Alleluia! Christ is risen.
He is risen indeed. Alleluia!
Collect
Holy Spirit, sent by the Father, ignite in us your holy fire; strengthen your children with the gift of faith, revive your Church with the breath of love, and renew the face of the earth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Readings - Acts, chapter 2, verses 1 to 21 :-
The day of Pentecost had come, and the disciples were all together in one place. Suddenly there came from the sky what sounded like a strong, driving wind, a noise which filled the whole house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them flames like tongues of fire distributed among them and coming to rest on each one. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to talk in other tongues, as the Spirit gave them power of utterance.
Now there were staying in Jerusalem devout Jews drawn from every nation under heaven. At this sound a crowd of them gathered, and were bewildered because each one heard his own language spoken; they were amazed and in astonishment exclaimed, ‘Surely these people who are speaking are all Galileans! How is it that each of us can hear them in his own native language? Parthians, Medes, Elamites; inhabitants of Mesopotamia, of Judaea and Cappadocia, of Pontus and Asia, of Phrygia and Pamphylia, of Egypt and the districts of Libya around Cyrene; visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes; Cretans and Arabs - all of us hear them telling in our own tongues the great things God has done.’ They were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, ‘What can this mean?’ Others said contemptuously, ‘They have been drinking!’
But Peter stood up with the eleven, and in a loud voice addressed the crowd: ‘Fellow-Jews, and all who live in Jerusalem, listen and take note of what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose; it is only nine in the morning! No, this is what the prophet Joel spoke of: “In the last days, says God, I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind; and your sons and daughters shall prophesy; your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Yes, on my servants and my handmaids I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy.
‘”I will show portents in the sky above, and signs on the earth below - blood and fire and a pall of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before that great, resplendent day, the day of the Lord, shall come. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord on that day shall be saved.”’
John, chapter 15 verses 26 and 27, and chapter 16 verses 4b to 15
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘When the advocate has come, whom I shall send you from the Father - the Spirit of truth that issues from the Father - he will bear witness to me. And you also are my witnesses, because you have been with me from the first.
‘I did not tell you this at first, because then I was with you; but now I am going away to him who sent me. None of you asks me, “Where are you going?” Yet you are plunged into grief at what I have told you. Nevertheless I assure you that it is in your interest that I am leaving you. If I do not go, the advocate will not come, whereas if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin, justice, and judgement: about sin, because they refuse to believe in me; about justice, because I go to the Father when I pass from your sight; about judgement, because the prince of this world stands condemned.
‘There is much more that I could say to you, but the burden would be too great for you now. However, when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but will speak only what he hears; and he will make known to you what is to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and make it known to you. All that the Father has is mine, and that is why I said, “He will take what is mine and make it known to you.”
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
A Reflection on the Reading (a shorter version of the preached sermon)
“Sharing the peace” in Church of England Communion services first came in with the modern language Series 3 booklets; and I’ve mentioned before the way we used to do it back in those days in my home church of St Peter’s, Rickerscote. We were very safe and orderly, very Anglican, really. The Vicar would stand at the chancel step, say the words, and then pass the peace very formally to the two churchwardens who’d come forward, and then they would just as solemnly pass it on by shaking hands with the end person on each pew, who would then pass it along the pew. It was a little bit like taking the collection in reverse. And the reason I mention that today, Pentecost, is that I think it quite neatly expresses the way the Church tends to deal with the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
What we read in Luke’s second book, the Acts of the Apostles, tells of the Holy Spirit causing a scene of joyful chaos on the first Christian Day of Pentecost. The disciples had been praying for this promised gift, but its arrival still knocked them off their feet, and the account we read included wind and fire, uncontrollable, dangerous things. And we see the disciples sent spinning out onto the city streets, no longer exactly in control of their own selves, and so full of joy that the more sceptical of the passers-by reckoned they had to be drunk. Pentecost was the harvest festival of the grape harvest, and there would have been plenty of new wine to be had. But the disciples had been filled not with the wine of the grape, but with the New Wine of the Holy Spirit.
But mostly we’re not that keen on chaos, so we do our best to keep our religion within safe and orderly limits. So we surround the Holy Spirit with doctrines and liturgies, as if to keep him (or her, as “spirit” is feminine in Hebrew) safely in a box. We know that there are Christians who are Pentecostal, or Charismatic, but we tend to dismiss them as “happy clappy”. And so the Holy Spirit is placed where he or she belongs, as a fairly brief footnote to God, in the lower third of the Creed.
But if we do do that, today ought to persuade us to think again, for it reminds us that the Church was born Pentecostal. And - since Charismatic really just means “gifted” - that the Church began with people receiving gifts, the gifts of the Spirit. And we’re also reminded that the Holy Spirit isn’t different from God the Father and God the Son - the Spirit is the Spirit of the Father, the Spirit of Jesus, the sheer life changing love of God so profoundly present not only around but within the disciples that day that they just had to get out on the streets, and share with everyone what had happened to them.
And everyone heard what they had to say, each in their own language. I see that in terms of challenge. It’s a challenge to any limits we may try to place on who can hear and receive God’s word. No-one’s excluded, all are invited in. There were people from all over in Jerusalem that day, but they were all Jews - but the good news of God’s love would go out to all the world. It’s the language of love, and love is universal. People have always wanted to own their own gods - but the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples when they were ready to be owned by God; that’s what they’d been praying for: praying “Fill me, Lord, and use me.”
Don’t let the thought of chaos scare you or put you off; chaos can be good. And Pentecost reminds us that true religion, religion that is life-changing and world-changing, can’t happen when we keep our God safely tucked into a corner of our tidy life; but does happen when we offer ourselves to the God who is Holy Spirit: who is hugely, uncontrollably alive, the love divine who comes as wind and fire.
We believe in the living God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. For Jesus said, ‘Those who are thirsty, come to me and drink. If you believe in me, streams of living water shall flow from within you.’ He spoke of the Spirit his disciples would later receive, the Spirit to be given, once he had been glorified. from John 7.37-9
Prayers -
Begin this time of prayer by simply being silent before God, confessing our sins before him, and seeking the healing and renewing power of his Spirit.
Pray the Church everywhere may receive a new awareness of divine love, and be blessed afresh with gifts of the Spirit; pray for Christians in Melanesia, and for the Anglican Province of Melanesia. Pray for our own Diocese, for Richard our Bishop and for the communication of our faith to the world around us.
Pray for the world, for peace where there is conflict, for healing where people are hurting, for relief and comfort where people are afraid. Pray that leaders of the nations may govern with wisdom, discernment and integrity, and for help to reach those nations struggling to contain the Covid virus.
Pray for all who are ill or in need or trouble today, and for the work of helping and healing. Pray for all who care for others, especially those who face risk themselves as they do so.
Pray for our own families and friends, and for the life of our communities. Pray for our annual meetings as they happen over the coming days. Pray we may continue to act with care, looking out for one another and keeping safe.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
May the Spirit, who hovered over the waters when the world was created, breathe into us the life he gives. Amen.
May the Spirit, who overshadowed blessed Mary when the eternal Son came among us, make us joyful in the Lord’s service. Amen.
May the Spirit, who set the Church on fire upon the Day of Pentecost, bring the world alive with the love of the risen Christ. Amen.
And may almighty God bless us, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and always. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment