Thought for the week - 24 May 2026

You know how sometimes a word can be used in everyday parlance to effectively replace the word which actually describes an action or a thing? Let me explain…..So for example, when we clean our carpets we often say we are hoovering our carpets. We don’t say we are sharking our carpets, or ewbanking them or even dysoning them. I wonder how many of us actually do say that we are vacuuming them? The act of vacuuming has become so glibly known as the act of hoovering, when of course Hoover is a make of vacuum, not the act itself.

Bear with me.

So – Pentecost. The liturgical feast celebrating the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the disciples of Jesus after his Ascension, held on the seventh Sunday after Easter, and heralds the end of the liturgical season of Eastertide. But in fact, Pentecost is way older than this – it dates right back to the days of Moses. The Jewish festival of Pentecost, or Festival of Weeks, occurs 50 days after Passover, was originally a harvest celebration but later became a commemoration of God’s giving of the law and covenant on Mount Sinai. But now – the coming of the Holy Spirit fulfils this meaning of Pentecost – the celebration of the gift of the law now embraces the giving of the new law in the Spirit. Pentecost, at least in Christianity, has taken on an additional significance to its original meaning.

And when we think of Pentecostalism, we may think of very active worship, singing, swaying, swooning perhaps, charismatic worship. Very different to our tradition here and one in which I, personally, feel unable to comfortably participate. But that is the beauty of our faith – we worship, we show our devotion to Christ in a way which feels right to us – individually. The Spirit comes to unite, not to divide.

But looking at the experience of the disciples in our first reading today – the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost. From a strictly practical point of view during the festival of Weeks (Pentecost) was a very good time for the Holy Spirit to descend upon the disciples because Jerusalem will have been full of pilgrims from many countries and languages. And when it happens, when the coming of the Spirit happens, a sound like a rushing wind is heard and things resembling tongues of flame descend upon each person present in that upper room. They begin to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enables them. Speaking in tongues – this is one of the gifts of the Spirit mentioned by St Paul in 1 Corinthians and is something which I have never experienced.

But lack of comprehension was not an issue for the people gathered at that inspiring Pentecost we heard about today. There was no need for behind-the-scenes translators, like you get at big international meetings. But wherever our hearers in the Acts reading come from, they understand what is being proclaimed by Peter and the disciples. This is a small-ish group of people who are inspired by the Holy Spirit and who become a force to be reckoned with. A forest fire begins with a small spark. A long, life affirming journey begins with one step. And this small group of people, upon whom the Spirit descends like tongues of flame, are beginning to fulfil God’s promise to Abraham – that the whole world will be blessed with the good news, language notwithstanding.

Veni, Sancte Spiritus – come, Holy Spirit. I have many times been a tad disheartened that I haven’t experienced a sort of Damascene moment, a rush of fire through my soul. I cannot claim a major life changing experience due to the Holy Spirit. But you know what? I am now accepting that it doesn’t matter that I haven’t experienced this. There is no normal way for the Holy Spirit to affect us – we are all individual people and will each be infilled by the Spirit as He determines best. For me, it is a gentle, flurry-free infilling and I am learning to accept that that is how God is working with and through me.

The Holy Spirit is referred to as the third person of the Trinity. Sometimes referred to as the forgotten or shy person of the Trinity. But in fact it is the Holy Spirit which is most at work within us, in our lives. Every moment of grace in our lives is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is a person – not it – and is to be worshipped and glorified equally with the Father and the Son. The Shield of the Trinity (which you will see on your pew sheets) is a 13th-century diagram illustrating the doctrine of the Trinity: one God in three distinct persons (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). It shows that each person is God, yet they are not identical to one another. And quite frankly that dissolved my brain when we covered the Doctrine of the Trinity in my course last year.

Those who try to deny the Trinity are in danger of losing their salvation. Those who try to understand the Trinty are in danger of losing their minds. (Augustine [354-430])

There’s a lovely story about St Augustine pondering the Trinity. While walking on a North African beach, St. Augustine wrestled with trying to understand the Holy Trinity. He then saw a young boy pouring ocean water into a hole in the sand. When Augustine questioned him, the boy replied, “I’m emptying the ocean into this hole.” Augustine pointed out the impossibility of this, to which the boy responded, “Neither can your mind understand the mystery of the Holy Trinity.” The boy then vanished, leaving Augustine to reflect that some divine truths are beyond human comprehension and must be accepted with humility. This encounter inspired Augustine to approach the Holy Trinity with faith and reverence rather than seeking full understanding.

The work of Jesus on the cross means that we can commune with God via the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit already indwelt Jesus but until His resurrection, does not indwell us. The Disciples had the Spirit with them, but not IN them, until after the cross. Jesus breathes the Spirit over His disciples in the upper room on that first Easter morning. He fills them with the Spirit, but at Pentecost they receive an supreme infilling of the Spirit to empower them for what was to come.

The Spirit speaks, guides, teaches, intercedes and grieves – God’s empowering presence within us. And even though we have the Spirit within us, it is not a one-time filling. We need to ask for infilling of the Spirit on a very regular basis.

Veni Sancte Spiritus – Come Holy Spirit, fill our hearts with Your life. Help us not just to understand but to experience Your presence afresh. Amen.