Reuben's Sermon for Whit Sunday:
Reuben's Theme: "The Holy Spirit Is With You!"
(Whit Sunday) - EVENSONG 1830hrs. at Saint George's - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 8th. June 2003 Anno Domini.
Morning Mass: Acts: 2.1-21 Ps: 124: 25-35,37 Romans: 8.22-27 John: 12.26-27, 16.4b-15
Evensong: Psalm: 139.1-12,[13-18,23-24] Ezekiel: 36.22-28 Acts2 22-38

June 8, 2003 Cycle B Whit Sunday (Pentecost).

COLLECT

God, who as at this time taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:
grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things
and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;
through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour,
who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.


Morning Mass:

FIRST READING Acts 2.1-21

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem.
And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in their native language. Amazed and astonished, they asked, 'Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?
And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?
Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs - in our own languages we hear them speaking about God's deeds of power.'
All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, 'What does this mean?'
But others sneered and said, 'They are filled with new wine.'
But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, 'Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o'clock in the morning. No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel: "In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams. Even upon my slaves, both men and women, in those days I will pour out my Spirit; and they shall prophesy. And I will show portents in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and smoky mist. The sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the coming of the Lord's great and glorious day. Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."'

PSALM Psalm 104.25-35, 37

RR Send forth your Spirit, O Lord, and renew the face of the earth.

O Lord, how manifold are your works! in wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures. RR
Yonder is the great and wide sea with its living things too many to number, creatures both small and great. There move the ships, and there is that Leviathan, which you have made for the sport of it. RR
All of them look to you to give them their food in due season. You give it to them, they gather it; you open your hand and they are filled with good things. You hide your face and they are terrified; you take away their breath and they die and return to their dust. RR
You send forth your Spirit and they are created; and so you renew the face of the earth. May the glory of the Lord endure for ever; may the Lord rejoice in all his works. He looks at the earth and it trembles; he touches the mountains and they smoke. RR
I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will praise my God while I have my being. May these words of mine please him; I will rejoice in the Lord. Bless the Lord, O my soul, Alleluia! RR


SECOND READING Romans 8.22-27

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen?
But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.
And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

GOSPEL John 15.26-27, 16.4b-15

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
[Jesus spoke to his disciples:]
'When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.
You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.
I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them.
I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.
But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, "Where are you going?"
But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts.
Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgement, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.'

POST COMMUNION

Faithful God, who fulfilled the promises of Easter by sending us your Holy Spirit and opening to every race and nation the way of life eternal:
open our lips by your Spirit, that every tongue may tell of your glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Evensong:

PSALM
Psalm 139.1-12,[13-18,23-24]

1 ¶ To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. O LORD, thou hast searched me and known me!
2 Thou knowest when I sit down and when I rise up; thou discernest my thoughts from afar.
3 Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue, lo, O LORD, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou dost beset me behind and before, and layest thy hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain it.
7 ¶ Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, thou art there! If I make my bed in Sheol, thou art there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there thy hand shall lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, "Let only darkness cover me, and the light about me be night,"
12 even the darkness is not dark to thee, the night is bright as the day; for darkness is as light with thee.
13 For thou didst form my inward parts, thou didst knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise thee, for thou art fearful and wonderful. Wonderful are thy works! Thou knowest me right well;
15 my frame was not hidden from thee, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.
16 Thy eyes beheld my unformed substance; in thy book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.
17 ¶ How precious to me are thy thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!
18 If I would count them, they are more than the sand. When I awake, I am still with thee.
19 O that thou wouldst slay the wicked, O God, and that men of blood would depart from me,
20 men who maliciously defy thee, who lift themselves up against thee for evil!
21 Do I not hate them that hate thee, O LORD? And do I not loathe them that rise up against thee?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!

FIRST READING
Ezekiel: 36.22-28 (RSV)

22 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.
23 And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them; and the nations will know that I am the LORD, says the Lord GOD, when through you I vindicate my holiness before their eyes.
24 For I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land.
25 ¶ I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.
26 A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will take out of your flesh the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances.
28 You shall dwell in the land which I gave to your fathers; and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

SECOND READING
Acts2 22-38 (RSV)

22* "Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know--
23* this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
24* But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
25* For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken;
26* therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope.
27* For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One see corruption.
28* Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou wilt make me full of gladness with thy presence.'
29* "Brethren, I may say to you confidently of the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.
30* Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants upon his throne,
31* he foresaw and spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption.
32* This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
33* Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this which you see and hear.
34* For David did not ascend into the heavens; but he himself says, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand,
35* till I make thy enemies a stool for thy feet.'
36* Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."
37* ¶ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?"
38* And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Reuben's Theme: "The Holy Spirit Is With You!"
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
In our first reading tonight we hear, from Ezekiel, the prophacy of God vindicating his holiness through the death and resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. How God will bring all the nations together in one faith, clensing us from our uncleanness and false idols.

We also hear the prophacy of a new heart given by God and a new spirit he will put within us.

Yes, the prophacy of the coming of the Holy Spirit.

And, about one thousnd, nine hundred and seventy years ago, the most wonderful thing that you could possibly imagine happened, this prophacy was fulfilled.

This morning we heard the story in the first reading.
When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.

Let's try to picture what's going on here.

Matthias, had been selected from the disciples to replace Judas - we heard about that in our first reading last Sunday morning.

It was the feast of Pentecost. All twelve apostles were in one place.
It seemed as though everything had gone wrong.

Jesus' death has been a tremendous blow to the disciples.
Things hadn't happened the way they had expected.

But, Jesus conquered death and appeared several times.

Our Gospel reading this morning took us back to before The Crucifixion...

Jesus trying to explain what is to happen:

'When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.

And now, it's happening!

But what is going to happen?

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place,

(hiding behind locked doors).

They are alone... ...well they think they are.

Jesus has ascended into Heaven.

They are frightened, unsure of themselves and feeling very vulnerable.

All that Jesus has told them is still echoing in their minds.

They cannot make sense of it all.

Again from our Gospel reading today...

"You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning."

They don't feel much like testifying...

They need help...

LOTS of help!

Jesus had gone and they are beginning to think that it's all gone wrong.

"...if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you."

So, who is this who is coming?

They still don't understand all that Jesus told them.

They can't fathom it out.

They have all the information, they just don't have the skill to put it all together.

The apostles are in a room, all by themselves, somewhat lost rather dejected and very frightened...

...when suddenly the most wonderful thing that you can ever imagine, happened.

The coming of the Holy Spirit!

And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.

You know when something you didn't understand suddenly makes sense.

When the penny drops and it all becomes clear?

Well, such an occurrence is often symbolised by a light bulb which appears in a thought balloon above the head.

They didn't have electricity in those days, so fire is the best symbol to use.

To symbolise something wonderful!

The fire that burned inside them!

All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Yes, the disciples not only understood what it's all about, but they could explain it to anyone... ...and be understood!

Now we come to the crunch!

I want you to imagine what was going on in Jerusalem on that day of Pentecost, all those years ago.

As it says, "Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem."

Devout Jews!

Let's get this clear in our minds...

Jerusalem was packed.

There were thousands upon thousands of Jews in Jerusalem.

Jews who had travelled from everywhere to be there.

We're not talking about your average run of the mill, ordinary Jew here.

We're talking about devout, fundamentalist, hard line, 'must-be-in-Jerusalem-for-Pentecost' Jews...

...and in a room, hidden away, in the middle of all this, there are twelve Christians who have just understood the plot!

They are so elated that they cannot keep quiet!

And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. Amazed and astonished, they asked, 'Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language?

'What does this mean?'

Suddenly all of the apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit and they begin to speak so that everyone can understand them.

The Holy Spirit has come among them.

The penny has dropped... ...Suddenly they understand.

They are so overjoyed, so moved, so very excited...

...and so very talkative.

Jews gather outside, remember? as it says, "Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven - in Jerusalem."

"What is going on?" they ask.

Jews from all nations can understand what these Galileans are saying and are therefore a little confused.

"Are these Galileans drunk?"

Peter, bless him, he has to speak up.

Is he going to put his foot in it, like so many times before?

Peter raises his voice and speaks to them.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, he starts on a light-hearted note:

"Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, listen to me, I have something very important to say. These men aren't drunk, it's only nine o'clock in the morning."

I never can work out if this is Peter's naive logic, or his Jewish wit.

There's got to be some "Peter Logic" in there somewhere, but deep down I think he was winning the crowd over with his gentle humour.

Peter continues on a more serious note... "No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel"...and quoting from the prophet Joel...
...this lovely man, who tried so hard to get it right (and often got it wrong)... ...this lovely man is now getting it right.

Everything has become clear to him, and indeed to the other apostles.

Peter, an ordinary fisherman.

Peter, who was the first to recognise Jesus as the Messiah.

Peter who, Jesus said, would be the rock on which our Church would be built.

Peter preaches the first Christian sermon.

Right there in Jerusalem!

At Pentecost!

Among thousands upon thousands of Jews.

The very people they had been hiding from only a short time ago!

Picture it.

Peter now has the bit between his teeth.

There's no stopping him!

"Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know - this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."

He's telling them off!!

As the crowd grows larger and larger, as Peter speaks, I can imagine the other apostles getting just a little worried.

Peter... ...is this a good idea?

"But God raised him up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it."

Peter... ...the crowd's getting bigger!

For David says concerning him, 'I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken...'

By now there are hundreds of devout Jews... ...listening to Peter.

Peter is on a roll now.

The apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, are no longer nervous now.

Luke is even making notes - I think this'll go well at the beginning of chapter 2 of my followup book.

And as we heard the second reading tonight, Peter goes on to preach, very convincingly, on the scriptures, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the promised Messiah.

This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.

And after more detailed argument, he concludes,

"Let all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified."

Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brethren, what shall we do?"

And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

A Christian preaching to Jews!

Peter preaches Christianity to them...

...which should have been a very dangerous thing to do.

BUT IT WASN'T.

Well, it's not in the reading tonight, but the story continues...

About 3,000 Jews turned to Jesus.

Peter preached the word of God...

...and about 3,000 Jews became Christians.

Peter preached the word of God...

...and about 3,000 Jews were Baptized that very day.

About one thousand, nine hundred and seventy years ago, the Christian Church was born.

The Holy Spirit came upon the apostles and through them the power of God was made known to the world.

You and I receive the Holy Spirit in many ways.

The big one would be at our confirmation.

We also ask to be sent out in the power of God's Spirit, to live and work to His praise and glory.

We pray for the Grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, and the Love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, to be with us all, evermore.

And at almost every service, we receive something that is given to us with the direct authority of Peter himself.

In the Eucharistic prayer at almost any Mass, the priest will call the Holy Spirit to come upon us, using such words as "...renew us by your Spirit, inspire us with your love, and unite us in the body of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord...."

With the authority of Peter, passed on in the laying on of hands by the Bishop who ordained him, Fr. Andrew will bless us all at the end of this service.

Each of us has our own function, our own skill, our own way of proclaiming the Gospel.

The power of the Spirit led the disciples to announce the kingdom of God, the core of Jesus' message... ...and everyone understood.

The power if the Spirit leads us all to announce the kingdom of God!

Each in our own way.

God's gift to us at Pentecost... .....The Holy Spirit.

Let the Holy Spirit work within each and every one of us.

Don't be afraid to take you faith outside to others.

You may, like Peter and the apostles, get a surprising result.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Reuben Condie