The Feast of Pentecost

Acts 2:1-21

The Coming of the Holy Spirit

2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem. 6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each. 7 Amazed and astonished, they asked, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that we hear, each of us, in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—in our own languages we hear them speaking about God’s deeds of power.” 12 All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine.”

14 But Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them, “Men of Judea and all who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen to what I say. 15 Indeed, these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. 16 No, this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel:

17 ‘In the last days it will be, God declares,

that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh,

and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams.

18 Even upon my slaves, both men and women,

in those days I will pour out my Spirit;

and they shall prophesy.

19 And I will show portents in the heaven above

and signs on the earth below,

blood, and fire, and smoky mist.

20 The sun shall be turned to darkness

and the moon to blood,

before the coming of the Lord’s great and glorious day.

21 Then everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’

One day at the height of summer euphoria I was outside with the kids under a sunny sky, my ears were full of the delightful sounds of children contented by sandboxes and water spraying and backyard swings (I really do love summer).  In the midst of all playing I  overheard a little song coming from the tent under the pear tree. I was curious so I inched nearer the tent and the words of the song fell so beautifully on my ears: "I love you, Holy Spirit, you are always with me, you help me not to be afraid..." The song went on and on sometimes in two parts sometimes one voice carrying the melody; I stood outside the tent overwhelmed by the beauty of their worship to God.  If I had heard something like this from children only once or twice maybe I would just think of this as a nice story.  But, as I have spent time with young children I have discovered that this is not so uncommon.  I think children are often quite well acquainted with the Spirit. Spend some time listening to them and you might discover a depth of feeling and a richness of experience that surprises and delights you. There have been many times where a child has said something that I have felt was a word from God. On one occasion after a particularly long day of teaching I sat down at the kitchen table and without uttering a word (which is unusual for me) I dropped my head into my hands.   Not soon after I felt a little hand on my back and a wee voice said, "Mommy, I think you are a good teacher." Those words went straight to my heart; I recognized immediately that the Spirit was speaking a word of encouragement to me through my child.  Maybe you have a simple story like this or perhaps your child has had a dream or a vision from God or a song in their heart.  Do not discount this!  I would encourage you to listen, to ponder, and to be prayerful.  As we gather this week we have an opportunity to consider the gift, the mystery of Holy Spirit and to learn together with the children.

Our story today opens in dramatic fashion, a sound like the rush of a violent wind, divided tongues as of fire, each of the people in the room speaking in other languages, a large crowd gathering at the noise and commotion and causing further noise and commotion!  Wind and Fire are symbols of the Holy Spirit, you may want to spend some time thinking about them with the children.  The Spirit is like a wind, blowing into us the breath that we need to live, just as the breath of God created the world and gave life to Adam so the the Spirit gives us life to us.  Indeed God is as close to us as our very breath.  The Spirit is also like a flame burning in us - it is the way our hearts burn within us when the word of God is opened to us, it is the joy that comes from deep within and you feel truly alive, it is the gentle sustaining, the strength to go on when you feel like you cannot take one more step.  The Spirit is like a light showing us how to live in the way that God wants for us.  At baptism we are given a candle, the light of Christ and a reminder of the flame of Christ within us.

Now the Holy Spirit came to the disciples and their friends as they were gathered together.  At the same time as the believers were together many Jewish people from all over were also gathering in Jerusalem to celebrate the Festival of Weeks.  Now because Jewish people had come from far and wide there were many languages heard in the city.  You could be walking down the street and hear people talking and have no idea what they were saying.  Remember the tower of Babel - how people were given different languages and they had little idea what they were saying to each other and they had to abandon the tower they were building.  Well, today at Pentecost that curse is reversed!  As the Holy Spirit came upon the believers they began to speak in different languages and all of these people from foreign lands heard their language!  Now, because many, many people in the world speak or understand some English probably very few of us have had the experience of being in a foreign land and having a language barrier, but if you have you know it can be a very isolating experience, indeed it can be very challenging to share life with one another when you don't share a common language.  AND when you finally hearing your language spoken well it is so wonderful, it kind of sounds like coming home! It fills your heart with such joy to be able to communicate that in your enthusiasm you might find the words just tumbling out one on top of the other.  (Maybe you can ask the children in your class how many people speak a language other than English; perhaps some will even be willing to speak and share their language with your class.)  So these believers began to speak about Jesus and everyone heard the same message! The Holy Spirit brings a connectedness between people.  The Spirit brings us together as the church to show people who God is; to enact his mercy and love in the world, to share with other who Jesus is.  Only through the deep mystery of the Holy Spirit can believers from all over the world come together and worship God as one body.  The Holy Spirit also connects us to life with God in the mystery of the Holy Trinity.  "Through the gift of the Holy Spirit, so Paul tells us, we're able to share the prayer that Jesus prays.  When we say "Our Father" we're jumping into that great mystery, that depth of eternal prayer, which Christ gives to the Father.  It really is like hurtling ourselves into a river flowing towards the mystery, flowing towards a kind of waterfall over which the water drops forever and ever.  The prayer of the eternal Christ to the eternal Father.  That's what the Holy Spirit shares with us." (Rowan Williams)

On the day of Pentecost the reaction of the crowd was varied, some were amazed and received Christ others were cynical and mocking.  We know about this tendency towards cynicism, all too easily we find ourselves standing back, looking on with skepticism and choosing to sneer. And to the crowd Peter spoke the words of the prophet Joel to all gathered: "I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men will see visions and your old men will dream dreams." May God give us his words to speak, give us his vision and dreams, filled with his Spirit that we might show the world the love of God.

Today we celebrate the birthday of the church!  Let us be sure to remind the children that the church is not our physical building but the people of God gathered around the world.  Maybe you want to look at a map, talk about all the places people in your class have connection to around the world.  Perhaps you have a story to share about the church in another part of the world. Children might mention the church in Haiti as we have spoken quite a lot about of our brothers and sisters there.

Here is how the Jesus Storybook Bible tells the story of Pentecost:

Suddenly, a strong wind filled the little room, whistling through the walls, rustling straw on the floor.  And there on everyone's heads, shining in the gloom were flickering flames.  Fire that did not hurt or burn.  And something more, in their hearts they felt a strange heat, almost as if the coldness and hardness were melting away.  As if their broken hearts were mending.  And God was giving them brand new hearts - hearts that could work properly.  How it happened they didn't know, but they knew God's power had struck their hearts ablaze - and Jesus himself was coming to live inside them.  they had seen Jesus go away, but now he was closer than he had ever been - inside their hearts.  And this time nothing could ever separate them.  Jesus would always be there. With them. Loving them. Whispering the promise that would get rid of the poison and the terrible lie and sickness in their hearts.  God's wonderful promise to them: "you are my child and I love you".  "Make my home in me, as I make my home in you," Jesus had said.  Could it be? Heaven was coming into their hearts. They threw open the shutters sunlight flooded their room as love flooded their hearts.  And the little room was filled with happy noises. Dancing feet, singing, laughing.  They unlocked the door and surged out into the streets - as if they had never been afraid.

Peter spoke in a loud voice, so everyone could hear: "Jesus died for you! Because he loves you God made him alive again.  He has rescued you!"  People stopped.  And listened.  The words sank down deep into their hears and worked like medicine that makes you well.  Like a kiss that wakes you up from a deep sleep.  "Stop running away from God," Peter said, "Run to him instead! So he can love you and make you free!"  And Peter told them the wonderful story of God's love.  How Jesus had come and all that had happened.

There were lots of people from faraway countries in Jerusalem.  They couldn't speak the same language but as they listened to Peter, everyone could understand what he was saying in their own languages!  Many people believed.  And became Jesus' new friends and helpers.  And the wonderful news of Jesus spread.  Like sparks from a fire. To villages. Towns. Cities.  Every day more and more people believed.  And so it was that the family of God's children, his special people, grew.  And nothing in the world would ever be able to stop it.

- Sally Lloyd- Jones

HAPPY PENTECOST!

Acsension of Our Lord

Acts 1:6-11 - The Ascension of Jesus

The Ascension of Jesus

So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?"  He replied, "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."  When he said this, as they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  While he was going and they were gazing up toward heaven, suddenly two men in white robes stood by them.  They said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven?  This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way you saw him go into heaven." Acts 1:6-11

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Today (Thursday) is the Feast of Ascension and this Sunday we will reflect on the Ascension of Christ together with the children.  Our season of Easter tide is coming to a close, forty days have passed since the resurrection of Christ and throughout this time he has made appearances to his followers, stretching out his hands to them, breaking bread with them, restoring them, opening the word to them, speaking about the kingdom of God and the coming of the Holy Spirit.  In these Easter stories Jesus often appears unexpectedly: to the women at the tomb, to the disciples in the upper room and then to Thomas. e cooks breakfast on the beach, meets the travellers on the way to Emmaus and at the end of this period he leaves them in a cloud of glory with his words burning in their hearts:

"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."

As I have contemplated this story I have wondered what it would have been like to witness the ascension - that particular time when the veil between this world and the world to come became very small and God's glory broke through.  I suspect it would have been all at once unsettling, overwhelming and mysterious. I think I might have stood weak kneed and slack jawed.  But perhaps as I went back with the other disciples and talked and prayed I would see it more and more as the gift, the revelation God intended it to be. And it would continue to minister to me and to teach me throughout my own ministry.  Perhaps after I had absorbed the wonder of the clouds and the vision of Jesus being lifted up before me I would remember Moses and the cloud that settled on the tabernacle; the glory of the Lord - a sign of his divine presence.  As I spoke with the others I would remember the words of the prophets, and the prophet Elijah who was taken to heaven in a chariot and great whirlwind. I would remember the voice of God from the mount of transfiguration saying, "this is my Son, my chosen, listen to him."  And the ascension would become weighted with meaning and beauty that "Jesus would take Earth, in his own person, in his own human body right into heaven" and then we would pray and wait for Spirit is "the life of heaven manifest and powerful here on Earth." (NT Wright). 

I imagine the disciples struggled mightily with fear as they waited for the promised Holy Spirit. I imagine them gathered together and praying as they had been taught:

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed by thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven, Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.  For thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever and ever.

... Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  This Kingdom of God subverts the powers of the kingdoms and rulers on earth; it always has.  Jesus came to us as a baby, he was baptized by John and the Spirit came upon him. To those who believed he was a healer, prophet, teacher, leader, saviour, companion, the Messiah. He was crucified King of the Jews, rose on the third day and he has just ascended before our very eyes to the right hand of the Father.  We have glimpsed this Kingdom in Christ. It is a Kingdom where the God reigns with love, with justice and in truth, where not one person is overlooked, where people are made whole, where all of creation is made new.  God will send his Spirit, soon, very soon. There is anticipation amongst our people as we pray; there is a longing for this Kingdom; there is an energy that is palpable.  We hold closely to one another and to the Word.

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..."

"You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth..."

But how, Lord, we wonder as we wait....

Ascension Day

We saw his light break through the could of glory

Whilst we were rooted still in time and place,

As earth became a part of heaven's story

And heaven opened to his human face.

We saw him go and yet we were not parted,

He took us with him to the heart of things,

The heart that broke for all the broken hearted

is whole and heaven-centred now, and sings;

Sings in the strength that rises out of weakness,

Sings through the cloud that veils him from our sight,

Whilst we ourselves become his cloud of witness

And sing the waning darkness into light;

His light in us and ours in him concealed,

Which all creation waits to see revealed.

Malcolm Guite

Ascension and Pentecost are closely linked and I am grateful that the texts of the last couple of weeks have been leading us towards Pentecost. This week as we gather with the children, we celebrate the Ascension of Christ; we give thanks for his life, his death, resurrection, ascension in glory to the right hand of the Father.  We reflect on the time that we live in, the age of the church; what it means that we bear witness to Christ; to be a people who reveal the justice, mercy, love, wholeness of God's Kingdom in our city.

Here are some ideas on how we might teach on the life of Christ and his ascension today:

(from Carolyn Brown)

1.  Gather some images or props from Christ's Life: his birth, his baptism, his ministry, death, resurrection, ascension.  Take some time to share some things you have learned this year about the life of Christ.

2.  Where is Jesus now?  He sits at the right hand of the Father.  People have not seen Jesus since he ascended but people do see Jesus in dreams and visions.  Jesus will come again in the same way he left.  Take some time to think look up some of the references to clouds and the glory of God.  Give children the opportunity to have a creative response to this.

3.  Using the image of passing the baton in a relay race you can discuss with your class, Jesus finishing his leg of the race and passing the baton on to the disciples, to the church.  You could have kids run around a space and pass the baton to illustrate this. How does the church carry on Jesus' work today?

4.  Witness!  What is a witness? Have you ever been a witness to something joyful and good or even to something difficult?  What was this like? How are we witnesses to the love of God?

5.  Why are you looking Up?  This question is a reminder that God is with us, he is all around us wherever we are.  Everywhere we go we can look for where God is at work and we can join him.  It might be in caring for the earth, in gardening this summer, it might be in kindness you show someone, in standing up for what is right or including someone who doesn't have many friends in your group, it might be in welcoming someone who is new in your neighborhood this summer, it might be in helping your mom or dad, it might be that you look around, see where God is and give thanks.

6.  You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth!  How would this group of disciples begin the work of sharing the gospel with the world?  How do we share the gospel today?  Have your friends ever asked you about God or what it means to be a Christian?  You might want to share a story of a missionary that has impacted your life.