Scripture & Reflection: Sunday 8th June and for the week ahead:ScriptureWhen the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 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. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability. (Acts 2:1-4)ReflectionIt is difficult to get our heads around something as abstract as the coming of the Holy Spirit to those first disciples. Locked away in a room….and waiting. And waiting. When suddenly…. “Tongues of fire” appeared; and there was a rushing wind in the room, in the entire house! These things imply energy and power; movement and dynamism. At one and the same time the image of the fire is both communal and individual. All were filled with the Spirit, yet a tongue of fire fell on each one of them separately.God, through the Holy Spirit, recognises us as individuals. He gives each of us our own gifts. Together, though, we are more than the sum of our separate identities. (“Gestalt Theory”, if you care to look it up!) But….do we recognise these gifts given by God: in ourselves, or in each other? Do we use them; do we encourage them in others? May you experience the Holy Spirit – however He chooses to reveal Himself to you; may you be filled with God’s energy and go out and serve Him….for the good of all.Revd David
Scripture & Reflection: Sunday 1st June and for the week ahead:Scripture: ‘When [the Romans] had brought Paul and Silas before the magistrates, they said, ‘These men are disturbing our city; they are Jews and are advocating customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to adopt or observe.’ The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates had them stripped of their clothing and ordered them to be beaten with rods. After they had given them a severe flogging, they threw them into prison and ordered the jailer to keep them securely. Following these instructions, he put them in the innermost cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them... ‘ (Acts of the Apostles 16.20-25)Reflection:While the Gospels recount the earthly life and ministry of Jesus, Acts is all about what his followers did when Jesus was no longer physically present with them. We read that after offending the Romans Paul and Silas, stripped, severely beaten and imprisoned, spent the night ‘praying and singing hymns to God’. No wonder the prisoners were listening to the them. How could they possibly make sense of it? The absolute faith and endurance of the disciples is surely the greatest proof of the reality of the Resurrection. Nobody would endure such suffering if they were not totally certain of the truth of what they proclaimed. Though they no longer saw Jesus they knew his loving and sustaining Spirit with them in every part of their lives. Let us pray that we too may know the presence of the Holy Spirit to give us courage and strength in whatever we are called to endure. Revd Rosemary
