Pentecost in many ways marks the end point of the story arc of Jesus that begins each year in Advent. This story includes the birth, baptism, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and culminates in Jesus pouring out the Spirit on the new church (Acts 2:33). But Pentecost also marks a new beginning point, enabling God’s purposes through Jesus to extend way beyond Galilee and Jerusalem out into the whole world – through the emerging Christian community. The Spirit will not only guide the footsteps of this community but also be how God is present in and among and through them.
So we celebrate Pentecost as the birth of the Church, a movement that has shaped our world for nearly 2000 years, often for good and sometimes for the worse. An ever present question for us, then, is what is the Spirit calling us to today, in our place and time? How do we continue to build a movement that offers praise to God, generous kindness to our people and yet is outward looking and having the good will of our wider community (as in Acts 2:42-47)?