Readings can include Acts 2:1-21; Ezekiel 37:1-14;Psalm 104:24-34, 35b;Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15Although it is difficult to pick any of the events of the Easter mystery as the pinnacle or climax
in a real sense Pentecost is of great significance because it prepares us for our life as Christians
the gift of the Holy Spirit to the faithful and expectant disciples
is the gift of the Father to live the life that Jesus, the Word of God calls us to live.
The readings talk of many things:
Renewal
life being breathed into what looks as though it is dead
Truth
Peace
Joy
And each of these deserves its own individual treatment.
Indeed this demonstrates to us that the Holy Spirit is not a quick fix...but is about God dealing with us comprehensively and completely.
Why would we expect anything else?
This is about the whole of our life and the whole of the world.
Indeed a prayer we often pray is
Come Holy Sprit and renew your whole creation
So often we seem to think that God is just dealing with my little patch
It is about "the whole creation"
It is also about God dealing with us deeply
and not just tinkering in a titillating or superficial way.
This JOY that the Spirit brings is not merely an amusement or an entertainment it is about the absolute delight and sense of privilege that we know in being caught up iun the mystery of what God has been doing since before the foundation of the world.
It is perhaps the surest sign of the Spirit’s activity in our lives.
Where do you experience the deepest joy in your life?
It is a challenging question.
So often we mistake amusement for joy
yet often joy is about difficult stuff
about working through the challenging issues of life
and realising that although we are often confronted with danger, struggle, weakness
that the Joy that the Spirit brings transforms our life
This week
●Where has God given you the greatest JOY●How can I nurture this●What is God inviting me to be, know and do, by this active power and presence of the Spirit?
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