Pentecost by Jean Restout II, 1732 - The Louvre Museum, Paris, France
Today we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday but this isn’t the first time the Spirit of God appears.
In John’s Gospel, chapter 20, it says that when Jesus first appears to his disciples following his resurrection that he breathes on them and they receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22). And, in the first chapter of Genesis, the creating Spirit of God sweeps over the primordial waters (Genesis 1:2). So the story we tell today, the story of Pentecost and the birth of the church is when the Spirit, already active in history, inspires a group of people.
I want to invite each of us today to go back to that day in our minds...to imagine ourselves as the first followers of Jesus in that upper room.
So to begin, I invite you to make yourself comfortable. As you are comfortable, go ahead and close your eyes. Place your hands lightly in lap, rest your feet flat on the floor, relax your shoulders and back and sit deeply into your seat. Take a deep breath in and let it out. Focus on your breathing for a moment.
Now imagine yourself in the upper room with the disciples...
Dawn is breaking over Jerusalem and a shard of light breaks through a crack in the shutters. It is here that you and the others have waited obediently, locked away. You hear the faint sounds as the Holy City wakes up around you, yet here in this room, there is an eerie stillness.
Cluttered thoughts and a hard floor have allowed you little sleep. Those around you sit hunched, their lips motion in silent prayer. Some simply stare forward, brooding.
The last nine days have passed slowly. Everyone arrived with such great expectation, ready to receive the power that the master had promised. His words echo through your mind still.
"Do not leave Jerusalem...You will be baptised with the Holy Spirit!"
Jesus had been so calm and assured, promising an even greater future. But how can anything be better without him? Doubt is stalking in the shadows. Perhaps some are close to giving up and heading home.
Your mind takes you back to those glorious forty days when Jesus, resurrected and alive, had walked by your side once again. Surges of joy and delight had rushed through your body whenever he had appeared. But now, it seems so hard to recapture those feelings and the peace they brought.
You mull over the feelings of guilt for when your friend was most in need, in agony, you were nowhere to be seen. You had left him to suffer alone. And yet, despite that, Jesus never gave up on you.
This time you will not let him down. You will stay and wait, trusting in what he has next, no matter how long it takes to arrive.
You are suddenly startled as a fist crashes into the wooden table in the centre of the room.
"When? When will it be?" Simon Peter cries out. His patience is waning. He hauls himself up and moves towards the window. He peers down into the street below. His voice is hushed but you are close enough to hear him
"How did he expect us to speak for him?? It will be a miracle if we even make it out of Jerusalem with our lives."
He shudders and his head droops. You know his thoughts. You have shared in them. Perhaps there will be more crosses to carry soon.
You are distracted by a coolness on your cheek. A breeze begins to whisper through your hair. Others have clearly felt it too and begin to stir.
Without further warning, the room becomes a melee of panic and scrambling bodies. The whole place is blasted by a wind more violent than any raging storm.
Your heart pounds within your chest. Your alarm is infused with an excitement, a realisation that what was promised has arrived!
The whole building shudders and with a deafening roar, a blazing mass of flame engulfs the ceiling above you! Your mind is racing.
Streaks of fire suddenly lash down onto each person and as you brace for the shock of pain. Instead, you feel as if a cloak has wrapped itself tightly around you and an indescribable force jolts through your body. It is a familiar sensation... the same feeling you felt seeing Jesus risen, being in his presence.
It is undeniable. His Spirit is here with you, filling every part of your being. A heat burns in your chest. A certainty of his love saturates you with joy. It feels like those times when you and he were together. The moments of laughter. The moments when you saw his healing hand transform lives...and yet this is more intense, not like he is by your side, but within you.
The elation rises. You know who Jesus truly is and you cannot bear to keep it contained any longer. You shout his name in praise, crying out the truth of what you know. Your words, however, sound different to the way you expected.
For the first time you become aware of your companions in the room. They too are shouting with ecstatic expressions on their faces. They must feel it too. You hear their words. It is not their normal tongue and yet you clearly understand them.
"Jesus Christ is Lord!" someone yells.
"He rose from the grave!" declares another.
Your eyes connect with those of your friends. The wind still swirls and yet laughter and cheers of delight are now woven into the turbulence. There is no need for quiet, no fear of discovery, no desire to hide away. None of that matters anymore. You know the truth and all you want to do is share it.
Now take a deep breath in and breath out. Slowly open your eyes.
I invite you, brothers and sisters, wherever you are. Be inspired to share the Spirit of Love for it is a Spirit which expands across the world and throughout history. It is a Spirit that can not be contained. Amen.
+Cynthia MacLachlan
1 The guided meditation is adapted from “A Guided Meditation for Pentecost Sunday” by Greg Finn, Youth 2000, 31 May 2020. For the full version, please see http://youth2000.blogspot.com/2020/05/send-forth-your-spirit-guided.html?m=1