Mid-Pentecost. Holy Martyr Sabbas Stratelates (“the General”) (364-78).
Acts 14:6-18. John 7:14-30.
Read Acts 14:6-18
Christ is risen! Truly, He is risen!
Today we are given the celebration of the midpoint of the fifty days between the Feasts of Pascha and Pentecost. We are given this time to rejoice in the Resurrected Saviour, but also to prepare our hearts for the feast of Pentecost, which is the fruit of Pascha, and the reason the Church is able to exist. The Church is propelled and guided by the Holy Spirit constantly seeking to continue Christ’s mission in the world.
In the reading of the Acts of the Apostles we see how the Church furthers Christ’s mission. Not becoming discouraged by challenges, but being guided by the Holy Spirit and seeing challenges as new opportunities to preach the Gospel in new places. We always have two options whenever we encounter a challenging circumstance: I can bitterly complain that things are not going the way I want them, or I can have a faith filled trust in the Lord that He will open for me new possibilities, blessings, and opportunities to serve Him and others. The difference is a matter of perspective and expected outcome. If I seek to serve the Lord by trying to fulfill His mission, wherever I am planted, and not just serve myself, then I will always strive to look for the Lord to guide and uphold me in all things. Seeing His hand in all things and rejoicing by the furtherance of the Gospel. If I seek to serve myself then I will be bitterly disappointed and never fulfilled as a human being and Christian. Who will I serve today: the Lord or myself?