I am writing this in the week following Easter. Looking back over the past week, it has been for a me, a significant time at Church. The Cantata on Palm Sunday, the ‘different‘- meal on Maundy Thursday and the happy Easter Sunday Morning Service. It gave me opportunity to live well-known events in a fresh way.

In fact the life of any Church is geared to celebrating past events. The calendar of the Church is a progression based on the events of the Gospels. We walk with Jesus, from his birth to his death, then culminating in the joyous shout “Hallelujah! He is Risen!”

Next on our agenda is Ascension Day, which always falls on a Thursday and is therefore given scant attention. Yet it is crucial to understanding of the Gospel. I will leave that to another time. What concerns me is what follows that – Pentecost

I have always felt very uncomfortable about celebrating Pentecost. Earlier this year Avis asked me to take the evening worship on May 24th – I said that I was not able to do so. Not quite true – I did not want to do so. Why? Several reasons.

I have been in Church on many a Whitsunday and heard about / first Pentecost and how the Spirit came upon the Disciples, how the Spirit moved in this and that revival and how the Spirit moved Luther or Wesley, Gladys Aylward and Billy Graham. Splendid! Splendid! Splendid! BUT Pentecost is not essentially about what has gone on in the past, but is about what is happening and what is going to happen. I am not in the know about what God the Holy Spirit is going to do. I barely understand what he is doing now. This means I have very little that I can preach about!!!!?

Brian