Pentecost

Christ the King Epiphany, Wilbraham, MA

Deacon Michael Hamilton

May 24, 2026

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be pleasing and acceptable to God. Amen (pbs)

I worked with a pharmacist who was born in Hong Kong and raised in her father's herbal apothecary. In his apothecary, he practiced what we would call Eastern medicine, acupuncture, and spiritual guidance for his patients and clients. As a teenager, Mary immigrated to the United States, studied philosophy, and then went on to Pharmacy School. Mary was one of the most interesting people I have worked with as she lived a life of integration. Mary could practice Western Medicine with an Eastern understanding and was able to recommend herbal/natural medicine over a pill if that is what a patient wanted. She informed her Roman Catholic faith with Buddhist and astrological practices, she could create a French dish with Chinese spices, and she would only swear in Chinese under her breath, because it would be impolite to swear in English.

Mary would often consider the auspiciousness of a day. This included an understanding of the zodiac cosmology, weather patterns, political systems, time and place. If I could ask Mary to read the vibe of today, I believe she would declare this a Most Auspicious Day which carries the largest portion of positivity, prosperity, and potential.

A Most Auspicious Day. Today we remember and celebrate the first Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was unleashed, opened, and infused into the world as our advocate, protector, and guide. Today, we are marking the birthday of the Christian church. Today, we also recognize that since we have received the Holy Spirit, we too are called into the great Commission that Jesus gave to the disciples as we are sent out, by Jesus, to make the Gospel, His Gospel, known in our lives.

Today, we are also recognizing an ancient faith practice that even preceded the Christian faith known as a Rogation Day. Of all the celebrations of today, Rogation Day might be the least familiar. In our current calendar, we acknowledge April 25th as the Major Rogation Day and the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday before Ascension Thursday as the Minor Rogation days. This is a time that is set aside when seeds and lands are blessed, prayers ascend for favorable growing conditions. Farmers/ growers are blessed and prayed for as they begin the work of tending and harvesting the crops that will sustain us during the coming year. Yes indeed, today is, a Most Auspicious Day.

Weather permitting, we will conclude our worship service today out by the garden as Pastor Martha will gather us to give thanks and to pray over the work begun by our Creation Care Ministry and all their helpers. We will acknowledge the care that has been taken in preparing our gardens for the growing season, and to once again, remind ourselves that it is a gift from God to be invited into the creation process of assisting the seed to grow through watering, weeding, pruning, supporting, and harvesting, all the while realizing that it is the seed, root, or tuber that God has blessed to be what it will be and we are mere companions and invited co-creators, along the way.

Without hesitation, the arrival of the Holy Spirit as our advocate and guide is the ultimate celebration of today and should be known as the ‘Ultimate Super-Fantastic Incredible Most Auspicious Day’ if we consider what happened then and is happening now. Recall that before ascending into Heaven, Jesus told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the arrival of the Advocate before heading out to tell the Good News throughout all the world. In Acts 2 we read: When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly, a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues[a] as the Spirit enabled them.

A rushing wind, the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, the appearance of dancing flames, the removal of fear, the eradication of doubt, the strength to be bold, and even the ability to share the Good News across different languages. The apostles could not deny that God was present; the start of the next part of Jesus’ journey was beginning, and the presence of God was there to protect, inspire, and lead the people out to do the work that God asked them to do. The apostles could NOT deny it, and neither can we. The arrival of the Holy Spirit was not a one-time event that happened long, long ago in a faraway land. We, also having received the Holy Spirit, are called into living our faith boldly as a witness. Saint Francis, a personal hero of mine, is quoted as saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times and use words only if necessary”. This is not the preaching of standing on the street corner shouting out Bible chapter and verse that most of us are called to, (if anyone is). But the Gospel message and the acknowledgement of the Holy Spirit being in our lives should shine forth in how we live daily. We know, as Christians, we are called to share with others, to protect others when we can, to support those who are oppressed, to love our neighbor, and to love our enemies. This does not mean we can't disagree with someone or hold a different opinion, but it does mean we cannot wish or support evil, death, or harm on them either. How we interpret the Golden Rule and how we live into loving our neighbors is a witness to Christian ideals and does not need any words. There is an old question of, “if you were to be put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” If we accept the Holy Spirit at their word, people will be able to identify the charity, the love, and the compassion within us and experience the Gospel message. Through the presence of the Holy Spirit amongst us, we are protected as we live boldly in our Christian faith and practice it, operating out of love, not hate; peace, not fear; and gratitude, not thanklessness.

We all hear the anguish of the current world political situation, the plight of the unemployed, the struggle to survive, and the hopelessness that people are experiencing. If we return to that old Sunday School song of, “This little light of mine, I’m ‘gonna’ let is shine” and allow the Holy Spirit to build our own confidence in believing that my little light can make a difference without having to accomplish it all, or vanquish the darkness all on our own as we pray, Glory to the Holy Spirit, working through us can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine. Glory to God in our generation as we make today the

‘Ultimate Super-Fantastic Incredible Most Auspicious Day’! Amen.