This year the month of May contains two significant days in the earthly life story of Jesus. Today we remember Ascension Day, when Jesus went back to be with God in heaven and no longer physically appeared to the disciples, and on Sunday May 23rd it is Pentecost, when we remember the disciples being filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit and set on the path that Jesus had for them to witness in his name.
These days come 40 and 50 days, respectively, after Easter Sunday and I think both serve as reminders that Easter is indeed a season and not a day! Often when we have travelled through all those days, Easter Sunday, and the joy of looking into the tomb and finding it empty and then meeting with the risen Jesus as we read of the experiences of the disciples, can seem like a distant memory and we can find that we are back in the rut of the daily grind and normal life again. We might think that nothing interesting or exciting is going to happen and was it really worth it all anyway!
But let’s for a moment just imagine what it must have been like for Jesus’ friends as they stayed in Jerusalem, as Jesus had told them, to wait for the gift that Jesus was sending them. In Luke 24:29 Jesus tells them, “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.”
You might be really good at waiting for things to happen, I am not, and I wonder how patient the disciples were whilst they were waiting? Waiting for something they knew was going to happen but they didn’t know when. How patient I would have been in their place? I wonder if they talked about what it would be like to finally receive the gift, what difference it would make to them, how it would arrive, what it would feel like … so many questions they might have asked!
And what a difference the Holy Spirit did bring on its arrival! It turned the disciples from a group of people afraid and unsure of what the future might hold, into strong and convinced witnesses for Jesus! They couldn’t contain themselves at all once the Spirit began to work in them – they went out into the street and began to share Jesus’ love with other people.
I wonder if it can have the same effect on us too. Are we too worried about what other people might think or say? Are we unsure what to do or how to do it? Let’s take the reminder of that first Pentecost as a springboard into a future where we actively seek out opportunities to share God’s love with others and serve him so that we too can witness for him wherever we find ourselves. And the best news, of course, is that the gift of the Holy Spirit is something we will never run out of, because we will be refilled each and every day! Thank you, Jesus!
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit, a gift that we can receive every day. Help us to accept that gift and to use it to love and serve you better each and every day. Lord, you know the things that worry and frighten us, help us to be fearless in our service of you and to always know that you are with us in all we do. May we always be filled with your spirit and be light and salt to those around us. Amen
Catherine Booton