Pentecost!

Date: May 27, 2012

Liturgical Sunday: Pentecost Sunday

RCL Scripture: Psalm 104:24-34. 35b; Acts 2:1-21; Romans 8:22-27; John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15

Sermon Title: Pentecost!

Knox Presbyterian [audio:https://wordsfromthemiddle.ca/wp-content/uploads/120527_-_Knox.mp3|titles=Pentecost!]

There is only one sermon this week as the service at Knox was the annual joint service with St. Mark’s. It was a very enjoyable day with the Sunday School kids taking part in the service by singing three songs that they have been learning. You may notice a non sequitur in the service when I address one of the youngest of the children, two at the most I would guess, who was thinking of joining me on the platform.

The Sunday of Pentecost is a day where we can remember the beginning of the church as we know it. The church was inaugurated by the gift of the Holy Spirit who was manifest in tongues of fire appearing on the heads (presumably floating just over their heads) of the gathered followers of Jesus and the miraculous speaking in all the various languages spoken by the people gather in Jerusalem. A wonderful moment from church and biblical history that can be extremely problematic if we try and make it normative for the descent of the Holy Spirit on anyone or any group of people. What I am trying to convey in this sermon is that Pentecost happened in the past but its effects are continuing today and we are as much Pentecost believers as those first. Let me know what you think.

Pentecost Sunday is the beginning of the rest of the liturgical year. The last, and largest, section of the year is generally called Ordinary time. This is not just that it is ordinary in the sense of commonplace but more so in that it is sequentially numbered. However, there is something very refreshing about the notion that much of the church year is ordinary in the sense that it is not extraordinary . . . so goes most human lives.

Warm blessings,

PS It seems about time to remind you that if you don’t want to listen to this (or any recent) sermon from this page and your browser refuses to let you download from here, use this link which has this and the past few sermons all ready for downloading.