Ember Wednesday within the Octave of the Feast of Pentecost
Posted on May 22, 2024 by under
Scripture: Acts 8:14-17 (NKJV)
8:14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
Devotion
After the martyrdom of St. Stephen—which encapsulated the rejection of the Jews that Jesus of Nazareth was the Lord and Christ—the Book of Acts begins to show the spread of the Gospel into all the world. This expansion of the Church begins with Samaria, the people who were closest to the Jews. Philip the Deacon had begun the work of bringing the Gospel to the Samaritans. They had been baptized by him in the “name of the Lord Jesus.” But they had not as of yet shown the signs that usually accompanied the out-pouring of the Holy Ghost at Holy Baptism.
The Church sends two representatives from the Apostles. They happen to be two of the leaders of the Church, Sts. Peter and John. This served to establish, first of all, that there would be one Church. There was not going to be a Church of the Samaritans and one of the Jews, but one Church of all nations. By sending Sts. Peter and John to Samaria, this would also establish that the miraculous signs of the Holy Ghost and preaching of the Gospel would now occur in Samaria. These signs would confirm that the Holy Ghost was indeed active in the Church of Samaria as it was in Jerusalem. This established that the Church would be made up of all nations, both Jews and Gentiles alike.
Collect: O Lord, may the Comforter, who proceedeth from Thee, enlighten our minds, we beseech Thee, and guide us into all truth, even as Thy Son hath promised, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the same Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Collect for the Feast of Pentecost
O God, Who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people, by sending to them the light of Thy Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
