9am Family Service for The Feast of Pentecost
“Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” ”
Summary
The Feast of Pentecost.
Acts 2.1-21 tells the story of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Of course, the Holy Spirit has been around since the creation but it has been the preserve of a few: those called to lead and serve the people, priest and kings. Now the Holy Spirit is for everyone: all genders, all ages, all socio-economic groups. The whole people of God are called to lead and to serve. It is the sharing and the exercising of this gift by the entire community which will bring new life and renewal.
In John 20.19-23 Jesus breathes the spirit on his disciples, recalling the spirit of God being breathed into humanity in the very beginning. It marks the potential for a new beginning, a new creation in which all God’s children are valued and included.
READING
John 20.19-23
When it was evening and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked because they were afraid.
Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
