It is perhaps easy, in looking at the events of Pentecost in Acts 2, to reduce the Spirit’s arrival to spectacle—wind, tongues of fire, languages spoken and understood as if by magic. We tend to ask, “What were the signs?” But let's look deeper. What if the greatest miracle was not what the disciples did, but who they discovered themselves to be? Jesus called the Spirit “the Advocate,” a Paraclete, sent not just to empower or instruct—but to assure us we are adopted, chosen, irrevocably loved. This changes everything. We live as heirs.

It’s been a few weeks since we started our walk through Acts, and perhaps a brief reflection is in order.

We’ve traced the Church’s story from confusion and fear, stumbling through the aftermath of Jesus' ascension, to the radical transformation at Pentecost—the moment the Spirit moved in, not to a building or a mountain, but to people. Fire, wind, and voices mark this act of God dwelling intimately within each believer. This changes everything. Church is no longer merely a gathering; it’s a place of encounter, forgiveness, and power. What happened in Jerusalem is still happening in Costa Mesa—and in us.

It is a curious thing, after centuries of Christian tradition, how one of the most extraordinary moments in the story of Jesus—his ascension—is so often overlooked. This week, we returned to the opening verses of Acts, asking not simply “What is the Church?” but “Who is this Jesus we gather around?” The earliest Christians staked everything on the belief that Jesus ascended—not as a disappearing act but as advocate, architect, reigning king, and giver of gifts. This one truth unlocks a deeper hope, a truer identity, and a more courageous mission.