Ordinary Time 
Pause
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me.
Break me, melt me, mold me, fill me.
Spirit of the Living God,
Fall afresh on me.
“Spirit of the Living God” by Daniel Iverson
Listen
Rather, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:
In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young will see visions. Your elders will dream dreams. Even upon my servants, men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.
And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.
Acts 2:16-18, 21
Think
Today’s passage is part of a sermon that Peter gives at Pentecost. He’s reminding the crowd gathered that this gift of the Holy Spirit is a fulfillment of a prophecy from Joel. The prophecy is interesting—it shares that the Holy Spirit is a gift for everyone, all ages, genders, there is no exclusion. Everyone can receive the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just come and settle into our hearts. The Holy Spirit activates something in everyone: prophecy, visions, and dreams. The gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost means every believer has a responsibility to do something when following Jesus. It’s not just something for pastors, youth directors, or the trusted authorities in our lives. The Holy Spirit empowers all of us.
Martin Luther also believed that the Holy Spirit activates something in each of us. He wrote: “Wherever you hear or see this word preached, believed, professed, and lived, do not doubt that the true ‘holy catholic church’ must be there… for God’s word cannot be without God’s people, and conversely, God’s people cannot be without God’s word.”
Susan Sytsma Bratt
Question to Ponder:
I wonder, as you reflect on your day, what words or actions reflected the love of God?
Pray
God, I give you thanks for all the ways you bless my life: for creation, for loved ones, for the joy of knowing you. Guide my thoughts and actions by the power of your Spirit that I might dream your dreams and see visions of the world as you created it to be. Amen.
Go
God, give us eyes to see the wideness of your world, shimmering with beauty and holiness.
Stimulate our imaginations, infusing us with courage and hope.
Surround us with friendship.
Plant us as seeds of resurrection.
Amen.
Peterson Center for Christian Imagination
