Pentecost Sunday

Acts 2.1-21; John 15.26-27, 16.4b-15

Sixth months ago on the first Sunday of Advent we turned our hearts and minds to the story of Jesus Christ and today we come, not to its conclusion, but to the point in time where the emphasis changes. It changes from focusing on Him as the second Person of the Holy Trinity in His life on earth, to Himself as the Church. And in the coming months we shall see and hear in our worship what that means for us, His body now, as the Church here on earth. But first we need to see how that 'transition', for want of a better word, is made; because it's made in the events we've read about from the Acts of the Apostles and in St. John's gospel today, when at the feast of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples. And the 'transition' continues to be made every day in and through each one of us, believe it or not. I guess that most of us, most of the time, might not believe it, even though we see it here and in other places. Because when you put your mind to it, what was going on with the disciples 2,000 years ago was really quite astonishing and what is going on in us today can be just as astonishing; and you might wonder why you'd never realised it before and why much of the time, it doesn't seem to make much difference.

As St. Luke, who wrote the Acts of the Apostles tells the story, it sounds really remarkable. It was quite an event, that coming of the Holy Spirit, with the sound of a rushing wind and with tongues, like fire, coming on each of the disciples. And we read of the immediate result of that, with each of the disciples speaking in other languages. And the consequence of that was that the foreigners gathered for the Pentecost festival were able to hear about 'God's deeds of power' as St. Luke puts it. So right away, the first thing that happens after the Holy Spirit comes is that the disciples are spreading the gospel message. And the Church has been doing that ever since, with varying degrees of success, that is, acting on Jesus commission to his disciples that we read of at the end of St. Matthew's gospel, that they are to go and make disciples of all nations, baptising in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. And we do the same today, with varying degrees of success. So far, so good.

When we look back at that Pentecost event and the power of God that is evident in it, we can be forgiven for asking where it's all gone to? We don't seem to see much of that power these days. And indeed, if one result of the Holy Spirit's presence is growth of the Church, how come the life of the Church seems to be draining away in the Western world and certainly in Britain, probably more so than in any other Western country? We should be alarmed at that, but we hardly seem to bat an eyelid, or we beat our breasts and wail and lament that 'things aren't what they used to be'. And then move on feeling, at best, defeated. At worst, after a few seconds thought we pass on to some more immediate matter.

Well the reason that we don't see that power and the reason we see the life ebbing out of the Church generally is because we don't appreciate what is happening in that Pentecost event sufficiently for it to make a difference in our own lives, here now. The Holy Spirit that came down upon the disciples wasn't some mysterious power 'sent' by God, there for the privileged, or for those with some special, secret knowledge. It was actually and really God himself, fully God, because we believe in the Holy Trinity, and that each 'person' of the Trinity has all the fullness of God. Now remember what Jesus prayed for, to His heavenly Father - that He and His disciples would all be one. He in them and they in Him just as He is in the Father and the Father is in Him. You remember? The prayer is about God and Jesus disciples being united, with Him, as one in God. For that to happen, Jesus said that His disciples would have to obey His commandments because obeying His commandments demonstrates that they love God. And more than that, obeying His commandments makes way for the Father and the Son to make their home in them, to abide in them and each to abide in the other. Do you remember all of this that we've read about before? All of this was actually happening at that feast of Pentecost, with the disciples and with God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And we read of the results, and we see the results now, in each one of us being here today, and millions around the world worshipping alongside us on this Sabbath day.

So when we read of that event in Acts and see one another here and the Church throughout the world today, we don't really have to work very hard to understand what it means for us. It means simply that if we are to have that fullness of God giving that life to us that we see in the disciples at Pentecost and beyond, then the first, second, third, indeed, every step is to obey Jesus' commandments; to love one another and to obey all the other commandments besides. That way, each of us becomes a fitting vessel in which the Holy Spirit can reside. God doesn't force Himself on us you see. We have the choice, either to go the way of His commandments or the way of our own will, which so often doesn't coincide with that of God's commandments and then we wonder why our lives are filled with so much anxiety and tribulation and why we seem powerless in our Church life, and in our own personal life with God. And we wonder why the 'life' seems to be ebbing out of the Church. It's simply because as individuals and as the Church we forget God and His commandments and we let our own will hold sway over so much. But God has given us that freedom to choose because He wouldn't have it any other way. He made us in His image and so often in following our own will it leads us into sin and His image in us becomes marred and obscured because of sin, because of our own will. And the way to restoring His image in us in all its brightness, and to the Holy Spirit's power working in us, is the way of repentance.

It's only as we turn our own will to the will of God and are obedient to Him that we become one in Him through His Spirit working and abiding in us. Then we are able to come into the fullness of His promises for us, no less than what Jesus said He'd come to bring us, and that is, in His words, 'life in all its fullness'. And also as we abide in Him we too are fit to do the work Jesus and his disciples did 2,000 years ago in this present time now as His body, the Church.

So as we think of those events of Pentecost that we read of today, should we not turn ourselves, hearts and minds to the necessary work in ourselves to make us each a fitting dwelling place for the Holy Spirit, so that we too might proclaim the good news and play our part in making disciples of all nations.