Religious Education and Social Justice

On Sunday, we celebrated the Feast of Pentecost, one of the great feasts of the liturgical year. Pentecost is called the birthday of the church because before Pentecost, there really was no church. Jesus had ascended back into the heavens, the Apostles were feeling scared and confused, and nobody was sure what to do. Going out to baptise people and preach about Jesus was the last thing the Apostles had in mind because their lives would be in danger.

The Feast of Pentecost celebrates the power of the Holy Spirit coming upon the disciples and energising them to set about their mission of continuing the ministry of Jesus. The actual events of that first Pentecost are recorded in the book of Acts; the very physical experience of the Spirit entering their midst as a roaring wind before settling upon them as tongues of flame. Jesus had breathed the Spirit upon them but it took the roaring wind to make a real impression on the disciples. There are frequent references in the Gospels to Jesus being ‘filled with the Spirit’. It is this Spirit with which he was filled that he breathed upon his disciples; it is that same Spirit that we receive sacramentally in Confirmation.

For the weeks following the death of Jesus the disciples had lived in fear and confusion, not fully understanding what had happened and not really knowing what to do. When they realised that the Spirit Jesus had breathed upon them was really present and urging them to action, they finally had the courage to begin the mission that Jesus had entrusted to them: to spread the Good News of Jesus in the world.

A Pentecost Prayer

The Spirit came

and your Church was born,

in wind and fire

and words of power.

The Spirit came

blowing fear aside,

and in its place

weak hearts were stronger.

The Spirit came

as your word foretold,

with dreams and signs,

visions and wonders.

The Spirit came

and is here today,

to feed the hearts

of a world that hungers.

Amen

Jane Wilkinson

Religious Education leader