Today is the festival of Pentecost—it is a holiday at least three thousand years old—tied to the winter wheat harvest in ancient Palestine. In this Jewish tradition those who were capable of traveling were expected to make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate the gifts of God in the crops. We know that those who had followed Jesus before his death were faithful Jews so they, too, were in Jerusalem for the celebration of Pentecost when something remarkable and life-changing occurred. Our reading from Acts describes this occasion when they experienced the presence of the Holy Spirit and began to recognize a pattern of life that would arise from it. So on this day, these disciples of Christ were celebrating, experiencing, and living in the presence of the Holy Spirit. Celebrating, experiencing, and living in the presence of the Holy Spirit. It was, to understate the obvious, a life-changing event for them, and indeed, it was a world-changing event for all who have gone after them.

But here’s the crucial point: they already had the presence of the Holy Spirit, they just did not know it. Recall that fifty days earlier, on Easter Day, the disciples in their fear and bewilderment had locked themselves in the room when Jesus comes to them and says “Peace be with you” and “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

They already had the presence of the Holy Spirit they just did not know it. Indeed, the promise of God throughout the Bible—Old and New Testaments—and throughout the history of creation is that God’s Holy Spirit is present all along.

So how do we pluck this promise from the pages of scriptures written down so long ago so that we can experience the gift of the Spirit in our own lives today? Well, the spectacle of Pentecost is in its reveling—it is an invitation to respond by celebrating, experiencing and living in the presence of the Holy Spirit—the same Holy Spirit that was there the day before and will be there the day after, and every day of every one of our lives.

Jesus long ago entered the upper room of our fear and bewilderment, and said to you and me and to all people of all time: “Peace be with you” and “Receive the Holy Spirit.” Those were universal offerings of peace and presence to all of creation—an invitation from God tendered by the Risen Christ—an invitation to celebrate, experience and live as God intended. Pentecost is a feast intended to remind us that God has designs on our lives, indeed on all creation.

Which is why today we greet one another with the peace of Christ.

Which is why this feast of Pentecost is such an appropriate occasion for baptism.

God is the active agent in baptism; ours is a response of faith. By God’s grace, we are received into the household of God. We share in Christ’s eternal priesthood, offering the Peace of Christ to one another and the world, and we are reborn by the spirit in a life-changing manner. In this experience of Baptism, and the life that flows from it, we are intentional about celebrating, experiencing, and living in the presence of the Spirit all the days of our lives.

Those who know me will attest to the fact that I am an avid proponent of our Baptismal Covenant as the means by which we order our lives. At this point, I’ll spare you an elaboration on the details of that document, except to call your attention to the fact that together with those who are preparing to be baptized, we all are asked to restate our pledge as Christians grounded in this covenant with God. As we say the words of this Baptismal Covenant we are each challenged to search beyond the words on the page to discover the flesh and blood reflected in promised actions to which we commit ourselves, with God’s help.

All Christian ministry takes life in the waters of baptism, but living into our baptism by living out the covenant we make with God in baptism is not something we can do alone. Such ministry, such baptismal identity, requires peace and presence—the peace of Christ and the presence of the Spirit—both gifts from God which have been freely given for our benefit, and for the benefit of the whole world.

God has designs on our lives, and indeed on all creation. It is why today, on this feast of Pentecost, today especially, we celebrate by baptizing—at once, looking forward to what ministries lie ahead for us while also looking back, reflecting with peace and presence as we claim our heritage in the communion of saints.

We find our connection across time and space because God’s peace and presence are unbound by time and space, and they are ours—gifts to be used for God’s glory and for our benefit and for the benefit of the whole world. God has designs on our lives, and indeed on all creation, and today, on the feast of Pentecost, we are invited to revel in this wonderful news.