The Holy Spirit is often the missing person of the Trinity, as though the Holy Spirit was not even there. In John's Gospel, Chapter 3, Jesus talks about the Spirit being like the wind - you know it is there because you can feel its effects.

May 24 - Holy Spirit In my own life, the Spirit has emerged at particular major moments. Thirty years ago, the local assistant priest invited me to help start a youth group in my parish. I was a bit shy back then. I was not sure. I thought that he would lead and promote this youth group for young adults and all I had to do was turn up. Well, I was wrong. He wanted me to promote and lead it. Great fear came over me. I did not know whether I could do this. Then, One wintry Sunday evening he invited me to speak in front of a packed church of more than 400 people. I was scared. Sitting behind the lectern, I prayed quietly for the Holy Spirit: 'Come, Holy Spirit, I need you.' Well, the Holy Spirit turned up. I felt the warmth and presence of the Holy Spirit fill me. I spoke, and from that moment a small group of young adults came together to form the first youth group in my church for a very long time.

It is often through vulnerability that God can appear. With the birth of my wife's and my first child, Michelle, I remember in the lead-up saying to the doctor that I did not want to cut the umbilical cord. But when she was finally born, the doctor forgot, handed me the scissors, and gave me this newborn baby to hold - so new, so fragile. In that moment I looked down and felt I was holding a beautiful creation, as though through her eyes and little presence she was gazing up at me.

The Holy Spirit wants to play a greater part in our lives. In the Scriptures we see the angel giving Mary an invitation. Mary responds with yes. That yes enabled the Holy Spirit to flow. Later, when Jesus ascended into heaven, the disciples and Mary were gathered in the upper room, the door closed for fear of the Romans. Then the Holy Spirit came - right at a great moment of vulnerability, God turns up.

When we are on our deathbeds and we die, we hand our spirits over to God. We take nothing with us. Should it not be right that God sends to us his Spirit before that time? If we knew the Holy Spirit, when we fall into the sleep that lasts forever, we may know the love that God has for us to hold us in his embrace - through a physical encounter with his Son, Jesus, deeply personal, but also with his Spirit, so that his life flows through the fabric of our lives. Eternal life.

This Pentecost, may we pray: 'Come, Holy Spirit. Rekindle in us the fire of your love, and may we be recreated as streams of living water. Amen.'

Journal and reflect on the following
  1. The Wind and the Spirit - Jesus compares the Holy Spirit to the wind. What do you think he means by this, and can you think of other invisible things in your life that you know are real because of their effects?
  2. Fear and Courage - Andrew was very scared to speak in front of 400 people. Have you ever had to do something that frightened you? What helped you get through it?
  3. Vulnerability - The text says 'it is often through vulnerability that God can appear.' What do you think vulnerability means, and why might God show up in our weakest moments?
  4. Mary's Yes - The angel gave Mary an invitation and she said yes, which allowed the Holy Spirit to flow. What do you think would have happened if she had said no? Is there an invitation in your own life that you might be saying no to?
  5. The Holy Spirit in Your Life - Andrew describes two powerful moments when he felt the Holy Spirit - speaking at church and holding his newborn daughter. Do you think the Holy Spirit only shows up in big dramatic moments, or could the Spirit be present in ordinary everyday moments too? Can you think of any examples?
Take time and discuss

Pause the audio and listen to the song “Steady my heart” by kari Carnes



Please join in the following prayer

Final Prayer

Come, Holy Spirit, and fill the empty spaces of our lives. So often we forget you, yet you are always present - moving like the wind, felt in the moments we least expect. In our fear, in our vulnerability, in the trembling hands that hold something new and fragile, you are there. As Mary said yes to your invitation, may we too open our hearts and say yes, trusting that you will equip us for whatever lies ahead. May we not wait until our final breath to know your love, but may we feel your warmth and presence now - rekindling in us the fire of your love, flowing through the fabric of our everyday lives, and drawing us ever closer to the Father and the Son. Amen.

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