Year C Pentecost June 8 2025 - Sarah Cooper

And such a sweetness and power rolled about them and over them and entered into them that they felt they had never really been happy or wise or good, or even alive and awake before….if ever they were sad or afraid or angry, the thought of all that golden goodness, and the feeling that it was still there, quite close, just around some corner or just behind some door, would come back and make them sure, deep down inside, that all was well

Our greatest joy as Christians is knowing that the God who loves us dearly actually accompanies us everywhere we go….His presence within us gives us courage, gives our lives meaning, if we invite Him in

Today we celebrate the festival of Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples and to the crowds, the beginning or birth of the Church.

Jerusalem was packed that day,  50 days after Passover, for the festival of Shavuot, or  Weeks, to celebrate the first green shoots of the harvest, but, more importantly the giving of the Law to Moses on Sinai.

It was a good time of year to travel so there were devout Jews from all over the region, from 15 countries we are told. In their thousands.

It is also 50 days since Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, a mere 10 days since he ascended into heaven to be at the right hand of the Father

The apostles are there, counting the hours and minutes…he had promised to send the Holy Spirit upon them. How long would they need to wait?

All there present would have been familiar with the Holy Spirit, from the stories in the Hebrew scriptures, of creation, of God breathing life into Adam, God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became living being

 In Ezekiel  Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you and you shall live

And all those who had met Jesus would have heard his promise And I will ask the Father and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever….this is the Spirit of truth

Would have heard the words from John the Baptist : I baptise you with water, but He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit

And so they had been waiting but had  no idea what to expect

The sudden dramatic wind and flames, the sense that nothing would be the same after this must have been overwhelming

The speaking in tongues…the reversal of the tower of Babel when the Lord confused the language of all the earth and scattered them all over the face of the earth …the sudden common understanding, because this is all about hearing and understanding more than speaking.

The language of God on that day of Pentecost was of love, and as Peter explained to the crowds, this is what was prophesied, we were told God would pour his spirit upon us, and we heard our Lord Jesus promise that he would send the Spirit

All were able to understand the message of God’s deeds and power

And the Spirit sat on, came to, was breathed into, literally, all people, whether man or woman, young or old, slave  or master, from this land or that land… absolutely everybody

This was the great breaking down of barriers that we humans love to construct, the ending of division, the celebration of unity in diversity

No more different languages, no more borders, no difference in colour, ethnicity, social class, no context at all…as Paul elaborates in his letters,

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Just people who are loved by God…and all he asks is that we love each other

Led by the spirit we are all children of God, we are all equal

3000 were baptised that day

This was the beginning of the church

The flames that touched the people that day still burn today

The power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives is literally breathtaking

The word for spirit in both Hebrew and Greek is breath or wind..its  physical 

How does it touch you today as it did those disciples 2000 years ago?

We may not be able to explain how, but we know that it does and it will

I overheard a phone conversation on the train the other day, and unusually I could only hear one side of it, but the person on the other end was clearly struggling to make  a decision and it sounded serious. The person I could hear said “Well just follow your gut…think of it as the Holy Spirit working in you”

I recognise that, so well

There have been times in my life when I have been aware of the Spirit working in me and there have been times when I just know it has worked…when I have been wrestling with something in my heart and then all at once I just know.

The Holy Spirit is about more than Pentecost, it is about every day and its ability to transform our lives now, to disrupt our lives, to blow change into us, to alight new creativity, to be the force for good that we only recognise in hindsight.

And we cannot define it we cannot confine it with mere words

It is after all divine

A divine creative energy which sets our hearts on fire,

And that is our job now, with hearts on fire with love for God, to go out into the world

Jesus had gone and the disciples were empowered to carry on his work through the power of the Spirit…as are we

If you love me you will obey my commandments

That day the church was born

That day a community of faith was created, and it is one that has grown and grown and grown

Today there are 2.6 billion Christians worldwide, about 32% of the global population

In almost every country, in 157 out of 232

Led by the Spirit we are all children of God

In diversity we celebrate our unity

The one who believes in me will also do the works I do and in fact will do greater things than these

In the spirit we know no boundaries

The spirit is the glue that binds us together as communities of faith, of love, of peace

The spirit is the energy that renews us and gives purpose to our lives

The spirit is the power that breaks down barriers, can conquer all the division we see around us

The spirit is the gift of God, that unites us with Christ and with each other, for ever

And we go out today, in the power of the spirit to live and work to God’s praise and glory, to spread God’s love, to build his kingdom

Amen