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Dear Friends,
Have you stayed in the Hilton Hotel, owned a Rolls Royce or dined with the Queen? I haven’t, and I very much doubt I ever will. Some things in life are reserved for the select few, while the majority of us have to make do with the ordinary, run of the mill facilities and occasions. The people of the Old Testament believed this was true when it came to the Spirit of God. They were convinced that God’s Spirit was a rare and special gift that only privileged elite could experience. There was no way in the world they would be filled by that Spirit; such an honour went to the heroes of their time, like Gideon, Samuel, Elijah Isaiah, and others of similar stature. For the rank and file, God appeared to be one step removed; access available only through the priest and temple.
Into that Old Testament world God breathed the whisper of a promise. The promise of the Father, as it has come to be known, was heard in the words of the some of the prophets. None perhaps were as clear as Joel in declaring the coming of an amazing time when God’s Spirit would be poured out on all people. For many of his day it must have seemed a tantalising prospect when he prophesied, ‘In the last days, God declares, I will pour out my Spirit on all people; your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. I will pour out my Spirit even on male and female slaves in those days.’
This was something new and unheard of. It was the promise of a new relationship with God. The promise was fulfilled on the first Pentecost after Jesus death and resurrection. In an amazing new way each one of the followers of Jesus received the gift of God’s Spirit into their lives. The experience revolutionised their lives. They were filled with power and authority to take out the message of Jesus to hundreds and thousands of people in Jerusalem, ever spreading outwards to reach the lives of many in the entire world.
That pouring out of the Spirit is a key part of the Confirmation Service. In what will be a memorable service this year, at Eccles Parish Church, on Sunday 19th of June our eleven confirmation candidates will make their profession of faith in Jesus. In that formal ceremony they will kneel before the bishop who will pray for each of them to receive and be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. The promise of the Father, the gift of his Spirit, will be poured out, into all their lives.
On the second Sunday in June (12th) we celebrate the anniversary of that first Pentecost. It is our moment in the year to remember the birthday of the church, a time to rejoice that the promise of the Father has been realised. The gift of the Spirit at Pentecost, through those first followers of Jesus, turned the world upside down. As part of Churches Together in Eccles there will be an open air service on Monton Green at 3pm, when as Christians from all over Eccles we will proclaim that this same Spirit is at work in our world today.
That gift of God’s Spirit is offered to us in turn. God is not remote and detached, but can be experienced as a living reality within – encouraging, teaching, empowering, guiding – ever at work in our lives. There is no favouritism with God. One privilege is for all to enjoy: the inner presence of the Holy Spirit – surely the greatest privilege there can be!
Andrew
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Regular Services Times
Sunday 8.00 am Holy Communion
11.00 am Parish Communion &
Young People’s Church
( All age family service 2nd Sunday in the month )
Wednesday 10.15 am Holy Communion
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