Weekly for 28 May 2023 (Pentecost)

Dear People of God

Grace and Peace to you all

The Annual (Silent) Retreat this past week was excellent. It is a real opportunity to recharge the spiritual batteries. Bishop Jeremy James, the Bishop of Willochra (which covers all of South Australia beyond the limits of Adelaide and the Murray Valley) was the conductor. In my time I can count probably no more than three priests whose wise and gentle counsel was outstanding: he is one of them. (The other two are Canon Victor Pitcher, whom some of you may have known, and Bishop Geoffrey Parker, whom most of you will probably remember).

ADVANCE NOTICE. Bishop Peter will be making his Diocesan Episcopal Visit to Beresfield-Thornton on 18 June, when he would like to meet and greet as many of us as possible. He has also expressed a willingness to be interviewed and, to quote him, “I am happy for this to be part of the service and I don’t need the questions in advance”.

URGENT NOTICE. The Parish Luncheon is NEXT WEDNESDAY. So far there are more people from outside the parish than our own parishioners who have indicated their attendance. PLEASE PLACE YOUR NAME ON THE SIGN-UP SHEET AT THE ENTRY TO THE CHURCH.

This Sunday is the FEAST OF PENTECOST. If you have some red-coloured clothing is an appropriate day on which to wear it to church (as long as it’s decent!) Some people describe this Feast as the “Birthday of the Christian Church”: I’m not happy with this description as I think it is far more complex than this.

Parish Council last Sunday made a couple of significant decisions. As a part of our proposal for a YOUTH WORKER, in association with Morpeth and Raymond Terrace parishes, we have resolved to appoint a Youth Advisory Committee, comprising a couple of people from our target area (years 7-11 high school age) to advise on the sorts of programmes and issues which they would like to see happen in a Youth Program. I cannot stress too highly the need to make serious contacts with the young people in the ever-growing population of our parochial area. There is no point in those of us of “more mature years” deciding what young people want to do and engage in, because we will miss the target completely if we take this approach. Recruiting is under way.

We have also established a Ministry Development Committee (the Clergy, Gabby Holland and Rachel Walker with more to be co-opted as the need arises) to consider strategies and actions required to increase the overall effectiveness of the overall parish ministry. This is not simply the role for the clergy: we are ALL to be engaged in the total ministry of Jesus Christ in this place. How we go about this is the responsibility of all of us.

The Lord be with you

Fr George

0410 586 119

gmainprize@bigpond.com

PROPERS for PENTECOST

Sentence

“Let anyone who is thirsty come to me” says the Lord; “and let the one who believes in me drink. For out of your heart shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn 7:38)

COLLECT

Almighty God, at the feast of Pentecost you sent your Holy Spirit to the disciples, filling them with joy and boldness to preach the gospel: empower us wit that same Spirit to witness to your redeeming love and draw all people to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

READINGS

Acts 2:1-21 The gift of the Spirit at Pentecost

Psalm 104:26-36 God is the lord of all creation

1 Corinthians 12:1-13 The gifts of the Spirit are for the whole Church

John 20-19-23 Jesus breathes the Spirit and commissions the disciples

SERMON (Fr George)

In the Name of God. Amen

We have two accounts of the gift of the Holy Spirit in today’s readings. In the gospel reading we hear of the risen Lord breathing on the disciples with the phrase “Receive the Holy Spirit….” the words used in the ordination of priests in our rites. In the reading from Acts we hear the story of the tongues of fire and the public preaching of the apostles.

If you want to mark something as the “birthday” of the Church, call it an occasion of two celebrations. To use the parallel of the ordination of priests, in the rite of ordination the priest is created, and then sent out to DO something. There is a commission and there is an activation.

The giving of the Spirit is not something limited to the Apostles. Both accounts mention “they were gathered in the upper room”, and it is clearly implied that the mixed band included people other than the eleven apostles. If you want to start a debate, or even heated argument, in certain circles, just suggest that the “tongues as of fire” would also have settled on the women present!

What are these gifts and what are they for? I know that in Pentecostal or Charismatic circles there seems to be a strong emphasis on the gift of tongues: indeed some would even insist that unless that unless you “speak in tongues” you have not really been “baptised in the Spirit”. I hasten to point out that we have ALL received the Spirit when we were baptised with water “in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit”.

Imagine yourself in the crowd gathered in Jerusalem for the festival marking 50 days after Passover. Here’s a collection of people astonished at the behaviour of the Jesus band and what’s more hearing what they are saying. The scoffers say “they are drunk”: an easy write-off for something you fail to understand. I’m not sure whether the apostles (and the spokespeople would all have been men n that culture) were actually speaking in languages they did not previously speak or what and how the hearers were understanding them. Many or most people living in a mixed society would have spoken second language than Aramaic, the local dialect. Commercial Greek was widely spoken, as well as a mixture of other local languages. Those of us who are Anglophones are put to shame by many others who speak two, three or even more languages in our own local communities. The enthusiasm of the apostolic band was obvious! One way or another the message was getting across!

The gifts of the Spirit are not given to individuals for their private use. We are called into community, not a collection of individuals. When we turn to the reading from the letter to the church in Corinth we see Paul’s emphasis om the life of the Body of Christ as a whole. We are not simply a bunch of individuals but, as Paul is at pains to point out elsewhere, we belong together and when we act together, each performing our own function, that is, exercising our own particular ministry, then, and only then, the whole body does what it is made to do.

It may surprise some of you to know that every gift necessary for the ministry of this parish, which is a local manifestation of the Body of Christ, the Church, is present right here and now. When there is a need for a particular ministry gift it is activated: it may have been dormant in an individual and emerge as required, it may come with the arrival of another person. Not all gifts are actively present at any one time, but they are all available when needed. Take a look around you, not necessarily right at this instant, but everything we need to be the Body of Christ in this parish is here in this parish, or available to it. Yes, there are people with the gift to teach the young, there are people with gifts of healing, there are people with gifts of communication (call it the gift of tongues if you will, but they can get a message across).

Maybe it needs someone with the gift of discernment to be able to say to someone “It seems to me that you have the gift of …. now go and do something about it”

So when we stand later in this service and say “We are the Body of Christ, his Spirit is with us” and go on to share the Peace of Christ, just take a moment to realise that together we are called to a very effective ministry in Beresfield-Thornton, and for this grace all thanks be to God.

Amen

INTERCESSIONS (Church of England, and local biddings)

In peace, let us pray in the power of the Holy Spirit, for God’s world, the Church and for all people:

Saviour of the world, be present in all places of suffering, violence and pain, and bring us hope, even in the darkest night in Ukraine, Syria, the Land of the Holy One, all refugees

Inspire us to continue your work of reconciliation today.