The Last Days

The Last Days, no, not the end of time, but for Eastertide.  Sunday will be Pentecost, the conclusion of the 50 day Easter Season.  From Ash Wednesday on February 14th, we have been reflecting on the Mystery of our Redemption, a potentially fruitful, even life-changing time, but as it comes to an end, there is a twinge of nostalgia, perhaps even sadness, as the people of Miletus experienced when Paul gave his last talk to them and told them that most likely they would not see him again.  With weeping and embracing they bid him farewell, but continue to grow in the faith he had implanted in them.
Seniors in colleges and high schools are living their last days before commencing to live what they have learned.  There is a mixture of fear and confidence as the unknown opens before them.
Year after year we live this cycle, and though not as dramatically as graduates or the citizens Miletus and Ephesus. yet the challenge is there:  Are we better now than we were on February 13th?  Has this Lent/ Easter Season deepened our faith, enlivened our practice, made us better followers of Jesus?
The Holy Spirit will come on Pentecost with what we need  to continue "the job".  Come, Holy Spirit, fill us with your grace, love and confidence.  Remove all fear and hesitation. Make us strong in our faith. Radiate to the "world" through us.  Amen.
Bro. Rene