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Mike Writes for May
Birth is both traumatic and exciting,
as well as life changing for all concerned, but it is not something which
just happens. Prior to birth the new life has to develop and grow, over nine
months for the birth of a human baby. The birth of the church was no different.
The birth of the Church is no different and although we celebrate the birth
on the Day of Pentecost, Whit Sunday, the seed was planted long before. We
might argue that it was there right from the beginning of time, part of God’s
plan, or we might say it began to grow with the birth of Jesus, or at least
with his baptism and the start of his ministry. At this point Jesus began
to call men to be with him and they were to be the nucleus of the church.
Their growth was very slow and imperceptible over these two years and it did
not really come to fruition until Jesus breathed upon them and filled them
with the Spirit.
When we read St John’s Gospel we discover that this gift of the Spirit
was given to the eleven disciples when Jesus appeared to them on the first
Easter Sunday evening. We do not celebrate the gift of the Spirit at this
time because for fifty days it remained unseen, slowly bubbling away inside
them until on the day of Pentecost it burst forth, transforming them from
frightened, insignificant men, into bold disciples fearlessly proclaiming
the truth that Jesus was the Son of God and that he was alive. This was truly
the moment when the Church was born.
The coming of the Spirit marked a turning point. For two years Jesus had been
the centre of these men’s lives, teaching them and showing them the
Kingdom of Heaven. For two year’s to know Jesus was to know his physical
presence, the man who had grown up in Nazareth, who became the village carpenter,
but all that had changed. By his death Jesus was no longer limited by his
human body, for his resurrection body enabled him to be with all his followers.
He ceased to be Jesus the man but now was Jesus, the Son of God, with all
God’s powers and through his Spirit was able to inspire and empower
all who believed in him.
The Day of Pentecost was an amazing demonstration of God’s power, transforming
ordinary men by enabling them to proclaim their message in such a way that
all who heard it were able to understand and thousands responded to Peter’s
sermon and became members of the Church. What a day that must have been!
Today we live in an age when we know that Jesus is alive and that the Holy
Spirit is with us, but we do not often see such a dramatic demonstration of
the power of the Spirit. That does not mean the Spirit is no longer at work
in the world and in those who believe, but rather that the Spirit is working
in a different way. The moment of birth is dramatic and spectacular but afterwards
growth continues in a more gentle fashion, but continues all the same. The
Church continues to grow, even if in this country it seems to be shrinking,
and the Spirit remains active sustaining life and giving us the courage and
ability to do God’s work.
One of the problems today, is that when people refer to people being filled
with the Spirit they expect the unusual, like speaking in strange tongues,
where as for most people the Spirit is working quietly in the background of
a persons life, gently sustaining and directing them. Perhaps one of the reasons
we often seem to struggle with the challenge of communicating our faith to
others is that we think we have to do the work ourselves and forget that if
we only have faith then God’s Spirit will direct us and enable us to
do what he wants. When we rely upon God’s strength and not our own then
we will be amazed at what we can achieve for him. That’s what Peter
and the others did that first Pentecost.
In our prayers we need to go to our Father with all our fears, concerns and
weaknesses, while being prepared to let him take charge of our lives and to
do what he knows is best. It is not easy to put our lives into someone else’s
care but ultimately that is what we have to do. To do this we have to spend
more of our prayer time in just listening to God, to give him the chance to
direct us. It is pointless taking all our problems and concerns to him if
we never give him the time to respond and if we do not go where he directs
us.
This Whit Sunday we will again be celebrating the birth of the Church, and
as is our custom we will be admitting six of our young people to Holy Communion,
as well as baptizing four of them. I hope that you will keep them in your
prayers, and support them by your presence if you are able.