Rapidly spreading

 ‘As the Father has sent me, so I send you’ (John 20:21)

John 20:19-23 (Year A: Pentecost Sunday 4^th June 2017)

One day there was a commotion in Jerusalem. According to the account in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-13), the crowds who were alerted to a disorderly scene were perplexed and shocked. This, many of them might have concluded, would be a case of something equivalent to a modern day rave party where persons of unstable comportment emerge into broad daylight clearly heavily dosed on something. But, this tumult was not the result of some ‘new wine’ or modern-day equivalent. Something extraordinary had entered into the mind, hearts and wills of the disciples gathered together in one place and holding in prayer and trust to the hope that had been pledged to them a short while previously.

This was delivery time. And delivery it would be in plenty. The only way it could be described by those experiencing this or by those observing it nearby, is in terms of fire, energy, joy, outpouring and life. Tongues were opened, minds and hearts set free and a torrent of infectious love overflowed. Only those touched, healed and brought back to life by this experience could begin to understand what Pentecost is about. It is not some obscure religious feast day that happens to fall 50 days after Easter and in which some imaginative language about an image of a white bird is used. The feast of the Holy Spirit is the birthday of church – not some stuffy, static and set-in-stone institution that puzzles, amuses and annoys post-modern culture. Rather, it is the birthday of a powerful movement of compassion flowing out from the empty Cross of the Risen Christ just as lava flows rapidly down a volcano mountain.

We may note that the promise and delivery of the Holy Spirit in this short Gospel passage is set against a scene of great fear and closure. Doors to minds and hearts were locked out of fear and ignorance.  However, standing among the small band of disciples was the Risen Lord who gives peace and the sight of whom gave enormous joy to the disciples.

In this passage three ideas appear in quick succession: Fear, Peace, Sending-out.

Fear is present all throughout the time from Easter to Pentecost as the disciples huddle together – unsure, fearful of forces outside or fearful of what is to come.  Immediately and everywhere peace is the first and final gift of the risen Lord who stands in our midst among us. Sending out is the pressing task entrusted to the disciples. And to us today….

Battered, bruised, unsure, anxious – we are called out of those places of comfort and refuge.  Being sent out full of the Holy Spirit is not a facile evangelism characterised by emotionalism, preachiness and self-righteousness. It is about a quiet, strong, determined heart to bear witness to a treasure that is within each of us and is calling us out.

Twice Jesus declares ‘peace be with you’ before ‘breathing’ on his friends the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins. So often we strive for the higher gifts of wisdom, courage and healing. Yet, to receive graciously that peace which surpasses all is merely the necessary first step.  It is more than just a question of sitting in the twilight, eyes closed and meditating on one’s breath or a word or a blank screen. It is about being at peace with others before entering into that deep inner peace where healing and forgiveness break out. But, which comes first? To be at peace we must savour something of the Holy Spirit who is already dwelling within us? It’s a two-way flow – from openness to the Spirit and others to inner peace and back again. The key dynamo is trust or faith.