-by Rev. Nick Phillips
If there’s one thing we understand in Inverness County it’s the power of wind. Wind blows all around us on a regular basis. We know what it is like to lean into a gale. We know what it is like to go looking for a BBQ cover, lawn furniture, or whatever else is missing from our yards. Wind is a powerful thing which causes us to adjust our plans at times, such as when Les Suêtes warnings come calling, or the power goes out (which oddly happens on calm days too). But there is more than just the traditional impacts of wind. In many of our churches this past Sunday we celebrated the power of another wind on a day we call Pentecost.
In John 14, after they have had their last supper together, Jesus makes a promise to his friends. He says, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth…” On Pentecost this promise is fulfilled, as recorded in Acts 2.
As the disciples hid in a locked home, living in fear of persecution for simply being associated with Jesus, a violent wind invaded their peace. It went about knocking things over, maybe even blowing a window or door open. And with this wind, tongues of fire settled on each of them. What happened next was simply amazing – they could all speak in languages they did not know.
The city was full of people who were celebrating the Jewish Festival of Weeks, and they came from all over, many different places, speaking all kinds of languages and dialects. The disciples went out into the street speaking about Jesus in their newly acquired languages and the people were in awe because they were hearing them speak in their own native tongues.
This is the result of Jesus fulfilling his promise to give those who follow him a very special gift – the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the helper Jesus promised, the intermediary between humankind and God. It is by the Holy Spirit God works in and through his followers, even still today.
The Holy Spirit did more than just give the disciples new languages to speak, it completely transformed their lives. In this transformation everything Jesus taught them finally connected the knowledge they had in their heads with the love they felt in their hearts.
On Pentecost thousands of people joined the movement that birthed the church we know today. The disciples were busy welcoming people into a life of faith which would transform the lives of all who came. They left Jerusalem, full of the same Holy Spirit, learning the stories of Jesus, and launched churches in their own communities.
This is not unlike our own church foundations today. Our churches were built by people who felt a need to gather and share the stories of Jesus with the people in the community around them. Our churches were not meant to be private buildings; as Pentecost shows God’s Spirit shows up and the doors are blown open and people cannot help but share the Good News.
Sometimes we fall into the trap of keeping our faith to ourselves. It is easy to do, really. We fall into habits which limit our ability to share our “God stories” with people around us.
What does our faith mean to us? What might the Holy Spirit be nudging us to do? We may not be asked to run out into the street preaching in Gaelic, or some other language, but maybe we are being asked to look at our communities differently. Maybe we are being asked to share God’s love in a new way, to new people.
The church was birthed in the streets of Jerusalem when the disciples of Jesus left the safety of their home. When we leave the safety of our churches, the sanctuaries we have built to honour God, what can we birth in the streets and roads of Inverness County?
On Pentecost, God showed the world, there is no limit to what he can do when people follow his way. May we be so bold to follow too.