By Heather Ford Lark

It seems that there’s a special day for almost everything – a celebration day or an awareness day, to increase our knowledge or interest in something considered important.

This month, among others, we have the King’s official Birthday and Father’s Day, and I read that there’s a national chocolate macaroon day in the USA this week, and an international ‘Women in Engineering’ day later this month.

There’s also a day this week to remember St Petroc of Padstow, Cornwall. He was someone who committed his life to sharing God’s love with people around him. He developed an originally modest church into a large monastery with a school, infirmary, library, a farm over a period of 30 years in Padstow, Cornwall.

And one extremely important awareness day for Christians is ‘Pentecost’ this coming Sunday, to be extra aware of the Holy Spirit, specially remembered each year seven weeks after Easter Day; because the promised gift of the Holy Spirit to the disciples happened seven weeks after Jesus’ resurrection.

So, this Sunday we commemorate the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Jesus while they were in Jerusalem celebrating a yearly festival, as described in the Acts of the Apostles.

Nowadays in some churches, sometimes Christians will dress in red or decorate churches with red to symbolize the Holy Spirit resting on the apostles as “tongues of fire”.

It’s a day to be especially aware and reminded of the significance of Pentecost and of the Holy Spirit. It was a truly momentous day at the time.

Can you imagine yourself as one of the disciples gathered quietly together to worship God, in the way you do every week, and then, without warning, there is a sound like a mighty roaring windstorm filling the whole place? No one could possibly miss it! Whatever has happened? Are the walls still intact? Yes, they seem to be, so what is happening?

You look around and everyone has a flame hovering over them, definitely looking like fire, yet not burning them. And those around you say there is a flame hovering over your head too! Not only that, but each of you suddenly has the wonderful experience of being filled up with God’s presence, and you start speaking, praising God in a language you have not learned.

This is amazing! But for what purpose?! This must be the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus and foretold by the prophet Joel in the Scriptures you all know so well.

Then you realize: there are people from every nation living in Jerusalem, and hearing of the drama, the wind, the commotion it has caused, they gather to see for themselves what is happening! Are you and the others drunk? No! It’s only 9 o clock in the morning and anyway that would be completely out of character for you and the other disciples at any time!

Something miraculous is happening! The words being spoken and not incomprehensible, but are the languages of all the nationalities represented that day in Jerusalem, and everyone is hearing about God and His love and power in their own language. Quite extraordinary!

You listen to Peter, the once cowardly Peter, preaching boldly, and are amazed that around 3,000 people respond that day to what they hear about Jesus and His love for them, and are baptized and started to follow Jesus for themselves. What’s more, these people take the good news back to their home countries and regions with them….

The Good News is that this is not just an event in History but God’s Holy Spirit is with us today, just as much as He was then.

We read in the Bible: “The promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls”… Acts 2v 39

Very much an ‘Awareness day’ at the time, but actually no less so today. The Holy Spirit is at work throughout the world and in the lives of all who follow Him. The Holy Spirit encourages us, comforts us, gives us courage, nudges us to do the right thing. God will give, to all who ask, the gift of the Holy Spirit be our constant companion.

A final thought:

The Spirit came and Your Church was born,

in wind and fire and words of power.

The Spirit came blowing fear aside,

and in its place weak hearts were stronger.

The Spirit came as your word foretold,

with dreams and signs, visions and wonders.

The Spirit came and is here today,

to feed the hearts of a world that hungers.

(faithandworship.com)

Why not come and hear more on Sunday?