Pentecost Sunday – 28 May 2023

In ancient times it was the sacred task of the women in Aboriginal tribes during the gray, wet winter months to carry the fire.  Fire meant life.  In the drizzle and the damp that we associate with the winter months, it was, of course, not possible to start fires at every new campsite.  The fire had to be carried.  This was achieved by maintaining hot coals in shell cones bartered from the coastal people. Upon setting up camp the coals could be enflamed into life. It is not difficult to imagine what a vital and important duty it was to carry those shells with the coals inside them, carefully and with a great sense of responsibility.

The dreams we carry in our own hearts are a little like such coals within shells. What burning coal do we carry within our heart? 

We are guardians of a dream burning within us. The dream of Jesus of Nazareth – fire for our world, purifying, and warming fire. A dream nurtured and maintained by our constant vigilance for it; its coal kept burning by our attentiveness.

At Pentecost we ask ourselves of the state of the coal of which we are heirs and now carry within our heart.  Does it breathe?  Is it aglow, present in our hearts in such a way that it can spark ever new fires and give warmth and sustenance to our world — the richness of life about which Jesus offers us?

It leads us to ask, where is the Spirit which Jesus has promised us?  Where is the Gift of God’s life that we celebrate in this great festival of Pentecost?  How is the Spirit of God given to us in the ordinariness of our lives, and in our struggle to make sense of all that threatens to fragment our life?

If only the Spirit came as a powerful wind which stirred our faith in the way that those first disciples experienced; if only the Spirit came as fire to enflame our cold hearts and enabled us with courage and confidence in life!

But we must remember that the Spirit of God comes to us in other ways, too.  In the Gospel we have heard the Spirit comes to us in the form of the breath of Jesus.  Jesus breathes on his friends and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”  The Spirit is given not only as a powerful wind but also in the gentleness of a breath.

This is a wonderful paradox:  The Spirit is both a mighty wind and a gentle breath!  The Spirit as both this strong courage and at the same time this quiet reassurance which is peace.

The Spirit comes to us then when we are feeling fragile through those moments of deep quiet when though we do not have the answer, we know everything will be alright; the Spirit is given us when we experience a sense of trust when all the circumstances would normally be making us anxious; the Spirit is given us at those moments when we have a quiet solid sense of purpose even though everything around us seems to be crumbling; the Spirit is given us in the gentle smile of a friend, in the recognition of the beauty of our children even when they are the cause of a great deal of trouble, when a little ordinary scene outside the kitchen window captures our attention for its simplicity and wonder.

Whenever confusion moves to peace, whenever fear moves to courage, whenever doubt moves to faith, the Spirit of God is given to us.

And where we discern new purpose there is the Spirit of God. This is why this Pentecost in our parish is special. For on this Pentecost Sunday we share our new Parish Mission. Following a six-month process of discernment, and through a staggering 1500 submissions over the entire process, we are happy to share our Mission as “Bringing the Light of Christ to the City: we love, we grow, we serve.” This is a sure sign of the vitality of the Spirit present in our midst, calling us forward into the future. It emerges from our earlier stages of our journey, Being Church in the City, and it lays the foundation for some new exciting possibilities for the way by which our parish might live, and which I outline in my Pastoral Letter to our Parish published this weekend. The consideration of our Parish Mission has surely been the way by which our community has tended to the coals entrusted to it, seeking to fan them into flame.

So let us pray on this feast of the Spirit of God:

Spirit of light:  let your wisdom shine on us

Spirit of courage:  make us aware of God’s presence

Spirit of fire:  enflame us with the love of Jesus

Spirit of peace:  help us to be still and to listen to God in our life

Spirit of joy:  inspire us to proclaim the good news

Spirit of love:  help us open ourselves to the needs of others

Spirit of power:  give us all your help and strength

Spirit of truth:  guide us all in the way of Jesus.

At Pentecost the Spirit’s outpouring is presented through the imagery of tongues of fire.  The Spirit is given us to enflame our faith, our hope, our love.  Thus, in celebrating the memory of the first Pentecost, we renew our commitment and our responsibility for keeping the flame alive within our hearts, and in the heart of our community and in so doing, alive in our world.

In the Spirit, through the Spirit, and with the Spirit let us bring the Light of Christ to the City as we love, as we grow and as we serve.