Sunday, May 31, 2020

Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost Banner at St. Michael 's Bartley Green
Today is Pentecost Sunday.
It is one of the great feast days of our faith.
We easily forget that Jesus Christ is not a name but a name and a title.
It means literally, Jesus the Anointed One.
But - anointed by what or whom?
Anointed by the Spirit.

We see the power of the Spirit in the life of Jesus, and he would have had no ministry apart from the anointing.  In his own words, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me" (Luke 4:18) and Peter sums up his life in saying, "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power" (Acts 10:38).

Let's celebrate the person and work of the Spirit this Pentecost!

A sonnet by Malcolm Guite
Click on the link to hear Malcolm read it. Pentecost sonnet

Today we feel the wind beneath our wings,
Today the hidden fountain flows and plays,
Today the church draws breath at last and sings,
As every flame becomes a tongue of praise.
This is the feast of Fire, Air and Water,
Poured out and breathed and kindled into Earth.
The Earth herself awakens to her maker,
Translated out of death and into birth.
The right words come today in their right order,
And every word spells freedom and release.
Today the gospel crosses every border,
All tongues are loosened by the Prince of Peace.
Today the lost are found in his translation,
Whose mother-tongue is love, in every nation

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