Greetings in our risen and ascended Savior! Beginning with this Second Sunday after Pentecost, we enter into the non-festival half of the church year. During this season, the Scripture lessons point to examples of the believer’s life in Christ, and of the Holy Spirit’s power as He brings people to faith and strengthens them in their faith to live for Jesus.
As we have mentioned several times, the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) focus on the acts of Jesus to build His Church during His earthly ministry. The book of Acts (as well as the other epistles) reveals the acts of Jesus to build His Church after His ascension into heaven. Just as we recently read from the book of Revelation for a number of consecutive Sundays, this Sunday we begin reading from the book of Galatians for several Sundays.
Therefore, we will read how Jesus keeps His promise to build His Church through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit works through the word and sacraments, the Means of Grace, which faithful followers of Jesus administer in a God-pleasing way. In summary, then, this non-festival season of Sundays after Pentecost emphasizes the growth of God’s Church as the Holy Spirit calls and gathers believers.