>>This couple’s been married for 50 years. And Charlie says to Tony, “Tony, how do you do it for 50 years of marriage?” And Tony simply said, “For our 25th wedding anniversary, we went to Italy for our 25th anniversary. For our 50th. I’m going to go pick her up.” 

[laughter] 

That one I like. Evangelist Billy Graham tells of a time during his early years of ministry when he was due to lead a crusade in a town in South Carolina, but he needed to first mail a letter. He has a little boy on the main street how to get to the post office. The boy gave directions and Billy Graham then said to the little boy, “If you come to the Central Baptist Church tonight, I’ll tell you how to get to heaven.” The boy said, “No thanks. You don’t even know how to get to the post office.”  

Pentecost is that feast and celebrates the day in our church’s history when unity and courage triumphed over division, fear and getting lost. In today’s gospel speaks of the disciples as filled with fear and a sense of feeling lost. The early followers of Jesus were not perfect. They had their rough edges. Did you ever realize that when Jesus was crucified, his disciples ran away totally in fear? But how does a Feast of Pentecost connect with our everyday lives? The following story may help.  

There’s a story about an old Cherokee chief who’s teaching his eight year old grandson about life. He tells him a fight is going on inside me. It is a terrible fight. It’s between two wolves. One, wolf is evil. He has anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, impatience, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, lies, unforgiving heart, self-doubt and worry. The other wolf inside me is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, forgiveness, mercy, compassion and faith. This same fight is going on inside you and inside every other person also. The grandson thought about it for a minute and said, when he turned his grandfather and asked, “Which wolf will win?” The wise old chief turned to his grandson and said, “The one you feed.” The one you feed.  

The disciples in today’s readings are really all of us. At times we are afraid. We’re fearful. We feel lost. We ask the question: Where sometimes is life going? Many times, no matter our age, we may ask God, where am I going in life? But know this, the Lord is with us. And the face of Pentecost, the Spirit touching the disciples and all of us means we are not alone, God, the Spirit of the Lord walks with us every day of our life. Know this. The Spirit of God will never lead us to where the grace of God cannot keep us.