FEAST OF PENTECOST
‘Receive the Holy Spirit’
It’s our birthday! The Holy Spirit descends. The ship of the Church sets sail. The final act in the Divine Drama begins. These are the end times. The feast of Pentecost celebrates a promise realised. It assures us that the Holy Spirit is at the heart of the Church, and because that is so, the Church cannot fail in her mission. The transforming presence of the One who is Advocate, Comforter, Helper and Teacher has never failed to guide the ship through the ages, whether on sunlit days or on stormy seas and He never will. Bethlehem was God with us; Calvary was God for us; Pentecost is God in us. We read in the Acts of the Apostles that the Spirit descended on the apostles in the form of wind and fire. Wind blows away the chaff from the threshing floor and leaves the precious grain. Fire purifies the gold in the furnace and burns away the dross. The Spirit, likewise, enables us to discern what is important on life’s journey and to discard the rest. Over a century ago, GK Chesterton wrote that we live in the ‘Muddle Ages’ where many tend to put first things last. His words ring true today. It is the Spirit alone, who will help us to put first things first. If we reflect on the past few months through the lens of faith we could say that the Spirit has been doing just that, prompting us in these quieter days, to separate the grain from the chaff, the gold from the dross. May we continue to be open to His breath. Spirit of the living God fall afresh on us. Happy Birthday!
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