I look from afar:
and lo, I see the power of God coming,
and a cloud covering the whole earth.
Go ye out to meet him and say:
Tell us, art thou he that should come?
(from the Matin Responsory for Advent)
It is the end of the Easter season and this post is published on the Day of Pentecost (also known as Whitsunday). You could say that litugically this concludes part one. It began in Advent, a time maked by waiting in anticpation of the Messiah’s arrival. We follow the story of who Jesus is and what he is about. The seasons take us through the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. In this annual timeline Jesus has gone back to heaven and, as one wit put it, “started working from home”!
Part two, if you like, begins with the Day of Pentecost, which some have dubbed the Church’s birthday. This is when and where the spreading of the Good News of Jesus Christ began in earnest by his apostles, disciples and followers. God’s Spirit inspired and energised them in a new way.
Incidentally, to say that this is the church’s birthday is not simply to say that this is when it began. This is not the origin of an institution. It is the coming of age of a group of individuals as they become that community also known as the body of Christ. And an important point about the coming of the Holy Spirit in such a dramatic way is that the same Spirit that’s present at the very beginning, in Genesis, is the same Spirit that inspired the Prophets, is the same Spirit whose power brought Jesus back from the dead to new life. That Holy Spirit is here on the day of Pentecost.
And Christians believe that that same Spirit is alive and active today.
“O Heavenly King, the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth,
you are in all places and fill all things,
you are the treasury of blessings and giver of life:
come and dwell in us, cleanse us from every stain,
and save our souls, O gracious Lord.”
(Orhodox Prayer to the Holy Spirit)
Faithful God, you fulfilled the promises of Easter
by sending us your Holy Spirit and
opening to every race and nation the way of life eternal.
Open our lips by your Spirit, that every tongue may tell of your glory;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
(Common Worship)
Sundry Times Too 