The Feast of Pentecost is a harvest festival (Lev 23:22). But this year in Sabah, Pentecost Sunday coincides with the weekend Harvest Festival of the Kadazan-Dusun and Murut (KDM) peoples of the land. As a result of the CMCO, celebrations were muted. In church online setting, I specifically requested that the worship team performed a traditional dance and they chose one of my favourite Dusun Christian song (watch here - last few minutes of the video). On Pentecost, the command of the Lord is that the people rejoice in His presence and celebrate His goodness with family, friends, Levites and foreigners (Deut 16:11). For God, God's community includes everyone, not like some countries that practice discrimination and exclude the foreigners and migrant workers as part of the community.
Perhaps, President Donald Trump has a point against the WHO (I did not want to take a stand) especially when WHO praised a few countries about the Covid-19 measures which I knew at least one country mentioned by WHO is failing miserably because the migrant workers' group is still being infected for the past two months to the sum of 500 people a day on average. Pentecost Sunday teaches us one great lesson.
God is no respecter of persons and He loves every person equally as all people are His creation and handiwork. On the first Pentecost after Jesus' resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit came upon us who believed, regardless of gender (your sons and your daughters) and class or social distinction - your men-servants and maidens (lords and slaves) like in Cornelius' household, all received the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10). For all who come to God, you are part of the community, God's community - His family. You are his sons and his daughters in Christ. The world or the State might reject you or treat you differently, but God favours those who love and serve Him. There is no favouritism in God. It matters not from which tribe or race, or nationality or language of one's origins, for God is all in all and He fills all through Jesus Christ for the praise of His glory.
No comments:
Post a Comment