Rector's Rambling - May 27, 2012 - Whitsunday

Today is a wonderful “Red Letter Day” in the life of the Church, the Feast of Whitsunday, or Pentecost. Red Letter Day comes from the old printing of the Prayer Book calendar, when major feast days were marked in Red Letters to remind the Church that his was a major day. Today’s feast is also a red vestment day as well, since the Holy Ghost is wonderfully symbolized in red after the example of the Holy Ghost in the form flames of fire lighting upon the heads of the disciples on this day. The Holy Ghost is a vital portion of the work of evangelism that we are called to as members of the Body of Christ. The last few weeks we have looked in this column at how important it is to evangelize, and how to do it. Last week I came across a great quote from Fr. Dwight Longenecker, a former Episcopal (now Roman Catholic) priest: The best way to evangelize is to be so full of the Holy Spirit that others will see you and want what you’ve got. When this happens you will forget yourself and the radiance of Christ will shine through you. Right on the mark! Ultimately Christianity is a life of attraction more than promotion (although one should do both). Although the St. Francis Prayer of “make me a channel of your peace” is popular, when it come to The Faith, we don’t want to be channels (something that passes through) we want to be reservoirs. We want to be filled up to overflowing, like a reservoir, so that we are not only nourished and filled ourselves, but we over-spill our banks and nourish everything around us. As Fr. Longenecker says, “we need to be so full of the Holy Spirit…” Ask Him to fill you, and fill and fill to overflowing, that you will not only be filled with His Word, but also His Love, that it will ooze out of your pores!