This great feast of Pentecost
is the culmination of the celebrations
that started at the Easter vigil 50 days ago.
Since then,
the liturgy has had us praying and reflecting
about the joy of living with the risen Lord:
who is encountered in the scriptures and the breaking of the bread,
who is our shepherd,
who is the Way, the Truth and the Life,
who is with us to the end of time.
At the same time,
in the Acts of the Apostles,
we have been hearing of the early church
living out that presence in bold confidence.
Frightened self-concern
transformed into
courageous reaching out to the whole world.
Today is a celebration of delight in that transforming power:
associated with the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity.
The name Holy Spirit is familiar to us,
and occurs in scripture.
This is definitely a case where something is lost in translation.
In Hebrew and Greek,
the word translated ‘spirit’ is also the word for ‘wind’
and for ‘breath’.
In the languages of scripture,
“Holy Spirit” sounds like “God’s breath”.
Right back at the start of Genesis,
in the first majestic account of creation,
we hear that
the earth was a formless void, there was darkness over the deep,
and God’s spirit (or wind, or breath) hovered over the water
The image here is of an immense wind, full of power,
blowing over the sea, initiating creation.
This creative wind is God’s breath.
In the same way, Pentecost in Acts starts with
suddenly they heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven
God’s breath, his creative wind, is blowing over the Apostles.
The apostles have had various profound encounters
with the risen Lord,
and these have touched them individually,
but collectively they remain formless void.
God’s breath, his creative wind, a wind of change,
makes something amazing out of them.
They go out, they share the good news,
the marvels of God,
with all people:
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and so on.
And we, here in St William’s, are one consequence.
The Holy Spirit comes upon some people
with almost irresistible power, blowing them away.
As so often happens,
John’s gospel offers an alternative perspective.
Looking back to the second chapter of Genesis for a moment,
there is there a second more ‘homely’ account of creation.
There:
...the Lord fashioned man out of dust from the soil.
Then he breathed into his nostrils
a breath of life
and thus man became a living being.
God’s breath is again centre stage:
but now in a gentle, unobtrusive way, a kiss of life.
This image,
which is about life depending on God’s creative power,
isn’t about the first breath,
it isn’t about God kick-starting this lump of clay,
it is about every breath being a life-giving act of God.
This is the biblical context to bring to today’s gospel,
we have that Jesus
breathed on them and said ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’
God’s breath, the Holy Spirit,
breathed through Jesus,
is gentle, unobtrusive, life-giving breath.
The lifeless body is given life.
Given life to be missionary: for
as the Father sent me, so I am sending you;
Given life to be a herald of peace, mercy and forgiveness.
Receiving the Holy Spirit does not have to be experienced
as being blown away.
As Jesus’ life is breathed into us
we are drawn to Him, we listen to Him,
we do as He asks, we imitate Him,
we come to know Him.
This happens over years:
this is the fundamental effect of the Spirit.
The body given life by God’s breath is the Church.
Life is given to the whole
exactly by individuals playing their part,
by individuals livened up by the breath of God blowing in them.
There are a variety of gifts but always the same Spirit;
there are all sorts of service to be done,
but always the same Lord;
working in all sorts of different ways in different people
We are all here today because people in our personal history
received the Spirit – and were missionary:
perhaps without even knowing it.
This is a day to look, with the eyes of faith:
at the individuals and the communities
who nourished, and nourish, our own faith.
This is a day to identify their gifts and their service
as the breath of God.
On this feast,
we joyfully recognise
and give thanks for
the work of the Holy Spirit,
breathing life,
animating the body of Christ,
down through time,
in the wider world,
in our local church –
and in ourselves.