Hello friends,
This is Mark Gladman,
Also known as Brother Frederick James,
Your friendly neighbourhood monk in docks.
Welcome to another edition of the Sunday series,
Where today our Gospel reflection comes from John chapter 14,
Verses 15,
16 and then 23 to 26.
As we begin,
I invite you to settle yourself.
To let yourself rest into this moment,
To be mindful that we are in the presence of the Divine,
Opening our minds,
Our ears,
Our hearts,
To receive what it is that the Spirit might be wanting to say to us today.
And listen as we hear the reading from today's Gospel.
Jesus said,
If you love me,
You will keep my commandments.
And I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate,
To be with you forever.
And those who love me will keep my word,
And my Father will love them,
And we will come to them and make our home with them.
Whoever does not love me does not keep my words,
And the word that you hear is not mine,
But is from the Father who sent me.
I have said these things to you while I am with you,
But the Advocate,
The Holy Spirit,
Whom the Father will send in my name,
Will teach you everything,
And remind you of all that I have said to you.
Jesus says,
I will ask the Father,
And he will give you another advocate,
To be with you forever.
You know,
I think that the air feels different around Pentecost.
It seems to be charged,
Alive,
Humming with invisible movement.
Pentecost is not just memory,
And it's not just celebration.
It is the ongoing reality of the Spirit poured out upon all flesh.
The Spirit's not just a distant wind,
The Spirit is here.
The Spirit is within.
Jesus says,
We will come to them and make our home with them.
This is union with God,
Real and deep,
And this union has always been the longing of God for us.
And today is the day we remember that longing has been fulfilled.
Not by our striving,
And not by our perfection,
But by the free gift of love,
Breathing itself into us.
The Advocate has been given.
The Holy Spirit has made her dwelling inside these fragile vessels of dust,
And hope,
And now we carry within us the very breath of God.
This is the same Spirit that moved over the waters at the dawn of creation.
This is the same Spirit that hovered over Mary and brought forth the Christ.
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from death into endless life.
And now,
Friend,
That Spirit is now the pulse beneath our living.
You see,
This journey of union with God,
It's not a theory.
It's not a distant hope.
It is the most intimate,
Immediate truth of who we are.
Because of the Spirit,
We are no longer separated from divine life.
We are rooted in it,
Woven into it,
Animated by it.
And this union,
It's not a passive gift.
It literally empowers us for resurrection life.
Not just survival,
And not just duty,
But abundance.
A life that stretches into every corner of our being,
Pouring out mercy where there was once bitterness,
Boldness,
Where there was once fear,
Compassion,
Where there was once indifference.
The Spirit comes to remind us of everything,
Everything Jesus taught.
Not just the words,
But the way,
The truth,
And the life.
The deep inner pattern of love that shaped every breath Jesus breathed.
And now that same love,
That same life,
Is ours to live.
That,
That's the message of Pentecost.
That in the ordinary and the unseen,
In the breaking and in the blessing,
In the silence and in the singing,
The Spirit makes our small lives radiant with the same life that coursed through Christ themselves.
And so Pentecost is not the end of the story,
No,
It's the eruption of the new beginning.
It is the Spirit's shout into our depths saying,
You are not alone.
You have never been alone.
And you will never be alone.
So live.
Really,
Truly,
Deeply live.
As you let this truth settle into your heart,
Friend,
I invite you to take a deep breath in,
And out.
And as you keep breathing,
Remember that story from Genesis,
Where God literally inspires,
Breathes breath into the nostrils of that clay to bring forth a living human being.
That breath of life that animates the first people,
That is the breath that flows through you.
Shall we pray?
Breath of God,
Spirit of the risen Christ,
Move in us again.
Fan the embers of your life within us until they become a flame that cannot be contained.
Remind us when we grow weary,
When we grow forgetful,
That we do not walk alone.
You are our advocate,
Our comforter,
Our teacher,
Our home.
Let your love pulse in our words,
In our actions,
In the secret movements of our hearts.
Let us live the life you dreamed for us,
A life of abundance and fullness,
A life rooted in union with the divine,
A life that carries the fragrance of resurrection into every dry and broken place.
Spirit of the living God,
Fall afresh on us,
Fall afresh on us,
Fall afresh on us.
Amen.
And may that grace,
Peace,
And love go with you every step of the way,
Today,
And always.
Amen.
And until next time,
Friend,
Peace be with you.
