May 19
Pentecost Sunday
“ Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth.”
Readings
Reflection
One of the basic understandings of our faith is that we worship a trinitarian God–one God in three persons– the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. We have no problems conceiving of who God the Father is, nor do we struggle with who Jesus is, because we have seen many pictures and renderings of him. But we seem to have trouble when it comes to our conception of the Holy Spirit. Is he a dove? A driving wind? A flame? All of these things have been mentioned as manifestations of the Holy Spirit, but when we take a closer look, there is much, much more to who the Holy Spirit is than just these things.
Our readings on this Pentecost Sunday give us some insight into who the Holy Spirit really is. In the first reading from Acts, we see the apostles undergo a spectacular change from scared and fearful men who are hiding from the Sanhedrin in an upper room, to powerful preachers of God’s wonderful works. In the second reading, St Paul urges his readers to live by the Holy Spirit, telling us that the power of the Spirit enables us to inherit the kingdom which has been promised to us. In the gospel reading, Jesus tells the disciples that he will send them the Holy Spirit, telling them that the Spirit will help them to come to the complete truth. They will then be his witnesses before the whole world and what they proclaim will be Christ’s message.
What do these readings reveal to us about the Holy Spirit? We can see that the Spirit has a profound effect on the people he touches. Cowards are suddenly filled with the courage to proclaim the name of God. People who have no chance at eternal life are transformed into holy and heavenly beings, destined to spend eternity with God. Our church teaches us that there are specific fruits that come with being imbued with the Holy Spirit. Such things as faithfulness, kindness, peacefulness, joy, and love are called the fruits of the Spirit. Let us be transformed by the Spirit and learn what it means to be the holy children of our Lord, sanctified by the Holy Spirit’s power.
Peace,
Deacon Dare
Would you like to receive these reflections in your inbox? Subscribe to The Sunday Read newsletter.