I have to tell you
I have to tell you…
That the 7 weeks after Jesus died were such a rollercoaster!
On that first Friday – we were, of course, absolutely devastated…
Us women, and the men, we were crushed…
What was the point in living…? – we thought.
Then – on the Sunday – we were bemused, bewildered, hardly daring to believe.
Eventually, we all saw him, listened to him, we knew that Jesus was alive!
There was the time by the lake, the appearance on the mountain,
the occasion when he appeared to 500 – yes 500 – all at once.
Then the final appearance, near Bethany, when all of us
were there, and he blessed us pause for the last time…
We knew he had gone, why we saw him go,
and we heard the message of the angels
that we had to wait in Jerusalem.
Of course, we didn’t really know what we were waiting for
but we were full of expectation and hope.
And we didn’t have to wait long.
A few days later, early in the morning,
we were all together in the room where we always met
When – suddenly – there was a tremendous sound –
It was the sound of an almighty wind, blowing through the place…
We all looked round and at each other and each of us was on fire!
And we were on fire, we could no longer sit still,
we jumped up
And ran outside
And we were talking about what God had done at the tops of our voices.
And what was really amazing was that the crowd – the festival crowd
From so many different countries –
They heard us speaking in their own languages.
There was such a hubbub!
I have never heard anything like it, before or since.
People were laughing, crying, calling to their friends,
Some people started saying we were drunk.
That is when Peter stood up,
he stood on the nearest thing he could find to give him height
And he spoke to the crowd,
“Friends! Friends, we are not drunk,
We are not drunk, it is too early in the morning for drink!
No, what you are witnessing is the arrival of the Spirit –
The Spirit that Joel told us about when he wrote
That God’s spirit would be poured out on all nations,
The spirit of God would be poured out on everyone
Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord!
And Peter began to talk about Jesus and about the amazing things
We have seen and heard and experienced in the last 3 years.
As I listened, with everyone else, I got caught up in the general excitement.
It was as though I was hearing it all for the first time!
I wanted to follow Jesus; I wanted more of the spirit; I wanted to change the world!
I thought then, and I think now,
that this movement of the Spirit might actually reach
The ends of the earth!