St Margaret's Church Prestwich

Our Reader Christine preached this sermon on 12 May 2024 – the Sunday between Ascension Day and Pentecost. Here it is for you to meditate on again:

Today is the Sunday after Ascension Day, and I felt that Acts 1:15-17 & 21-26 which is actually sometime after Pentecost so it’s before we actually celebrate that special day next week.  However, I feel this particular passage explains a bit about how the Holy Spirit acts in mysterious ways without us realising it.

The person speaking is Peter and he is explaining to the Jews in Antioch why he has been in the house of a Roman centurion called Cornelius, a Gentile.  Peter is eager to explain how he himself was surprised to find himself asked to go to Cornelius in Caesarea and at the beginning of the chapter Peter explains a dream that he and Cornelius have.  If you are not familiar with it, I encourage you to read it.

The dream basically tells Peter to go to Cornelius and his family, but what surprises Peter most is the presence of the Holy Spirit in Cornelius and his family, but how would you explain this to a people who do not like the Gentiles.

How do you explain the presence of the Holy Spirit? A Spirit that actually dwells within us once we commit ourselves to Christ, whether that’s at our Baptism, Confirmation or just the moment when we realise that God is there waiting for us.  A Spirit that we are waiting for not to enter us, but to relight the cinders that are smouldering within us.

I think I can honestly say that I haven’t seen tongues of flames or felt a rushing wind, but I have been with a crowd where I felt the Holy Spirit was there and moving among us.

This was many years ago when I was invited to an event at a certain Football ground in Manchester, I won’t say which one to avoid any favouritism, not that I support any football team!

Anyway, at the time I wasn’t even quite sure what it was that I was going to, or who was going to be leading this particular event, I just trusted the person who had invited me to know that it was ok. I’ve got to admit I can’t remember too much about it except that I was in awe at the number of people that could sit in a stadium and I thoroughly enjoyed the singing.   It was, however, the very first time I had sung “Shine, Jesus Shine” and it was an amazing experience.  Everyone singing, waving their arms, happy and standing up.  This was I felt the Holy Spirit working and being present in a large crowd, no flames, no wind, just a fellowship of love and peace that flowed out all around us.  So, I think I can understand in a small way the feeling that Peter must have had as he entered the house of Cornelius.  A feeling that was probably stirring within him as he was welcomed by Cornelius and his family, a stirring that had existed within him when he first met Jesus.  A stirring that was being relit whilst he was talking to the crowd in front of him.  A feeling that the Holy Spirit’s presence was there in him and his disciples and the people present.  It was a feeling that was going to be dramatically reinforced to all the disciples in an upper room less than 10 days from today.

Peter then was speaking to the crowd with conviction and he quite rightly says that to have ignored Cornelius request of teaching him and his family and baptising them, would have been to hinder God’s work and who was he to do that. After all Cornelius is considered to be the first Gentile to convert and Peter was there to take the message of God out to all people, irrespective of the consequences, in the same way that we are called to share his message too.

Now where this took place in Antioch it was considered to be one of the largest and most cosmopolitan cities in the Roman world and there were people there from all over the area and these as well as the Jews and disciples, were the ones that “the hand of the Lord was with.”  The spirit was there with them and moving among the people Peter was speaking to, who then became believers and turned to the Lord.  What a wonderful feeling that must have been to see so many coming to faith.

This event was so great that news about it spread out from Antioch all the way to Jerusalem and to the other disciples.  It was then that they sent Barnabus to support Peter and Barnabus witnessed the grace of God working in all the people.  I think that once Barnabus saw how many people there were, he realised that they needed someone else, so he went for Saul, who would become known as Paul.

These first Christians were filled with the Holy Spirit and we know that God works in mysterious ways, so how was the Holy Spirit working in them.  I believe he was calling many of the people who were present.  They had willing hearts and minds, which were open to receiving the good news of Jesus Christ.   I don’t think they expected anything supernatural, in the same way as we don’t, but I do believe that the Holy Spirit works silently in everyone.

We may not have an experience like the disciples, no tongues of flame or rushing wind, but I do think the Spirit descends on us in different ways when we open our hearts and minds.

During my training I’ve spoken to a number of people who have had unusual experiences in their calling.  Some have felt pulled towards a vocation, others have been told things by different people about the gifts they have, but had not recognised and others have felt a stirring or burning within them.

It really doesn’t matter how we experience the Holy Spirit, because I think some may not actually realise that the Spirit is working in them, but they display it in other ways.  Some feel a call to a particular vocation, profession or service.  It may be in the local shop welcoming customers with a smile, the lollipop person serving the school community making sure children and adults cross the road safely.  There are so many different ways of serving God that people are just not aware of.  There are those who dedicate their life to serving others in the community, by being a good neighbour offering help when it is needed, charity workers or serving in a church as welcomers, sidespersons, Secretaries and, of course, Church Wardens and Treasurers like Audrey (Nicholson) and Frank (Healy), both of whom dedicated many years to the life of St. Gabriel’s and who have passed away this week.  I’m sure they will be remembered among you for who they were and the gifts and talents they gave freely.

Being a Christian can be hard, it’s not always easy to explain our faith or why we commit ourselves into God’s service, but the Holy Spirit will always be our guide and will give us the answers we need when we need them.  However, I also think there are probably many talented people waiting on the sidelines, waiting for their talents to be recognised by someone and to be asked by others to serve God.  So, let’s try to actively look for these people among us and give them the opportunities to develop their talents and skills.

God doesn’t always work in the ways we expect and his Holy Spirit comes in many unusual ways as Peter found out when he entered the house of Cornelius, so let us be ready with open our hearts and minds to accept His plan when it’s different from our expectations.

I would like to end with this quote, one that my father had, but which I feel is relevant for today when we think of the Holy Spirit and the work he has for us.

“I shall pass this way but once; any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

So let us look for the gifts and talents in others, encourage them and become aware of the Holy Spirit moving among us.

 

Let us pray:

Lord, we pray for those who are not yet aware of your abiding Spirit within them.  Awaken them to the living reality of your presence, which enables them to preach the good news, spread peace and create beauty in your name Amen.