ST CLEMENT CHURCH
PENTECOST SUNDAY COMMUNITY SERVICE
Good morning
Today is the Festival of Pentecost … or as I was brought up to know it as Whitsun or Whit Sunday.
Traditionally, it was the time for admitting new members to the Church through baptism. It involved immersion in water, or the sprinkling or pouring of water. People dressed in white to symbolise purity.
As a consequence the day became known as White Sunday, Whit Sunday or Whitsun.
My love to you all
Liz
For the Spirit of Peace that calms our mind and stills our life, we give you thanks.
For the Spirit of Love that touches hearts and reaches out, we give you thanks.
For the Spirit of Joy that lifts our soul and gives us faith, we give you thanks.
For the Spirit of Power, that gift of grace for this your Church, we give you thanks.
Amen
We say together:
Spirit of life
fill our emptiness with your fullness
Spirit of power
stir our hearts afresh
Spirit of Love
Touch us, and through us, our neighbour
Spirit of Creativity
Enable and empower the gifts you have given
Spirit of Eternity
Draw us ever deeper into your Kingdom
Amen
Hymn: 152 For the beauty of the earth (Mission Praise)
Prayer of Confession
God of amazing love and unexpected grace Open our eyes that we may see you especially in those times when we feel abandoned by you;
Forgive us that we so easily allow circumstances to blind us to your presence.
Touch our lives that we may know you especially in those times when we feel unable to cope. Forgive us that we so easily allow circumstances to blind us to your presence.
Touch our lives that we may know you especially in those times when we feel unable to cope;
Forgive us that we too frequently mistrust your power.
Fill our hearts that may become like you especially when your message needs to be heard;
Forgive us that we forget who we are: children of God with your Spirit in us.
Amen
The Collect
God, who as at this time taught the hearts of your faithful people by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit: grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort; through the merits of Jesus Christ our Saviour, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.
Amen
Readings:
Acts 2. 1 - 21
Corinthians 1. 3b - 13
Hymn: 89 Come down, O Love divine
Gospel: John 20. 19 - 23
(Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. Response: ‘Glory to you O Lord.’)
It was evening on the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews.
Jesus came and stood among them and said, ‘Peace be with you.’
After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.
Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.’
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’
(This is the Gospel of our Lord. Praise to you, O Christ)
Reflection
The Church has a number of key festivals with which Christians are familiar. Pentecost is one of them. For me, it is both a privilege and a challenge to be asked to preach on any of these days.
I suspect that if I asked each of you, ‘When was and what happened at Pentecost?’ I would get a very similar answer from each of you. But, would it be what we have just heard in today’s Gospel reading from John? I don’t think it would!
Usually, we celebrate Pentecost with the Gospel reading from Acts 2 with its images of fire, prayers offered in many languages, and attention to the Church’s prophetic vocation. But today we have had the “Johannine Pentecost,” as this passage is sometimes called, which is far less familiar to us.
It is not surprising since in John’s Gospel Jesus doesn’t impart the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (the Jewish Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, which falls on the fiftieth day after Passover.) Here, the Spirit comes at Easter during Jesus’ first post-resurrection appearance to a collection of his followers. (Earlier in the day, outside the tomb, He spoke to and commissioned only Mary Magdalene.) Also, in this passage we encounter the Spirit with less of a universal tone (in comparison to Acts;) the focus here is more particular, focused on the identity and sending of a community.
Throughout the preceding chapters of John Jesus has referred many times to the ‘Spirit,’ the ‘Spirit of the Father,’ the ‘Holy Spirit,’ the coming Advocate. In this passage John draws together the close connections of Jesus’ promises about the Spirit, his glorification and ascension, his closeness with the Father, and his commissions to his followers. So, we shouldn’t skip over or ignore the “Johannine Pentecost” as if it was merely a final ‘Goodbye and Good Luck’ from Jesus to his friends.
In this scene, Jesus, as the exalted Christ, is equipping and sending out the men and women who believe in him. In the Holy Spirit, Jesus’ followers receive nothing less than the fullness of the glorified Son. Their lives, (and ours too) can therefore accomplish ends similar to his life’s, insofar as they reveal God.
Fear colours the scene as Jesus’ followers have locked themselves away from the authorities. Jesus’ initial words “Peace to you” provides solace in the face of persecution, a promise of new possibilities and a confidence in his ability to overcome “the world.”
Recalling the moment when God breathed life into the original earth person in Genesis 2. 7, Jesus breathes the Spirit of life into (not merely “on”) his followers. A new creation is afoot. This creation doesn’t replace “the world.” It engages it.
I don’t know about you but if you take the final verse of this reading literally, it’s a responsibility, as the vicar would say, ‘above my pay grade!’
- Jesus bestows peace upon his worried followers – I am happy with that.
- Jesus fills them with the Holy Spirit – I am happy with that too.
- Jesus tells them they can forgive or retain other people’s sins. Really?
I don’t think for one minute that Jesus is appointing the Church as his moral watchdog; nor does He commission it to arbitrate people’s assets and liabilities on a heavenly balance sheet. Let’s be honest, mine wouldn’t be very good – so what right would I have?
In John’s Gospel Jesus talks about sin as unbelief, the unwillingness or inability to grasp the truth of God manifested in him. To have sin abide, therefore, is to remain estranged from God. The consequence of such a condition is ongoing resistance. Sin in John is not about moral failings; primarily it is an inability or refusal to recognise God’s revelation when confronted by it, in Jesus.
Consequently, the resurrected Christ tells his followers (ALL his followers) that, through the Spirit that enables them to bear witness, they can set people free (“set free” or “release” is a better translation than “forgive”) from that state of affairs. They can be a part of seeing others come to believe in Jesus and what He discloses.
Failure to bear witness, Jesus warns, will result in the opposite: a world full of people left unable to grasp the knowledge of God. That is what it means to “retain” sins (“retain” is the opposite of “set free.”) Jesus is not – at least, not in this verse – granting the Church a unique spiritual authority. He is simply reporting that a Church that does not bear witness to Christ is a Church that leaves itself unable to pay a role in delivering people from all that keeps them from experiencing the fullness that Christ offers.
Receiving the Spirit, the Church receives Jesus. So, the Church receives Jesus’ own capacity to make God manifest, bringing light to the world.
John’s presentation of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit – is striking, but even more so is the closeness expressed between the Divinity and humanity. Such closeness between God and us is but one consequence of the rich Easter confession about what happens when God raises a corpse to new life. Jesus lives, yes – not apart from us but in and through us.
We Christians tend to be cautious folk. Too many churches have locked their doors to a vibrant understanding of the Holy Spirit’s role in their midst. We don’t know how best to bear witness to Christ in a world populated by multiple religions and ecclesial hypocrisy.
Here at St Clement our doors are open but is that enough? It would inspire us to be bold and creative witnesses if we saw the risen Jesus miraculously come through our doors, wouldn’t it?
But He has. He IS here, dwelling within us and eager to enlist us to carry on his work of setting people free.
Amen
Hymn: 613 Spirit of the living God
Our Intercessions by Helen Dunbar
With great power the Spirit of God is poured out on the expectant disciples.
As the body of Christ, in the power of the Spirit, let us pray.
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your people and kindle us in the fire of your love; fill the hearts of your Church that it may be strong in faith and courage to proclaim the word of God and His love in all places and situations. Flood the nations with peace, joy and hope in the face of war, violence, tragedy and desperation, may your spirit work in all of us to be peacemakers.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
We pray for our church family whether they are here in Church or at home this morning. We ask for your blessing on all those in need in our community, the elderly, the housebound and those in care homes and hospices and for those who with skill and compassion look after them. For all those who spend their lives trying to make ours better – for those in public service, for all people who commit themselves to charitable works, and for all those who help others to find you.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
We ask God’s blessing on our church family and we pray for all those in authority, for Archbishop Sarah, Bishops David and James. We also ask your blessing on our own Revd Diane and her very supportive husband Ken and their family, and not forgetting our much loved, Father David, and Reader Liz.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Dear Lord, we pray for the leaders of nations, and for those in authority under them; may they work towards international unity to stop the threat of war and terrorism. We remember all who suffer as a result of political unrest and those who live under the threat of terrorism and oppressive regimes. We pray for the safety of the people of Ukraine and the Middle East. We ask your blessing on all those suffering because of a shortage of food and who are unable to feed their families and we especially pray for the people of Afghanistan who are facing great hardship. Our hearts go out to all are suffering as a result of the Ebola outbreak in Africa. Move the hearts of all of us to stretch out our arms in love, fill the hearts of all people with warmth and compassion, fill us Lord with the gift of the Holy Spirit that we may reach out to all in love, joy and peace as witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus and the promise of life eternal.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
We pray for King Charles and Queen Camilla and ask God’s blessing on all members of the royal family.
Dear Lord, we bring before you all those who are suffering in any way and who need your special affection. Sustain all who work to heal, care and tend the sick and vulnerable; support and be alongside those who suffer illness, fear, uncertainty about their future, or are nearing the end of their lives. We pray for all those who find life an exhausting struggle, or who long for some respite from pain or depression. Please Lord, support them in their troubles, bring healing and reassurance, and touch them with the gentleness of your peace. We pray for all those known to us to us and we pray for Reverend Diane, Ken, Sabie, Brian, May, Susan, Lauren, Lynda, Sandra, Daphne and David, Pam and David, Dot, Maureen, Mary, Rob and Alison, Catherine, Jan, Anita and Stephen, Michael and Patricia, Jeremy, Felicity, Callum and Elaine, Barbara, Roger, Lorrie, Jeanette and David and all who have no one to pray for them.
Lord in your mercy; hear our prayer
Dear Lord, teach us to understand death in the context of your eternity, so that our fears are calmed as we approach it. Welcome with merciful love those who have recently died and shelter their loved ones, too, in the shadow of your wings.
We think of those whose anniversary falls at this time and we remember Evie Downey, Peggy Wright, Robert Morgan, Gerry Boland and June Courage.
Rejoicing in the fellowship of St Andrew, St Clement, St Allen and all your saints, we commend ourselves and all Christian people to your unfailing love.
Merciful Father, accept these prayers for the sake of your Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Amen
We say together:
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen
PENTECOST
But you swept into a room,
into tongues, minds and hearts,
filling them with power
as you cleared out the cobwebs
of fear and uncertainty,
made way for the new, the brave,
the strong, the hope-filled and free.
O Holy Spirit, how we need
you now to return in power,
fire up the fading embers
of our hearts, refuel us
inside with holy hope and joy,
increase our love for man and God
provide your wisdom and insight.
The Peace
Jesus says: ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.
Do not let your hearts be troubled,
Neither let them be afraid.’
The peace of the Lord be always with you.
Hymn: 525 Thou who camest from above
The Blessing
Go out into this world filled with the Holy Spirit.
Let the Spirit give you words when you have none.
Let the Spirit stop your tongue when listening is the answer.
Let the Spirit strengthen you when the way ahead is hard.
Remember Jesus said He would not leave us alone and would send us a Comforter.
Let the Spirit enfold and comfort you and keep you until we are together again.
Go in peace and bring the peace and fiery flames of the Holy Spirit with you wherever you go.
Amen