Jesus is Lord! Pentecost year A 24th May 2026

 2026  05  24  Pentecost Year A 

Acts 2.1-21 Psalm 104.26-36   1 Corinthians 12.1-13  John 20.19-23

THE DAY HAS ARRIVED!  The feast of Pentecost! and Christians are celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Also, the Jewish people are celebrating the feast of Pentecost, but it means something different to them.  Fifty days ago the Jewish people celebrated the Passover which coincided with our Good Friday and Easter.  The Jewish festivals are prophetic announcements of God at work.  They teach us what God has done, is doing and will do.  So... what does the Jewish understanding of Pentecost teach us?

 

At Passover, the Jewish people remembered that God saved them from slavery in Egypt and saved them from death by the blood of the lamb.  We celebrated at the same time, that God saved us from spiritual death and separation from God by the blood of the lamb of God, Jesus.  After Passover, the Jewish people count of 7 Sabbaths (just as we have had Easter 1, then 2, etc and last week was Easter 7), and then they were commanded by God to offer their first fruits of the harvest.  This time period between Passover and Pentecost is also considered the time of being led by God in the desert and the giving of God’s holy law.  It is a feast of the Law and of the harvest.

 

Jesus had told the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit.  They were there at his command, just 50 days after the crowd had crucified their leader, Jesus.  They spent the time in prayer, and they were altogether in one place when they heard a rush of wind from heaven.  To these Jewish followers of Jesus there was something happening here that they immediately understood, because they were Jewish.  One of those things is the Jewish tradition that had been taught that when God gave the law at Mount Sinai, God’s voice was divided into seven voices and heard in various languages.  God was present!

 

Also…. There is something very significant about the wind.  The wind is reminiscent of Genesis 1 when the Spirit hovered over the waters.  The same word is used here in Acts, as was used in Genesis, and as was used in the book of Ezekiel when he prophecies the breath of God to bring life to the dry bones.  If you were at our Bible study a couple of weeks ago, you might have some insight also into the Gospel account we read today, where Jesus breathes on his followers and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.  It seems mysterious that Jesus should say this to his followers, breathe on them and then tell them to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit.   

 

There is this thing in the Bible, loosely coined by one commentator, as the law of first mention.  To understand many things in the Bible, we need to see where it is first mentioned.  Do you recall the first time someone breathed the spirit of God?  It was in the Garden of Eden when God created man.   This was before the fall.  God had made all the living creatures, but it was only mankind upon which God specifically breathed His spirit and scripture tells us, that mankind became a living being.  This “living” is different from the normal earthly living.  This “Living” was eternal.  God’s Holy Spirit was breathed in us…. We did not just have the breath of life in us as every other creature, but we had something particular of God.  But then came the fall.  God said we would die.  Did we die or didn’t we?  Some read the story and say, “Adam and Eve didn’t die”….. not straight away.  It wasn’t the normal life that died that day, it was the eternal spiritual life that died.

 

Jesus breathed on his followers and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit."  It is a commission, but it is also a re-creation.  Through Jesus breathing his Holy Spirit, His followers have His Holy and eternal spirit, and we are restored to eternal life.   His followers are also commissioned, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained”.  You might remember that only God can forgive sin, so what is going on with this?

 

The disciples of a rabbi are like the student of a great lecturer…. They are learners.  However, in the Jewish tradition of rabbis and disciples, the disciples live with the rabbi and do what he does.  Jesus breathes on his followers and commissions them to live as him – his body on earth.  This includes declaring the forgiveness of sins to those who accept the Gospel.  Sins are all forgiven through the sacrifice of Christ.  On this side of the cross it is simply a declaration of the truth – but also an acknowledgement that, for those who reject the sacrifice of Jesus, their sins are retained.  This is the message of the Gospel.  The disciples were sent to continue the work, with the authority of Jesus.

 

So why, after this re-creation and restoration and commissioning did the disciples need to receive the Holy Spirit to the extent that was witnessed at the feast of Pentecost?  My guess is that they needed it.  My guess is that a restoration is never going to prevent us from going down the same path as the original creation in the garden of Eden.  This “new creation” and restoration, needed to be different from the first.  Jesus died for our sin so that we could be renewed and restored, and when we fail again – as we will, we look to cross and find grace to be forgiven, restored and renewed – again and again…. But it is obvious we need another helper…. For everything.  Enter the Holy Spirit of Pentecost.

 

Jesus is Lord!  Anyone can say it, but we are told no one can say it unless they have the Holy Spirit.  In the original language and culture into which these words were spoken, words and actions were not separate.  What does it mean to say, “Jesus is Lord”?  In the Hebrew this would be “Yeshua Adonai” – Yeshua is Jesus and Adonai means master, however, it is also the reverent way of addressing God.  In other words; Jesus is God!  This is a declaration of the divine nature of Jesus – one of those difficult to grasp aspects of the trinity, and yet we are told no one can say this unless by the Holy Spirit of God.  More than that, it is a declaration that as Jesus or God is master, we defer to him, follow his lead – trust and obey.   Accept Jesus as God, and accept God as our Lord and master, we’ve never been very good at this.  We need the Holy Spirit and all the power that it has to offer which is the very power of God.

 

God always respects our free will and will not override our free will.  Therefore, we need to willingly “say” Jesus is Lord, and commit to having God as our master, allowing him to give us the Holy Spirit.  Notice that age doesn’t disqualify you.  Old men will dream dreams.  A dream implies desiring and working toward something for the future.  The Holy Spirit turns what you thought about life, completely upside down.  The Holy Spirit brings equality because the Spirit is poured out on ALL.

 

The Jewish feast of Pentecost is a harvest festival and when the Holy Spirit came there was a great harvest of souls.  Many people became followers of Jesus. Do we need the Holy Spirit to come again pouring out those gifts on the followers of Jesus?  If those taught by Jesus himself, who were eyewitnesses to the resurrection, needed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, I’m pretty sure that we do too.

 

Receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit is up to us.  God said he will pour out His Spirit on ALL FLESH – that means us!   Will we say, “YES – Thank you Jesus”?  What that means is saying, “Yes” to whatever of those spiritual gifts he might wish to give you.  Are you willingly to accept whatever gift the Spirit brings?

 

Today we have the opportunity to say, “Jesus is Lord”!  and in doing so, say yes to all that Jesus wants to pour out on us through His Holy Spirit.   Come Holy Spirit.

Then you will receive power - to complete the mission - 17th May 2026 Easter 7A

 2026  05  17 Easter 7 A

Acts 1:6-14   Psalm 68:1-10, 32-35   1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11   John 17:1-11

Our readings today involve a bit of sky gazing.  In our Gospel reading we have the account of Jesus’ prayer that he made before the passion of the cross.  Jesus looked up to heaven and prayed.  His prayer seems somewhat mysterious, but it highlights some super important facts; At a time the world might perceive as the low point, that is, the crucifixion, Jesus counts this as the hour of Glory.   The only reason can be that finally Jesus publicly stands as the Messiah.  In all of Jesus time on earth, he was secretive about his true identity, not claiming to be God or equal to God, but waiting for people to see for themselves and come to this conclusion.  Also, in this passage, we see the eternal nature of the Son of God – of Jesus, when he says; “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed.”  Jesus also speaks of his authority and affirms that the only way to God the father is through the Son.  These facts are central to Christianity.  We have many denominations, but we are the answer to Jesus’ prayer that we may be one, as we have unity in our acceptance and proclamation of these facts.

 

Our reading from Acts also has some sky gazing, but this time it is the disciples.  They had hoped that Jesus would bring about the restoration of the Israelite Kingdom at this time…. And were left…. Perhaps bewildered.  They still didn’t fully understand God’s plan, but the knew the prophecies of restoration.  It makes sense that they would expect this was the time of restoration.  We all long for the glory days and pray for restoration, for God to fill our churches with people.  Wishful thinking and staring at the sky perhaps…..  We raise our eyes to the heavens, but what is the answer?  God does have an answer.  We are HIS church.  We are not the boss – He is.  We are not the saviour – He is.  And the message of Jesus to us, is the same that he declares to the disciples; "It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority.  But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

 

The followers of Jesus were asked; “Why do you stand looking up toward heaven?”  Would the Angels say the same to us?  Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of those disciples for a minute.  They had been enjoying the fact that Jesus had risen from the dead.  They were comforted and encouraged, being taught by him for 40 days but now he was ascended to heaven, and they knew that something was changing.   Before their eyes he was taken up in a cloud.  They were not abandoned but it might have left them feeling that way and somewhat vulnerable.

 

If you are thinking there is something significant about that cloud, you are right.  When the ancient Israelites were escaping slavery in Egypt and the Red Sea was parted, they were led and protected by a fire through the night and a cloud through the day.  Here in our story of Jesus, we see him lifted up in a cloud.  Throughout the scriptures there are instances of the “cloud”, and the people of God knew what it meant.  The cloud is the presence of God. 

 

When the Temple was built, the presence of God was there as a cloud.  In the book of Ezekiel there is a very definite parallel to our story today as the glory of God departs the temple in a cloud that moves to the mountain east of the city.  Guess which mountain is east of the city?  Mount Olivet!  The very mountain where the disciples were when they saw Jesus ascend.  It is no coincidence.  We are told that Jesus will come back in the same way that he was seen to go.

 

Before Jesus left he answered their question about restoration by saying that it is not for them – or us – to know the times.  In other words, it isn’t our role to know, but it isn’t that we do nothing.   These readings that we have been enjoying between resurrection Sunday and Pentecost are purposefully placed to teach us and to prepare us.  In the early church, in the 3^rd and 4^th century, there was a two -step initiation process.  resurrection Sunday was the time when new believers were baptised.   Then they would have this intensive time of teaching them to prepare them for the feast of Pentecost and the receiving of the Holy Spirit by the laying on of hands.   The tradition evolved to have many baptisms at the feast of Pentecost, such that it became known as “White Sunday” – or “Whitsunday”.  For us, baptism has moved to happen at any time and the laying on of hands for the Holy Spirit, is what we celebrate at our confirmation. 

 

Part of being a Street Chaplain means having an up-to-date first aid certificate.  Each year we have to re-do our CPR as well as some general first aid.  Every 3 years we all re-do full first aid.  Why?  Because we forget.  Each year in the church, we celebrate the feasts, especially Paschal tide and Pentecost, because the teachings about these are vital for our faith.  These teachings focus us to remember and stir up the gift of the Holy Spirit.

 

At the time of our Baptism we become a child of God and we chose to belong to God and in doing so we become born of God’s Spirit – Born Again -  which is one of the reasons this happens in water, because water is a symbol of life – just like we begin before birth, surrounded by water, so this water of baptism is a sign of the new birth in the Holy Spirit.  However, there is a differentiation from being born of the Spirit and receiving the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  In one case in the New Testament, the believers received the gift of the Holy Spirit first and then they were baptised, to signify, celebrate and seal what God had already done.  Through baptism we have ALL the Holy Spirit, but scripture makes a differentiation in the laying on of the hands for the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Also - having a gift and opening and using it are two different things.

 

Those disciples looking into the sky had been told that they would receive power to be the witnesses of Jesus when they received the Holy Spirit.  We too have received this power if we’ve been confirmed and had the laying on of hands at our confirmation, but often we haven’t had the chance or the knowledge to utilize this gift…. And in this “in between time” between resurrection and Pentecost, we are encouraged to stir up that gift. 

 

The power that the Holy Spirit was to bring, was the power to be the witnesses of Jesus.  When Jesus told his followers that it wasn’t for them to know the times, but they would receive power when the Holy Spirit came, he was telling them the same thing he tells us now; “YOU will receive power to complete all that I call you to, through the Holy Spirit.  You can not do any of this in your own strength”. 

 

Right now we are trying and striving, but wondering what we need to be effective in this modern world.  It isn’t that we don’t have correct theology.  It isn’t that we don’t have engaging services.  It isn’t that we need the latest tech gadgets…. It IS that we need to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

We need to go to Jerusalem – figuratively…. The place Jesus tells us.  Wait and Pray!  Everyday – wait and pray and be unified in our need for God and sure about the limits of our own efforts, but confident in the limitlessness of God’s Power.  This week lets commit to every day in prayer.  Let’s travel the journey to Pentecost with the disciples by being constantly in prayer asking God to send that Holy Spirit to give us courage to proclaim the Gospel truth, the message of Jesus, expecting the power of the Holy Spirit to convict the listeners….

The Advocate - the difference! 10th May 2026

2026  05  10  Easter 6 A

• Acts 17:22-31     Psalm 66:8-20     1 Peter 3:13-22      John 14:15-21

 

These readings between the resurrection and Pentecost are deliberately presented to us to teach us so that we prepare for the feast of Pentecost, and so that we can stir up that gift of the Holy Spirit that God has given us.  In today’s readings Jesus tells us he will send the Parakletos, translated as, advocate, and we are told He will be IN us.  If we are to grow as a church, it is imperative that we stir up this gift and rely on all that the Holy Spirit offers.

 

Our Bible study group has also been exploring this “in between” time.  It is a time of transition from “Pre Pentecost Poverty to Post Pentecost Power”.  We looked at the first time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after He rose from the dead, and He breathed on the disciples and said, “receive the Holy Spirit”.  Oooh and to find out all that was going on with that…. You need to join our Bible study group.  It’s been awesome!  Then we looked at what the disciples did next.  They had seen the risen Lord, and then Thomas had seen him, and they were told to meet Jesus in Galilee.  So, they went…. And nothing was happening…. So, they went fishing.  In other words, they went back to their old life.

 

We too might experience great things and get all keen and fired up, but then the event ends and we go back to the ways of yesterday.   We are much like the disciples in those days, unless we are empowered by the Holy Spirit.  Through our baptism we received the Holy Spirit, but do we live by the Holy Spirit?  It is the Holy Spirit that makes all the difference, but I wonder if we just don’t know how to live by the Spirit.  Perhaps the Holy Spirit is an unwrapped gift.  For Christmas I received an awesome gift.  I haven’t opened it, because I’m a bit afraid that I won’t know how to use it.  This is sometimes how we are with the Holy Spirit, and the gift remains, to some extent, unknown.

 

Speaking of unknown, St. Paul in our first reading, addresses a very spiritual group of people who worship many gods, including an unknown God.  Because St. Paul is filled with the Holy Spirit and living by the Spirit, he is empowered to clarify and reveal just exactly who is this formally unknown God.  One of the things that the Holy Spirit does is that He gives us the right words at the right time.  The result in St. Paul, is that we see him creatively build on what the people already know.  He meets these people where they are at and proclaims the Good News of Jesus Christ.  In doing so he doesn’t hold back in letting them know that their former religion was wrong, as he tells them that in the past God overlooked such ignorance, but he now commands all people everywhere to repent. 

 

St. Peter, in our 2^nd reading talks about telling the Good News to others in gentleness and respect.  Was St. Paul respectful when he gave his speech?  By todays’ standards critics might say that St. Paul was being “hateful”.  Their basis being the common belief that neither one religion nor the other is any more valid than each other.  Paul knew that he was actually being respectful, loving and merciful.  Here is why; Consider the context, these were a people who were worshiping idols.  Paul was someone who previously had his own strong ideas on God and how the spiritual world worked.  Paul didn’t worship idols.  He worshiped the one true God, but as a pharisee and a religious leader, he was persecuting Christians believing that they were a threat to his religion and the one true God.  However, as Paul was going to round up some of those pesky Christians, God struck Paul down and revealed himself to Paul, as JESUS. 

 

Paul knew, because of this, that what God says, as revealed through Jesus is the truth, and that Jesus is the Messiah – the Saviour who died to save us.  He discovered that Jesus is God…  and Jesus is IN the father and, when, in that encounter, Jesus said to Paul, “Why are you persecuting me?”, Paul understood that Jesus is in us and we in him.  Paul also knew that God, although merciful, has boundaries.  Paul, himself, experienced both God’s judgement and mercy on that day that God struck him.  Paul knew God has a day when God will have the world judged by Jesus.  Paul is not only proclaiming the Good News about Jesus, but he is aiming to prevent others from making his own mistakes.  As respectful and loving as we can be, if we are truly loving people, there will be times that we need to speak the truth in love as we proclaim God’s truth.

 

As we speak to people, we remember God’s far-reaching mercy.  St. Peter tells us about those who drowned in the flood.  At that time, God looked at the intense evil in the world and he pronounced judgement.  Only 8, the family of Noah, were saved.  But just as you might be thinking about the eternal state of those who died, we read that Jesus went and made a proclamation to the spirits in prison.  God always respects our free will, and yet he makes every effort and opportunity to save us.  He is the Good Shepherd who actively pursues us to bestow on us his goodness and mercy.  God is merciful and loves us all more than we can imagine.  If there is a way for people to come to know of God’s saving grace, God will do it.  But here is where we need to be challenged, because now that baton has been passed; we are the body of Christ on earth, and we are to be his voice and proclaim his message to those around us. 

 

St Paul’s message to the Athenians began with a complimentary statement of truth about the people, "Athenians, I see how extremely spiritual you are in every way.  For as I went through the city and looked carefully at the objects of your worship, I found among them an altar with the inscription, 'To an unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”  These Athenians did not need another philosophical idea.  They did not need another god to worship.  In our community we have the same.  We have SO many “religions” and New Age philosophies, why would we proclaim Christianity to people?  In the 19^th century a new religion arose that blended the best of all the religious ideas – aiming to create unity -  they sometimes even sound Christian.  It sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?  but so did that fruit in the garden of Eden!  Either Jesus is God and is who he says he is, or any idea will do.  And if Jesus is who he says he is, we need to be absolutely uncompromising on that truth.  Why?  Because Jesus sacrificed his life to bring us life and to bring us eternal life.  It was price no one else can pay.   Peter tells us, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, in order to bring you to God.” That is an absolute and serious statement.  Unless we are very clear and understand what and who we are, we are only passing on to people another “idea”.   What we all need is the truth.  The ONE truth.

 

In our Gospel reading Jesus says, “On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”  Here is the difference and the heart of what it is to be a Christian.  These are words that we hear often, but not something we often explain.  Essentially, what is being announced here, is that Christianity is not a mere religion.  Christianity is more than a group of people who adhere to some philosophical understanding about the spiritual and physical life and how everything works.  Christianity is God alive and living in and through us.  He does this by His Holy Spirit.

 

Unless God’s Holy Spirit is alive and living in and through us, we are not actually Christians, we are merely adherents to the Christian philosophy  - onlookers. Colossians 1:27 says, “"Christ in you, the hope of glory".  It is through Christ who lives in us and through us, by the Holy Spirit, that is EVERYTHING. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, helper, advocate, guide.  The Holy Spirit is our eternal life already present.  The Bible describes it as the deposit guaranteeing our eternal life.   But it is also how God transforms us.

 

Through the Holy Spirit living in and through us, God empowers us to achieve his purpose – if we let him.  Can any of us in our own strength do this?  I don’t believe so.  And God will never over-ride our free will, and so, for the Holy Spirit to do anything in our lives, we need to give our expressed permission – Without it we are like a house with all the power of electricity but never turning on the switch.  Jesus commissions us to go and make disciples, but he never intended for us to do this in our own strength.  As we journey to Pentecost, lets stir up the gift we have, use our free will to flick on the power that is already in us, by thanking Jesus for the advocate, the Holy Spirit.