Saint George's Anglican Church

"Jesus said, 'If ye love Me, keep my commandments.

(St. John 14.15)

 

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

 

Today is a very big day in the Church Year. Although it doesn't get the same attention, it is as big as Christmas and Easter. Why? Because today marks the coming of God the Holy Spirit to the Church. Perhaps we should take a minute to review a few things before we go any further. The Bible teaches us that we believe in one God Who has revealed Himself as being Three Persons: He is equally, and at the same time, the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost. Of course that is a Mystery that we can never understand; it is, however, something that we can believe and adore.

 

We say in the Apostles' Creed that we believe in "God the Father Almighty, the Maker of Heaven and earth". After that, we say that we believe in "Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord". We refer to Jesus as "our Lord" because He conquered the forces of sin and death for us. "Lord" means "the One with all authority" -- and so He is, since He rose from the dead. But the Lord Jesus did not stay on this earth. Forty days after His Resurrection on Easter Day, He went up into Heaven. This was a time of great uncertainty for His disciples. Their faith was truly tested as they waited for the Comforter (the Holy Spirit) to come. Jesus had told them that He would not leave them comfortless; He promised that He would abide with them forever in a new and wonderful way through His Spirit. Now, they simply had to wait and believe.

 

Well, on their tenth day of waiting -- the tenth day after His Ascension, and the fiftieth day after His Resurrection -- the Holy Spirit came. In the words of this morning's Lesson from the Acts of the Apostles, here is what happened:

 

 

Let's see if we can identify the three signs of the Holy Spirit's coming: what was the first one? The rushing, mighty wind that filled the whole house. This word for 'wind' is the same word for 'breath' -- like the 'breath of life' that God breathed into Adam in the beginning. So this mighty wind that signaled the Holy Spirit's Presence on the Day of Pentecost makes us think of God's breath upon the Church. It is through the Spirit that we receive the new life of Jesus Christ. When you were baptized, God Himself came to live within you by His Spirit. Incredible, but true: the Almighty Lord has come to dwell in the lowly temple of your soul and body. He has come, and He continues to come to refresh us strengthen us amidst the trials and troubles of this old world. And He will abide with forever. He will never leave you. There are days and times when we feel all alone; but is always with us by His Spirit. He continually breathes His life into us.

 

okay, what was the second sign? The tongues of fire that rested over the heads of each of disciples. That must have been an incredible sight! Little flames burning over each but not hurting them. The Church has attempted to preserve this sign of the Pentecost Fire in a special way -- through the mitre (or pointy hat) worn by the Bishop. As a successor to the first apostles, the bishop's hat is specially shaped in the form of flame to represent this Fire of the Holy Spirit. What about this Fire? Well, it is not the same as the earthly element of fire. This Heavenly Fire accompanies the Holy Spirit. For example, you may remember how John the Baptist said,

 

I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but He that cometh after me is mightier than L. He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: whose fan is in His Hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire. (St. Matthew3:11-12)

 

The Key word in this analogy is 'purge'. As a boy, I remember watching my grandmother sterilize or purge a sewing needle that she was going to use to get a splinter out of my finger. Fire has that quality -- it can purify. And so we should understand that God the Holy Spirit has been sent to convict us of what is wrong in our lives, and to point us to the holiness and righteousness of God. His work is to purify or sanctify us; to fit us for Heaven and to shape us little by little into the image of Christ.

 

It may be helpful, at this point, to extend this image of fire to that of light. Jesus said,

I am the Light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of life. (St. John8.12)

 

But the Lord Jesus is no longer here -- He left this world and ascended in to Heaven. So, how can we know the Light of His Presence now? Through the Holy Spirit. Think of it: Jesus sent His Spirit to teach us, and to remind us, and to point us to Himself as the Saviour of the world. Therefore, His Light shines in our hearts by the Spirit. And what does light do? Well, light shines in the darkness and illuminates what is present. It shows us the truth of the matter. Without the light we may pretend or guess, but the light makes the situation plain. Light also reveals what is ahead if we direct it before our path. It helps us to walk safely, and on the right road.

 

These two simple examples help us to understand the purifying work of the Holy Spirit: He reveals the path or will of God to us through His Holy Word; and, He illuminates the state of our souls, convicting us of where we need repentance from sin and renewal in faith.

 

Let's go now to the third sign of the Holy Spirit -- what was it? The gift of tongues. Amazingly, the disciples began to speak in languages that they had never studied. This was witnessed by a large number of Jewish religious tourists in Jerusalem, visiting there for the Jewish Feast of Pentecost. They heard the mighty, rushing wind and when they came to investigate its source, they heard the disciples speaking in their languages -- "we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God".

 

So, this third sign of the Spirit demonstrated the power and purpose of God to unite people in His family through His blessed Son, Interestingly, our fallen nature is towards the preservation and comfort of self. We live in an individualistic society. But this is nothing new: from the Old Testament (Genesis, chapter 11), you may remember hearing about the tower of Babel. In pride, the people of that day decided to make a name for themselves by building a tower that reached as high as the heavens. They planned this for their own honour and glory -- it was an act of arrogance against God. Consequently, the Lord confused their speech so that they could not understand one another, and the construction of the tower stopped. As a testimony to their foolish pride, that place was named Babel, a word we continue to use when someone's speech does not make sense. (i.e. babble)

 

On the Day of Pentecost, the confusion of Babel was undone, and spiritual union with God and with one another was made possible through the Charity of God the Holy Spirit. The Lord, Who created all things, and in them set His perfect harmony, shows us today, through the events of Pentecost, His desire to restore holy communion to His creation. More than anything, He wants you to be with Him forever; and so He has sent His Spirit to teach you and lead you to the Kingdom of Heaven through the Lord Jesus Christ. God does not desire us to be lost in our selfishness, in the darkness of greed and hatred and fear. He, being Perfect Charity, yearns for us to be truly happy and free forever in union with Himself.

 

In closing, let us praise God for the Gift of the Holy Spirit and for His daily Presence and work in the Church and in our lives. He is here to breathe new life into us, and to sanctify (purify) us; and He has come to unite us all to God in one family through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the tender care of the Living God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! AMEN.