{"id":6467,"date":"2020-06-08T15:32:14","date_gmt":"2020-06-08T05:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/?p=6467"},"modified":"2020-06-08T15:35:33","modified_gmt":"2020-06-08T05:35:33","slug":"the-fullness-of-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.stmark.com.au\/Blogs\/the-fullness-of-life\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fullness of Life"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

The Fullness of Life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adapted from a sermon by Fr Mark Basily<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Passage: John 15:26-16:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We celebrate the feast of the Pentecost, 50 days after the crucifixion. The day after Pentecost, we start fasting again. On a day like this our minds consider, what are we going to eat tonight? What do we want to eat just before the fast? How much can we eat?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We get\nreally full as though what we eat will sustain us for the next month or so of\nfasting. There is another kind of fullness that is taking place of this feast\nday, beyond eating. St Luke gives the entire passage of his description of what\ntook place on the day of Pentecost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says, \u201cWhen\nthe day of Pentecost had fully come\u201d (Acts 2:2). He mentions Pentecost as\nthough the reader knew what is was. This was because Pentecost was a Jewish\nfeast, celebrated 50 days after the Passover. Pentecost meant 50, like a pentagon\nhas 5 sides, the Pentecost was celebrated 50 days after the Passover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the day\nof Pentecost, it was a celebration of the day that they received the law on\nMount Sinai. It was also a time that they would bring the first fruits of the\nharvest. Many of the major Christian events take place on major Jewish dates.\nOn these dates, Jews would travel to Jerusalem to partake of the feast. The\nCrucifixion took place on the day of Passover. This was to fulfil the law\nfirstly. Also, there were thousands of people gathered from the surrounding\nvillages to celebrate the Passover. When everyone is there and everyone can\nsee, Christ is crucified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again,\nthousands of people flocking into Jerusalem for Pentecost to offer the fruit\nfruits of their harvest, and then, the Holy Spirit descends. Everyone is there\nto see, everyone can hear the message. This is why it was essential that the\ndisciples could speak in different languages to cater for all the people that\nhad come from surrounding villages. God uses prime time events for everyone to\nsee and witness. St Luke says, \u201cWhen the day of Pentecost had fully come. Why\nnot just when the day had Pentecost had come? Why use the word fully?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scholars\nsuggest that St Luke was deliberately using this word as a running theme\nthroughout his entire book of Acts;<\/p>\n\n\n\n