The Holy Spirit of God is and will always be a mystery. Mystery is good, it excites the imagination! Mystery is also frustrating, because we can’t pin it down - it won’t allow itself to be analysed or recorded like data. Some of you might remember the line of a song by Donovan in the 60’s - ‘Ah but I may as well try and catch the wind’.

Mystery is like the wind. It’s a good analogy for the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, “The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8).

Our reading today said ‘Suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting!’ (Acts 2:2)

And so the Holy Spirit might be compared to the wind, sometimes strong and exhilarating, at times calm and gentle. We might notice it’s effects on the surface of the water, but we never know how deeply it affects it. We may not be conscious of it’s presence at all.

Our own experiences of the indwelling Holy Spirit vary accordingly. It’s not always easy to put them into words, and being so personal we might keep them to ourselves.

I wonder what you notice today about the Holy Spirit from our readings. Maybe write down a word or two as they come to you:

From Acts - They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. (Acts 2:3)

They were filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke in various languages as the Spirit enabled them, so that those from other nations could all hear the message without a translator. (v 4-6)

Those who witnessed it were bewildered, amazed and perplexed. (v 6, 12).

Peter stood up with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd. (v 14)

From Corinthians:

Nobody can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Corinthians 12:3)

‘There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.’ (v 4)

‘To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good... these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.’ (v 7,11)

We were all baptised by one Spirit so as to form one body ... and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.’ (v 13)

From John: ‘Jesus said “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me... rivers of living water will flow from within them.”

By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.’ (John 7:37-39)

There’s a lot to notice in those verses. Each one of us may have had something revealed to us by the Holy Spirit as they were being read, or if not yet, it may come to us later - another day, another month, or another year. God’s time is not our time.

For me, I’ve learned the truth of the mystery, that when we trust in God, continue to follow Jesus, and constantly invite the Holy Spirit into our lives we will be given spiritual gifts in their season and we will be guided to where God wants us to be.

I will give you two personal examples:

Twenty years ago we were in North Norfolk on holiday. We visited Sheringham. We had no plans to move here, we were on a break from work. As I walked into the town I passed St Peter’s church, found it open, and went in to pray. God the Holy Spirit gave me such a profound blessing that day, that when we moved to the area two years later I knew where God wanted me to worship.

Prior to that, I had been on an Alpha course during a 4 year exploration of faith. On the day the team talked about God the Holy Spirit, they prayed for each one of us, simply saying ‘Come, Holy Spirit.’

I will conclude by reading you the poem I wrote at the time about what I experienced on Holy Spirit day:

Come, Spirit.....

Unimaginable joy, elation,

An amazing sensation,

Heart nearly bursting with love.

Tingling fingers and toes,

Filled with light that never goes,

Poured down from Heaven above.

So honoured, so humbled,

Emotions have crumbled,

Hungry and thirsty for more.

Graceful Spirit of power

Connecting me every hour

To the wonderful God I adore.

Amen.

Julie Rubidge, Lay Minister