On June 3rd, Melissa Hofstetter spoke to Mark 2:23-3:6, beginning with the connection of baptism to census and taxation
at the time of the formation of the Mennonite faith, and a move to adult baptism as a sign of discipleship—just as Jesus was baptized as an adult. Pentecost is a season when believers celebrate their collective baptism in the Holy Spirit. For Jesus, this time would have been Shavuot, which marked the harvest festival 7 Sabbaths after Passover. Pentecost, the pouring out of the Spirit of Jesus, marks a harvest of his disciples, reaping the radical love that Jesus has sown in their hearts. We get a glimpse of Jesus’ heart in the story of Jesus’ allowing his disciples to glean from fields on the Sabbath in the spirit of 1 Samuel when David was permitted to eat holy bread with his friends at a time of need; and in Jesus’ healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath in Capernaum, “the village of comfort.”

Listen to Melissa’s lovely thread through baptism, Pentecost, and the Spirit of Love.

Listen the sermon here:

download here

For convenience sake, there is also a podcast available. You can find that here.

Image: Study for “Harvest” by Sir George Clausen.