Sunday Worship for Pentecost
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Welcome to Sunday Worship in Leesfield Parish on Pentecost Sunday (Whit Sunday). Today we have a Parish Eucharist at St Thomas' Church at 9.15 am, and no service at St Agnes' Church.
At 11 am we assemble in the school playground to sing a hymn before our Procession of Witness down West Street, along Spring Lane and back up Thomas Street. We will stop to sing further hymns on Spring Lane and outside the gates to Lees Cemetery. Everyone is most welcome to join us.
If you are unable to be with us in person, you will find resourdces below to worship from home.
Our first hymn this morning is "Shine, Jesus, Shine"
Today's Gospel
Gospel – John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15 The work of the Holy Spirit
Jesus said to his disciples, ”When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning.”
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
Reflection
The holiday season will soon be upon us and lots of you may be contemplating getting away to sunnier places, visiting relatives or just having a break somewhere different. Before you go it is not uncommon to try and get everything to straight edge. To try to ensure that folk know who is going to responsible for what while you’re gone and who to turn to in case something unexpected happens or goes wrong.
Here in this passage from John, Jesus is with the disciples just before he is about to be arrested and crucified. He has told His disciples that He is about to leave them and that and even worse, once He’s gone people will hate them; they will be evicted from the synagogues and persecuted just like Him.
It’s a lot to take in, and Jesus knew how heavy their hearts were. They were so concerned, it seems like they hadn’t fully understood that Jesus would be going for good. He was also aware that the disciples didn’t really understand what was about to happen to them and just how drastically all their lives would be turned upside down. As they say today, “the message hadn’t fully landed”.
But loving Jesus wants them to know that all is not as dark as it may seem - He is making preparations before He goes. So He reassures them with the wonderful promise, that He will send to them from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who comes from the Father. Moreover, the Spirit of Truth will be with them at all times and in all places and therefore, they will be constantly being in communion with the Father.
Just as Jesus has been with them up to now, He was assuring them that when He leaves to join His Father in heaven, they will have the presence of the Holy Spirit who will be constantly alongside them. This Spirit of Truth will help them to remember all that Jesus had told them and to help them understand why He was persecuted and why they would be too.
Not only had Jesus warned the disciples that they would be persecuted, He also tasked them with what might seem a ludicrously dangerous mission – they should testify to others about Jesus the Risen Lord. Share the teaching and stories that they had witnessed all the time Jesus had been with them. Despite all of this, Jesus was commissioning them to go out spread the Good News to non-believers.
Jesus promises that the Holy Spirit will be by their side to testify about Jesus as well. The Holy Spirit will be them every minute of day and in every place, encouraging them, comforting them, loving them. The Holy Spirit will be alongside them in their times of need to strengthen them and help them guide them.
In addition to promising the gift of the Spirit of Truth to be with them, Jesus goes on to promise: And when the Spirit comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been condemned.
There are many things that we conceive to be sinful; lying, cheating, murder, the list is extensive but here Jesus is spelling out that ultimate sin is about not believing in Him. As well as being alongside the disciples, the Spirit of Truth will show the world the true meaning of sin and righteousness for those who believe, and judgement for those who don’t.
We too are called to be disciples and when we listen to the Holy Spirit, He will guide us towards the truth and Good News about Jesus, and direct us towards following Jesus. The Holy Spirit will testify to us if we listen, and He will help us to see where we have sinned so that we may turn to Jesus, say sorry and ask His forgiveness. The Spirit of Truth will lead us to salvation through Jesus if we are willing to listen.
The Holy Spirit isn’t there to put everything right for us and make us behave properly, that is our responsibility. But if we are willing to listen, He will show us where we have messed up in our lives and He will point us towards Jesus who loves us more than we can ever imagine. The Holy Spirit will give us the power to love each other, do kind things, believe in Jesus and give to God the glory that He deserves. Paul
