecost and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit is not dictated by our schedules. I love how our Acts reading says that the Holy Spirit came upon them “suddenly.” The Holy Spirit seems to like to come unannounced. Out of the blue.
This reminds me of Jesus who told Nicodemus that the wind blows where it wills. You hear its sound, but you can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going.
And so, I guess the Holy Spirit isn’t all that concerned with our sense of timing. The Spirit will do what the Spirit wants to do and when the Spirit wants to do it.
Births are kind of that way as well, aren’t they?
Our daughter was born on the day that I was to officiate for a wedding which is why I will always remember that it was a Saturday when she was born. We cut it close, but she was born just in time for me to hold her in my arms and make it in time for the wedding processional.
Two years later, our son was born in the early morning hours on the day of my ordination interview. We had been up all night at the hospital. And after he was born that morning, I drove an hour and a half to to the place where the interviews were being held, making it just in time.
Birthdays seem to have their own timeline.
Some friends of ours in Ohio tell the story of a time when she and her husband were driving alone to an away basketball game one winter.
The roads were really bad and there was zero visibility so they had to turn onto a road where they would be able to wait out the storm. When they pulled off on this road, they spotted a car that was in a ditch and stuck in the snow. The husband decided to see if he could help and so he got out of his car, climbed over a large snow drift and knocked on the window of this stranded car.
Three sets of terrified eyes met his. In broken English, the woman said, “I’m in labor.” They were on their way to the hospital when their car got stuck in that ditch. He then invited the man and the woman along with the woman’s mother to get in his car where they could get warm.
The young man got hold of an emergency dispatch, but his broken English made it difficult to communicate and so the man who was helping them got on the phone as well and did his best to translate what the other man was trying to say. At this point, the woman was now shrieking in pain, but the man who was helping them stayed calm and did his best to explain their location. All he knew was to keep saying, “bien” which means “it will be alright.”
The ambulance was having trouble getting there and it looked like he was going to need to deliver the baby, but the emergency crew arrived just in time. They got them to the local hospital and when the weather cleared up, our friends were able to continue their trip. They said that they did not hear how the delivery went or if it was a girl or a boy.
Births can happen at the most inconvenient times. The Holy Spirit can come at the most unexpected time, like it did for those first disciples on the Day of Pentecost.
So much of the story of the early church is in how the Holy Spirit was showing up in very unexpected and surprising ways.
Later in the book of Acts, those early disciples will be shocked when someone who had been persecuting the church will have a life changing encounter with the Risen Christ while on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians. This man will be welcomed by the same people who he was seeking to kill. He will end up establishing new churches and writing most of the books in our New Testament. The Apostle Paul.
The Holy Spirit shows up in very unexpected and surprising ways.
Those early Christians will be shocked when they hear that Gentiles were being baptized into the Christian faith without first becoming Jewish. The Holy Spirit was moving in very unexpected and surprising ways.
And so really, there is never a dull moment in the life of faith. You just never know what new opportunities and experiences are ahead of us.
The wind blows where it wills especially when we are facing times of transition in our lives.
At a church that I had served, one of the persons in our new member class told me why she started attending our church. She said that it was definitely a God moment that was beyond her control.
She said that she wanted to start attending a church somewhere. And since she didn’t have a Methodist background, she tried to get the address for a different denomination in town. For some reason, when she put in the name of this other church, it gave her our church address instead.
When she saw that it wasn’t the church address she needed, she tried again and this time her auto correct changed her search from the words, “Go to” to the word, “God.”
So, she thought that maybe because her search kept giving her our church address and then it said, “God,” she figured that she was meant to attend this church instead which is what she has been doing ever since.
She said that she knew that this truly was a God moment when she visited our church that Sunday and received a warm welcome by a couple of our greeters who actually saw her approaching the front entrance and they went outside to greet her.
She then said how she loves attending here and appreciates the hospitality of the people she feels in this place. It’s confirmation for her that the Spirit kind of.… well, blew her toward our front doors that morning.
The Holy Spirit often shows up in unexpected and surprising ways sending us in mysterious directions sometimes. It’s really never a dull moment with the Spirit guiding and directing us, even during times we least expect it.
Today is the anniversary of when John Wesley had his heart-warming experience in London, England. On May 24, 1738, he went unwillingly to a prayer meeting and during that meeting, out of the blue, his heart was strangely warmed because he was given an assurance of God’s love for him and that his sins were forgiven.
The Spirit often comes to us when we least expect it.
In one of the churches I served, an elderly saint taught me something very important about being led by the Holy Spirit especially during times of transition in our lives.
She told me that after her husband had died, her life totally changed for her. They had a long and wonderful marriage, and they had done everything together.
Whenever they drove somewhere, he was always the one behind the steering wheel driving them places. Now, she was the one behind that steering wheel. She said, "Every time that I got behind the steering wheel, I said a little prayer to God. "Well, Lord, it’s just you and me now. I know you are with me. I need you to guide and direct me in the way I should go.”
This elderly saint has given me a wonderful image for what it means to live a spirit-filled life! Sometimes, we think that we are the only ones behind that steering wheel, but God is right there with us!
Someone once said that being filled with the Spirit is simply "practicing the presence of God" in our day to day living. I like that! Yes, we are behind the steering wheel, deciding where to go, what to do, how to go about our day, but God is present with us as well.
For those of us who drive, this might be the best way for us to remember to live a spirit led life. Whenever you get behind that steering wheel, remember the words of this elderly saint: "Well, Lord, it's just you and me now. I know you are with me. Guide and direct me in all that I do."
No wonder that on that first Pentecost, the Spirit came upon the disciples suddenly. The wind of the Spirit blows where it will, but it will always lead us in the direction that we are to go.
In the words of the famous 1980s theologian, Ferris Buelller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Oh, you know him?😂
You just never know where the Spirit will lead us next.
Someone is going to show up on a Sunday morning because they had the wrong address. Someone’s going to be at the right place at the right time to help a stranded mother deliver her child. In the middle of a prayer meeting, a weary laden clergyman will feel his heart strangely warmed. During a time of transition, a grieving widow will be reminded that she’s not the only one behind that steering wheel.
Come, Holy Spirit, come, and fill us anew today.
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