Sermon for Pentecost Sunday 31st May 2020 - We are not spiritually distanced

Sermon for Pentecost – May 31^st 2020

Heavenly Father. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditations of my heart, be acceptable to you, my lord, my God and redeemer. Amen.

 

The Holy Spirit, is with us, and in these strange days the way it connects us all this morning feels more important than ever, and no, I’m not filled with New Wine, or even old wine…

The word Pentecost is from the Greek pentekostos, (like pentathlon or pentagon) meaning "fiftieth," and today marks fifty days since Easter.

Ten days ago, we marked the resurrected Jesus ascending to heaven to be with God the Father once again, today, we mark the coming of the holy spirit, as promised by Jesus.

At first glance, this is a little odd, as it is said that the Holy Spirit hovered over the waters at the beginning of creation, the Holy Spirit inspired the Old Testament Prophets and the book of Wisdom says: “The Spirit of the Lord fills the whole world.”

So what has changed. Unsurprisingly, the answer is Jesus.

Jesus, as the Trinity informs us, is one and the same with God and the Holy Spirit. They are all one.

When God became human, incarnate, born of a real person, Mary. Jesus, God, experienced what it was to be fully human, and yet he was still divine, so he could heal the sick and perform miracles, but he was human, he experienced joy, loss, friendship, love, anger, pretty much everything we do, but then, he was also broken, tortured and died hanging from a cross.

For the first time, in the history of the known universe, God had been human, and his human body had died. Good Friday.

Then Jesus was resurrected, showing us that there is life after death, eternal life, there is hope. Easter.

Then, Jesus returned to God and the Holy Spirit, all one, remember. Ascension.

Then, as one with the Holy Spirit, Jesus returned and stayed. He did not leave us orphans. Pentecost.

But there is more: Jesus had to return to the Father as Jesus the Divine, but also as Jesus the Human, for many reasons, God now has part of Jesus’ human side in his nature, to know us better, but also, so that the Eucharist, Holy Communion, might exist as a blessed sacrament.

It is the Holy Spirit which makes the Eucharist possible at every communion, because when we invoke the Holy Spirit, we call upon the Holy Spirit, God and Jesus, a blessing from God, an invocation to the Bread and Wine which makes the remembrance of the last supper, a holy sacrament, without the Holy Spirit, it would be just another meal.

In Johns Gospel, the disciples are in a locked room, and Jesus appears, he breathes the spirit, INTO them (not just on them), saying peace be with you. In Acts, followers from Arabia, Africa, Europe, Palestine and Israel are all together and receive the Holy Spirit in a wildly dramatic way, able to understand each other and to suddenly, boldly, proclaim the Good News. The church was born that day. Making today the Churches Birthday.

Like the disciples in our Gospel reading, we are huddled together behind locked doors, waiting for Jesus to come among us and say, “Peace be with you.”  Waiting for him to breathe on us.  Waiting for him to speak the words we need to hear so desperately: “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  And, in fact, He has already spoken, we can know His peace and have received the Holy Spirit, they are with us now. It’s okay, we are not alone, our loving God is with us.

In these difficult days, I would argue that being in lock down, only separates us in a physical sense. As Bishop Rachel wrote the other day, let’s call what we need to do, physical distancing, and not social distancing, we are social people and we are still society and can still find ways and need ways to be together.

And the through the Holy Spirit, we are not spiritually distanced at all, Jesus is already present, with each of us now, dwelling within us and eager to enlist us to carry on his work of setting people free.

And as I close, let me just say, that I long for the day when, by the will of God, I may be able to invoke the Holy Spirit, and share bread and wine with you at the Lord’s Table.

Until that unknown date, let us resolve to call the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, into our lives, so that we can share boldly our hope and faith, and to do so, inspired by the spirit. We have the word of life. Of Jesus. We must share it.’

A short prayer as I close:

Come, Holy Spirit,
Fill the hearts of your faithful people;
and kindle in us the fire of your love.
May peace which passes all understanding dwell within us today.
Send forth your Spirit now,
And renew the face of the earth. Amen.

John 20:19-23

¹⁹ When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. ²¹ Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." ²² When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."

 

Acts 2:1-21

¹ When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. ² And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³ Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

⁵ Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. ⁶ And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. ⁷ Amazed and astonished, they asked, "Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?

⁸ And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, ¹⁰ Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, ¹¹ Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power."

¹² All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, "What does this mean?" ¹³ But others sneered and said, "They are filled with new wine." ¹⁴ But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, "Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. ¹⁵ Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning.

¹⁶ No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: ¹⁷ "In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.

¹⁸ Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. ¹⁹ And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. ²⁰ The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. ²¹ Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.'