St Margaret's Church Prestwich

This sermon was given by ALM Carol O on Sunday 28 May, the day on which we celebrated Pentecost. Here it is for you again:

Lord of wind and flame, give us a vision. Move us by your Holy Spirit. Open our eyes to see you as you are and our hearts to praise you. Amen

The Day of Pentecost is always a great celebration for the church. We gather to hear the story of the birth of the Church, as told in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles like the rush of a violent wind, with tongues of fire dancing on their heads; people from all nations heard the apostles speaking in their own language, and some 3,000 responded by being baptized into Christ. Wow! What a sight to see!

The miracle of Pentecost; it is an amazing story to hear again, but don’t you wonder a little, whether we are missing something today? After all, I doubt that our celebration this morning will include a violent wind, or fire, or a miraculous speech. Have we lost something amazing? Where is the wind and the fire today? Where is the excitement of that first Pentecost?

Perhaps the better question to ask is: where is the Holy Spirit today? After all, isn’t that the point of Pentecost, to receive the Holy Spirit? So, the question we ask now is not, where is the wind and the fire, but where is the Holy Spirit? And if we ask the question in that way, then we do, indeed, have a pretty exciting answer, because the Holy Spirit is without a doubt here with us this Pentecost morning, in some very amazing and powerful ways. Let me share three of those ways.

The Holy Spirit comes to us today, through the Holy Word – the divinely-inspired, faith-producing, life-changing Word of God – which connects us to all Christians going all the way back to that first Pentecost and connects us to the God who inspired and guided its every word. The same Holy Spirit who inspired Peter to preach on that first Pentecost, as we hear again his ancient words. Those who heard Peter that day heard him speak in their own language. Think about it, so do we, along with Christians around the world today who are hearing this in their own language. Amazing. The Pentecost miracle continues, and through the Word of God proclaimed here and around the world in many languages, the Holy Spirit continues to be poured into the hearts of listeners, producing faith and trust in our God.

The second way that the Holy Spirit comes to us today is through us, the gathered congregation. The Holy Spirit is the reason we are here this morning. The Holy Spirit called and gathered us here, just as it has done for centuries all around the world. The Holy Spirit brings us together and gives us a variety of different gifts, all for the common good. The Holy Spirit likes us to be together, here in church or digitally, as something important happens when we are. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is present when we worship together whether it be 3 or 3,000 who are gathered in his name. The Holy Spirit can, and does, come to us when we are alone, but scripture teaches us that coming together in Jesus’ name is the best way get the Holy Spirit experience.

And when we do gather in Jesus’ name, in a different way again the Holy Spirit comes to us, through the Holy Sacraments. When Peter finished his sermon on that first Pentecost, those who heard it asked him, “what should we do?” Peter responded, “Repent, and be baptized … and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. They will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit not through wind and fire, but through Holy Baptism, and it was in baptism that we, too, first received this gift. After those who heard Peter’s sermon were baptized, what did they do? The very next verse says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers”. In other words, they gathered as a community, to hear the God’s Word and celebrate Holy Communion, exactly as we do each week.

The miracle of Pentecost continues to be enjoyed and realized in the Church. Then, and now. When we gather in the name of Jesus; remember our baptisms; devote ourselves to the apostles’ teaching, and the prayers, and the breaking of the bread. We may not have wind and fire today, but we are here, gathered in the name of Jesus. Doing those very things that the Church has done since that first Pentecost. And that means that the Holy Spirit is present among us now, just as it was then.

It’s always tempting to think that we need more – we need more excitement, more enthusiasm, more emotion; we need more wind and fire on Sunday mornings. Really? Does the church need anything more than the Word, the congregation gathered in Jesus’ name, and the Sacraments? The Church – the body of Christ formed with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Church – the place where – miraculously! – each Sunday the Holy Spirit comes again and again to all gathered within, through the great miracles of hearing God’s Holy Word and in receiving the Bread and Wine. The point of Pentecost is not the wind and the fire. The point of Pentecost is the Holy Spirit who brings to the church all the gifts of God, all that we need, for life and salvation.

There won’t be any violent wind or fire today. At least, I hope not. We are here to worship the God behind that wind and fire, to give thanks for the gift of God’s only Son, who died to save us and forgive us, and we are here to receive again the promised Holy Spirit, who unites us to our God. Nothing has changed, in all these many years. We are here for the same reason the church has always gathered. May we continue to respond to the ever-present call of the Holy Spirit.

We pray: Holy Spirit, fill us up. Give us strength, give us power. Holy Spirit, fill us up. Make us one, sisters and brothers. Holy Spirit, fill us up. Give us strength to share your truth. Holy Spirit, fill us up. Send us out, to live for you. Amen.