Pentecost 2016

“Pentecost is a moment when new-birth occurs”

When Jesus’s followers found themselves separated from him, whether immediately following the crucifixion or later after the resurrection, his absence threatened to become a crisis. The promise of the Spirit who would “guide them into all the truth and declare to them the things that are to come” did not come immediately as they might have expected.  They were frightened and confused people. But suddenly, all that changed. The promise was realized in a way that far exceeded their expectations. New life for the Church. New life for individuals within the Church. New life through the Spirit of God. The meaning of Pentecost became clear.

The book of Acts dramatically describes the coming of the Holy Spirit as an event that breaks down the formidable barriers created by different languages and cultures. The Holy Spirit enables not only common language but also new speech and conversation about the love of God for all humanity.  This is new life – sudden and unmerited. That’s the reality of Pentecost and it’s vividly described: a heavenly sound like a rushing violent wind, flames of descending fire, transformed speech, and ears unstopped to hear.

Pentecost is a moment when new-birth occurs. Jesus’s followers receive the Holy Spirit. This is very similar to the beginning of creation. Now, the disciples are filled with God’s breath of life and are transformed from a broken-hearted, confused and frightened group into a powerful and effective community that shares confidently all that God has done, and is doing, in their lives.  The inclusiveness of the moment is vividly captured by people from all kinds of ethnic backgrounds and cultures who heard the disciples speak about God’s great deeds of power. What happens at Pentecost is no inner mystical experience, but an outpouring of God’s energy that touches every life present. Like a mighty wind it affects everything and everyone around. When Jesus spoke of the promise of the Father which was going to descend on the world, he was speaking of the way in which the gift of the Holy Spirit would enable us not only to be a new kind of being, but to see human beings afresh and to hear them differently.

The coming of the Holy Spirit brings new life – sudden and unmerited: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be made whole” (Acts 2:21).  So let us not be confused or afraid – let us open our lives to God’s Spirit who will fill us with God’s love and set our hearts free and on fire for him.

With every blessing              

The Very Revd Dr Christopher Hardwick

Vicar of Tavistock, Gulworthy and Brent Tor

Dear Friends

Since whole of April falls within the great 50 days of Easter it is entirely appropriate to remind ourselves of the joyful truth of this season – Alleluia, Christ is Risen – He is Risen indeed, Alleluia. However, in an increasingly secular society, there are a lot of good folks who say, is that so? Yes, we all cry!

But, how do we know? The fact that there have been Easter eggs on the shelves since Christmas and which have now disappeared might not be the most persuasive answer. A quick look at the evidence from the Gospels gives us some clues, but it’s not as crystal clear as we might first think.  Luke has a marvellous phrase to express the disciples’ reaction when the women returned from the empty tomb and told them what they had seen: ‘These words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them’. Although Luke goes on to illustrate how the disciples become aware of the reality of the resurrection.  In other words he shows how resurrection changes the lives of the disciples.

If we look to Mark we find quite a bizarre ending; instead of having an enthusiastic band of disciples fired up and setting off to win the world for Christ, we have a group of speechless, terrified women running for their lives.  It’s as if Mark breaks off in mid-sentence to have a coffee and never returns to his book. For centuries, people have thought that the proper ending to his gospel must have been lost and so others have tried to round things off and give it a satisfying conclusion – but we should not be taken in by this.

But Mark’s abrupt ending is far from accidental.  Instead of recording the resurrection, he leaves it to his readers to experience and live out the amazing truth for themselves. So questions remain and there are loose ends.

Mark and the other evangelists have given us an unfinished story – a story that continues. What happens next is for the reader to find out, to experience in his or her own life. This is how his open ended account works – his story becomes our story.  In a sense the next instalment is for us to write.

It’s for us to experience the Risen Christ, who went ahead of the disciples and who goes ahead of us.  For the disciples fear turned to joy, despair gave way to hope, death was turned to life, a new beginning dawned, living in the light of the Risen Christ.  The resurrection was real and changed everything for them, as we read in other books in the New Testament, and the fact we’re here in our Mission Community celebrating the Easter Season affirms this.

The resurrection is real, but we experience it in different ways: sometimes it is clear, sometimes more tentative, sometimes we sense it only after much struggle.  We may need time to absorb the extraordinary truth that overturns all expectations.  But, there can also be setbacks to our faith, doubts or fears can set in, through the trials of life there can be times when the experience seems far off.

The experience of the resurrection will always be personal, unique to each one of us, and it invites us to make a response. A good starting point is to ask the question “What does God want me to do here and now in this place?”  Collectively we’re called to embrace and follow the Gospel in our daily lives so that we make a difference in our community and beyond.

Individually too, perhaps the first thing we can do is show God’s love to those whose paths cross our own, so that they can experience it through us.  But to do this we need to deepen our own desire to love and serve him through prayer and worship.  This in turn may lead us to feel and explore whether we are being called to serve in more formal ways in the Church, and remember, the Fourth Sunday of Easter is Vocations Sunday.  So, what is God calling you to do?

With every blessing

 The Revd John Higman

Rector of Mary Tavy and Peter Tavy