Every Sunday we say the Nicene Creed, a summary of what we believe. Towards the end, we declare that we believe in “the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and glorified, and who has spoken through the prophets”.
About whom are we speaking? The Holy Spirit! The gift of God to the people of God – poured out 2,000 years ago on the day of Pentecost.
In our tradition, Pentecost is not only a Sunday of celebration, but also a “season” of the Church Year – the longest in fact – stretching about six months from the end of Easter right to the beginning of Advent. And this Sunday, May 23, is Pentecost Sunday. The day we remember and celebrate God’s extraordinary gift of pouring out His Spirit upon Jesus’ followers.
Up until Pentecost, we read about the Holy Spirit coming to specific individuals to rest upon them in a limited way, for a specific task or assignment. But at Pentecost, God sent His Spirit to live within believers – to indwell and empower us for service. And so at Advent and Christmas we celebrate Emmanuel – God with us – but at Pentecost we celebrate the Holy Spirit: God in us.
In speaking about the coming of the Spirit, Jesus said it so clearly: “He will not only be with you, but He will live within you (John 14:17).
This is the wonder of Pentecost. And we look forward to celebrating it with you this Sunday (and the next six months). All the details are noted below.
Happy Pentecost!
Your Truro Clergy