Pentecost

Date:31st May 2009

Preacher: Revd Rachel Firth

Our time has come

Imagine the scene if you will – an army are gathered on a hillside high above a northern town, each armed with the symbol of their trade and preparing for the final push. They stand together swathed in swirling mist as their leader says “Today has been long... can you remember why we are here?” He goes on to remind the gathered troops that each of them brings skills and gifts to the fight, even the smallest of them is needed to win the day. In the last moment before they stream down the hill towards the town which glitters in the sun like the Jerusalem that William Blake promised among the dark satanic mills their leader exclaims “OUR TIME HAS COME!”

Those of you who saw the article a few weeks ago about the filming on Beacon Hill and those of you who may already have seen this advert since it aired for the first time last week may wonder why I am beginning my sermon for Pentecost with attempts at poetic description of an advertisement for Strongbow cider. Of course the first connection in my mind was simply alcoholic! The army atop Beacon Hill are powered by the promise of all that a pint of cider can offer in reward for their hard graft. The disciples in our reading from Acts this morning are accused by cynical observers of their gifting by the Holy Spirit of being drunk at nine o’clock in the morning. But there is more to it than that.

Firstly I was struck by the fact that this army is made up of people of all different trades – the weapons or symbols they carry show that they are roofers, or gas fitters or gardeners or even satellite dish fitters. Their gifts and talents are diverse – and so are the gifts and talents with which the holy spirit empowers us – each gift is truly valuable and one cannot be ranked above another – for us it may be caring, financial know how, artistic talent, the ability to do administration, to sing or play, to clean or make tea, to welcome or to preside at the Eucharist.. the list really could be endless.

Secondly, all the people who make up that army are builders and those in the allied service industries – they are an army of those who build and serve – who in offering their gifts enable others to be safe and warm and to live their own lives to the best of their ability. And surely that is an ambition of ours as part of God’s army of believers here on earth – to offer our service in such a way that others are enabled, to build and create not to destroy, each of us equipped for the task to which we are called by God’s Holy Spirit.

As most of you will know, once upon a time at this time of year, Whitsuntide, was once a time when whole communities would walk through the streets of their town to bear witness to their faith – if any of you would like to take a step back in time this week I can highly recommend the whit Friday walks around the Saddleworth area which still involve high numbers of people from the surrounding villages as well as a brass band competition sometimes known as the greatest free show on earth. This year as a church we have not planned to walk through the streets in this way, and this got me thinking about how we are bearing witness to our faith in other ways. And of course, how we are trying to bear witness as a Christian community in the heart of Halifax is through our vision process and the work we are doing as a result of it.

As the leader of that army on Beacon Hill whips up his troops ready for battle what he is speaking of when he asks “Can you remember why we are here?” is shared vision, and that is what we are working on together in this place, the priorities which we have set to work towards, to make ourselves the church we feel God wants us to be. And I would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that this is an on-going process of discernment, the vision groups are still open to new members – they are not operating in splendid isolation and still need the on-going prayer, support and participation of the wider congregation.

Each month one of the vision groups puts up a display at the back of church to keep everyone informed of their progress with their targets set in the year book, and soon we hope that regular updates will also be available in both the magazine and on the website. Please involve yourselves, either in presence or in prayer, as the work they are doing for us all is our witness as a church, prioritising social justice making sure our charitable giving reflects what we believe, offering educational opportunities for adults and children in our congregation and in our town, communicating the work we are doing in a modern professional way which enables us to reach new groups of people and share what we have, bringing more music to this fantastic venue, both within worship and outside, expanding the developing our worship and of course the ever present need to make ourselves solvent so that we can continue God’s work in this place. All of this activity of which I give the most brief summary is bearing witness in our parish and our district to what we believe God is calling us to be and to do.

Celebrating Pentecost reminds us that we do these things in God’s strength not our own, with his Spirit as our comforter and inspiration – the army on beacon hill may have been inspired as they looked down on our town by the refreshing and stimulating qualities of Strongbow cider – how much greater though must be the reviving and equipping gifts of the holy spirit – the temptation to say “Mine’s a pint please” is overwhelming!

When Peter explains the unexplainable – the tongues of fire which have just touched the disciples giving them the gift of speaking in tongues - he quotes the OT book of Joel “I will pour out my spirit, and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, your young shall see visions and your old shall dream dreams” so let us embrace the coming of the holy spirit – let us remember that our vision for the present and future of this church is part of what God has promised us – let us keep dreaming and trying to live our vision.

The Strongbow army on Beacon Hill are galvanised into action with the words “Our time has come”! And I will close with the final connection which I felt when I saw this advert, this army of builders and servers ready to march on the town to offer their service in change for the better, and that connection is of course our mission statement, the strap line we have started to use on all our work that reminds us of our purpose – the witness we hope to bear in this place - and that is that we might be “A Beacon of Hope – Seeking God, Sharing Faith, Serving Halifax” – we pray this day and always that the Holy Spirit may be upon us and enable us to fulfil this mission.

Amen