Enjoy it all.

Breathe on us, oh breath of God#Pentecost pic.twitter.com/wFxNbBbJZy

— Lisa Deam, PhD (@LisaKDeam) June 5, 2022

There has been a long tradition which sees the mission of the Church primarily as obedience to a command. It has been customary to speak of “the missionary mandate.” This way of putting the matter is certainly not without justification, and yet it seems to me that it misses the point. It tends to make mission a burden rather than a joy, to make it part of the law rather than part of the gospel. If one looks at the New Testament evidence one gets another impression. Mission begins with a kind of explosion of joy. The news that the rejected and crucified Jesus is alive is something that cannot possibly be suppressed. It must be told. Who could be silent about such a fact? The mission of the Church in the pages of the New Testament is more like the fallout from a vast explosion, a radioactive fallout which is not lethal but life-giving.
One searches in vain through the letters of St. Paul to find any suggestion that he anywhere lays it on the conscience of his readers that they ought to be active in mission. For himself it is inconceivable that he should keep silent. “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16). But no where do we find him telling his readers that they have a duty to do so.

…[In] the sermon of Peter on the day of Pentecost…something is happening which prompts the crowd to come together and ask, “What is going on?” The answer of Peter is in effect a statement that what is going on is that the last day has arrived and the powers of the new age are already at work, and that this is so because of the life, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus. The sermon leads up to a climax in the citing of the Psalm 110 (Acts 2:34). Jesus, whom they had crucified, is now seated at the right hand of God until all things are put under his feet. This is the reality which all human beings must henceforth take into account. The real government of the universe, the final reality which in the end confronts every human being, is the crucified and risen Jesus.

And to the question “What, then, are we to do?” the answer is “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus.” To repent is to do the U-turn of the mind which enables you to believe what is hidden from sight, the reality of the presence of the reign of God in the crucified Jesus. …To be baptized is to be incorporated into the dying of Jesus so as to become a participant in his risen life, and so to share his ongoing mission to the world. It is to be baptized into his mission.

His mission. It is of the greatest importance to recognize that it remains his mission. One of the dangers of emphasizing the concept of mission as a mandate given to the Church is that it tempts us to do what we are always tempted to do, namely to see the work of mission as a good work and to seek to justify ourselves by our works. On this view, it is we who must save the unbelievers from perishing. The emphasis of the New Testament, it seems to me, is otherwise.

Even Jesus himself speaks of his words and works as not his own but those of the Father. His teaching is the teaching of the Father, and his mighty works are the work of the Father. So also in the Synoptic Gospels, the mighty works of Jesus are the work of God’s kingly power, of his Spirit. So also with the disciples. It is the Spirit who will give them power and the Spirit who will bear witness. It is not that they must speak and act, asking the help of the Spirit to do so. It is rather that in their faithfulness to Jesus they become the place where the Spirit speaks and acts.

—Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (Eerdmans: Grand Rapids, 1989), pages 116-118.

Sunrise in Rome on #Pentecost2022 🕊 pic.twitter.com/qAngclsTyo

— Mary Shovlain (@maryshovlain) June 5, 2022

Our attitude to our fallen nature should be one of ruthless repudiation. For ‘those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires’ (Gal. 5:24). That is, we have taken this evil, slimy, slippery thing called ‘the flesh’ and nailed it to the cross. This was our initial repentance. Crucifixion is dramatic imagery for our uncompromising rejection of all known evil. Crucifixion does not lead to a quick or easy death; it is an execution of lingering pain. Yet it is decisive; there is no possibility of escaping from it.

Our attitude to the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is to be one of unconditional surrender. Paul uses several expressions for this. We are to ‘live by the Spirit’ (Gal. 5:16, 18. 25). That is, we are to allow him his rightful sovereignty over us, and follow his righteous promptings.

Thus both our repudiation of the flesh and our surrender to the Spirit need to be repeated daily, however decisive our original repudiation and surrender may have been. In Jesus’ words, we are to ‘take up (our) cross daily’ and follow him (Lk 9:23). We are also to go on being filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), as we open our personality to him daily. Both our repudiation and our surrender are also to be worked out in disciplined habits of life. It is those who ‘sow to the Spirit’ (Gal. 6:8) who reap the fruit of the Spirit. And to ‘sow to the Spirit’ means to cultivate the things of the Spirit, for example, by our wise use of the Lord’s Day, the discipline of our daily prayer and Bible reading, our regular worship and attendance at the Lord’s Supper, our Christian friendships and our involvement in Christian service. An inflexible principle of all God’s dealings, both in the material and in the moral realm, is that we reap what we sow. The rule is invariable. It cannot be changed, for ‘God cannot be mocked’ (Gal. 6:7). We must not therefore be surprised if we do not reap the fruit of the Spirit when all the time we are sowing to the flesh. Did we think we could cheat or fool God?

—Authentic Christianity (Nottingham, IVP, 1995)

I have said these things to you while still 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 I have said to you.(John 14:25-26) pic.twitter.com/T7VnoQN3dz

— Tom Kearns (@Tpjkearns) June 5, 2022

Then began a meeting the like of which I had never seen before, nor wish to see again unless in God’s sight it is absolutely necessary. Every sin a human being can commit was publicly confessed that night. Pale and trembling with emotion, in agony of mind and body, guilty souls, standing in the white light of their judgment, saw themselves as God saw them. Their sins rose up in all their vileness, till shame and grief and self-loathing took complete possession; pride was driven out, the face of man forgotten. Looking up to heaven, to Jesus whom they had betrayed, they smote themselves and cried out with bitter wailing: “Lord, Lord, cast us not away forever!” Everything else was forgotten, nothing else mattered. The scorn of men, the penalty of the law, even death itself seemed of small consequences if only God forgave. We may have other theories of desirability or undesirability of public confession of sin. I have had mine; but I know now that when the Spirit of God falls upon guilty souls, there will be confession, and no power on earth can stop it.

Read it all.

'When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place…All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.'
Acts 2: 1, 4 pic.twitter.com/UoZXzFyi0G

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) June 5, 2022

O God, who in the exaltation of thy Son Jesus Christ dost sanctify thy universal Church: Shed abroad in every race and nation the gift of the Holy Spirit; that the work wrought by his power at the first preaching of the gospel may now be extended throughout the whole world; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Today, many people celebrate Pentecost—the moment when God freely gave His Holy Spirit to anyone who believed in Him. Learn how to live empowered at the link in our bio. pic.twitter.com/ZT99VqWEBw

— YouVersion (@YouVersion) June 5, 2022

There is also still more there.

Flower pedals from the oculus of the Roman Pantheon on the Feast of Pentecost pic.twitter.com/YSPQL4X2wB

— Ryan Haecker (@RyanHaecker) May 23, 2021

[At Pentecost Peter] intendeth to prove…that the Church can be repaired by no other means, saving only by the giving of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, forasmuch as they did all hope that the restoring drew near, he accuseth them of sluggishness, because they do not once think upon the way and means thereof. And when the prophet saith, “I will pour out,” it is, without all question, that he meant by this word to note the great abundance of the Spirit….when God will briefly promise salvation to his people, he affirmeth that he will give them his Spirit. Hereupon it followeth that we can obtain no good things until we have the Spirit given us.

–Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles

Perfectly placed sunrise behind the Ravenel Bridge! @stormhour #chswx pic.twitter.com/xTvUmgdnWd

— JoeyLive5 (@JoeySovine) June 6, 2022

God, who as at this time
taught the hearts of your faithful people
by sending to them the light of your Holy Spirit:
grant us by the same Spirit
to have a right judgement in all things
and evermore to rejoice in his holy comfort;
through the merits of Christ Jesus our Saviour,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Light immortal, light divine,
Visit thou these hearts of thine,
And our inmost being fill:#Pentecost #Sequence #ComeHolySpirit

5/10 pic.twitter.com/0QDVKpcN1b

— PrayeroftheChurch (@Neddamred) June 5, 2022

Almighty God, who fillest all things with thy boundless presence, yet makest thy chosen dwelling-place in the soul of man: Come thou, a gracious and willing Guest, and take thine abode in our hearts; that all unholy thoughts and desires within us be cast out, and thy holy presence be to us comfort, light and love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Pentecost by Clayton & Bell, St Edmundsbury Cathedral, Suffolk. 'And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and it sat upon each of them.' pic.twitter.com/2GNrqeapqW

— Simon Knott (@last_of_england) June 5, 2022

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever!

Let Israel say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
Let the house of Aaron say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”
Let those who fear the Lord say,
“His steadfast love endures for ever.”

Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
With the Lord on my side I do not fear.
What can man do to me?

–Psalm 118:1-6

Pentecost, Folio 14v of the Rabbula Gospels, circa 586. At the Biblioteca Mediceo Laurenziana, Florence. pic.twitter.com/mf4MHbApeq

— Pictures of Churches (@ChurchPictures8) May 24, 2021

Almighty and everlasting God, who in days of old didst cause thy Word to grow mightily and to prevail: We praise and magnify thy holy name for the manifestation of thy presence in this our day, and we beseech thee to pour out thy Spirit upon the Church, that thy way may be known upon earth and thy saving health among all nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sunrise on Hancock Avenue , Gettysburg Battlefield https://t.co/IWL2GW2qwC pic.twitter.com/tGMXU9w6QB

— civil war photographer (@William49585398) May 29, 2021

O Spirit of the living God, who dwellest in us; who art holy, who art good: Come thou, and fill the hearts of thy faithful people, and kindle within them the fire of thy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Sunrise #Bangalore 🍵 ☕ pic.twitter.com/0cfDdaYiZn

— Sanchita (@Sanchit73083640) May 26, 2021

There is both an audio and a video option.

Filming a new @RidleyInstitute course with Ashley Null and Bishop Fitz Allison @standrewsmp @The_ACNA pic.twitter.com/oEsXJp0fcy

— Bishop Steve Wood (@revstevewood) May 7, 2019

O Almighty God, who hast fulfilled thy word of promise, and from thy heavenly throne hast poured out upon thy Church the gift of the Holy Spirit: Open our hearts, we pray thee, to receive the fullness of his grace and power; that our lives may be strengthened for the service of thy kingdom, and our souls be conformed more and more to the image of thy Son, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Unsurprisingly, the Scriptures locate Mary with the Apostles at Pentecost. Already, she fulfills the mission given her shortly before at the Cross: "Woman, behold your son" (Jn 19:26). From Calvary, through the Upper Room, Mary extends her maternal care to all. #MaterEcclesiae pic.twitter.com/fatgdfyWqM

— Fr. Aquinas Guilbeau, OP (@FrAquinasOP) May 24, 2021

O God, who in the exaltation of thy Son Jesus Christ dost sanctify thy universal Church: Shed abroad in every race and nation the gift of the Holy Spirit; that the work wrought by his power at the first preaching of the gospel may now be extended throughout the whole world; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Beautiful image of #Pentecost from an 11th-century German manuscript pic.twitter.com/Qe1jmoSB15

— Lisa Deam, PhD (@LisaKDeam) May 23, 2021

[At Pentecost Peter] intendeth to prove…that the Church can be repaired by no other means, saving only by the giving of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, forasmuch as they did all hope that the restoring drew near, he accuseth them of sluggishness, because they do not once think upon the way and means thereof. And when the prophet saith, “I will pour out,” it is, without all question, that he meant by this word to note the great abundance of the Spirit….when God will briefly promise salvation to his people, he affirmeth that he will give them his Spirit. Hereupon it followeth that we can obtain no good things until we have the Spirit given us.

–Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles

Flower pedals from the oculus of the Roman Pantheon on the Feast of Pentecost pic.twitter.com/YSPQL4X2wB

— Ryan Haecker (@RyanHaecker) May 23, 2021

Then began a meeting the like of which I had never seen before, nor wish to see again unless in God’s sight it is absolutely necessary. Every sin a human being can commit was publicly confessed that night. Pale and trembling with emotion, in agony of mind and body, guilty souls, standing in the white light of their judgment, saw themselves as God saw them. Their sins rose up in all their vileness, till shame and grief and self-loathing took complete possession; pride was driven out, the face of man forgotten. Looking up to heaven, to Jesus whom they had betrayed, they smote themselves and cried out with bitter wailing: “Lord, Lord, cast us not away forever!” Everything else was forgotten, nothing else mattered. The scorn of men, the penalty of the law, even death itself seemed of small consequences if only God forgave. We may have other theories of desirability or undesirability of public confession of sin. I have had mine; but I know now that when the Spirit of God falls upon guilty souls, there will be confession, and no power on earth can stop it.

Read it all.

'When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place…All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.'
Acts 2: 1, 4 pic.twitter.com/pK70Zf14Aw

— Westminster Abbey (@wabbey) May 23, 2021

Our attitude to our fallen nature should be one of ruthless repudiation. For ‘those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires’ (Gal. 5:24). That is, we have taken this evil, slimy, slippery thing called ‘the flesh’ and nailed it to the cross. This was our initial repentance. Crucifixion is dramatic imagery for our uncompromising rejection of all known evil. Crucifixion does not lead to a quick or easy death; it is an execution of lingering pain. Yet it is decisive; there is no possibility of escaping from it.

Our attitude to the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, is to be one of unconditional surrender. Paul uses several expressions for this. We are to ‘live by the Spirit’ (Gal. 5:16, 18. 25). That is, we are to allow him his rightful sovereignty over us, and follow his righteous promptings.

Thus both our repudiation of the flesh and our surrender to the Spirit need to be repeated daily, however decisive our original repudiation and surrender may have been. In Jesus’ words, we are to ‘take up (our) cross daily’ and follow him (Lk 9:23). We are also to go on being filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), as we open our personality to him daily. Both our repudiation and our surrender are also to be worked out in disciplined habits of life. It is those who ‘sow to the Spirit’ (Gal. 6:8) who reap the fruit of the Spirit. And to ‘sow to the Spirit’ means to cultivate the things of the Spirit, for example, by our wise use of the Lord’s Day, the discipline of our daily prayer and Bible reading, our regular worship and attendance at the Lord’s Supper, our Christian friendships and our involvement in Christian service. An inflexible principle of all God’s dealings, both in the material and in the moral realm, is that we reap what we sow. The rule is invariable. It cannot be changed, for ‘God cannot be mocked’ (Gal. 6:7). We must not therefore be surprised if we do not reap the fruit of the Spirit when all the time we are sowing to the flesh. Did we think we could cheat or fool God?

—Authentic Christianity (Nottingham, IVP, 1995)

Happy Pentecost!
Folio14 from the Rabula Gospels, Florence#Pentecostes2021 #VeniCreatorSpiritus pic.twitter.com/rLpCaa1Ee6

— Sr. Carolyn Morrison ra (@carolyn_ra) May 23, 2021

O Holy Spirit of God, who didst descend upon our Lord Christ at the river Jordan, and upon the disciples at the feast of Pentecost: Have mercy upon us, we beseech thee, and by thy divine fire enlighten our minds and purify our hearts; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord.

–Saint Nerses of Clajes (4th century Persian Bishop and Martyr)

This weekend we celebrate Pentecost. May the Holy Spirit anoint us all with renewed hope, peace of mind and health of body. pic.twitter.com/tKzupqrHmo

— fr Paddy (@frpaddybyrne) May 22, 2021

Enjoy it all.

Miniature from a Book of Hours: The Pentecost, Jean Poyet, c. 1500 https://t.co/pOF2aXd8CS #cmaopenaccess #MedievalArt pic.twitter.com/putKu9ooAL

— CMA: Medieval Art (@cma_medieval) June 6, 2020

O Lord, from whom all good things come:
grant to us your humble servants,
that by your holy inspiration
we may think those things that are good,
and by your merciful guiding may perform the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Our new blog header for the OCTAVE OF PENTECOST is a detail of Duccio di Buoninsegna’s depiction of Pentecost (in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, in Siena). pic.twitter.com/3ba2k7mFuc

— Rorate Caeli (@RorateCaeli) May 30, 2020

O God, who didst graciously send on thy disciples the Holy Spirit in the burning fire of thy love: Grant to thy people to be fervent in the unity of faith; that abiding in thee evermore, they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Pentecost is the moment when a heart of stone is shattered and a heart of flesh takes its place.” – Fr. Raneiro Cantalamessa

Life was breathed into the Church on the day the Holy Spirit descended upon the Apostles. Today, we ask the Holy Spirit to fall upon us in a special way. pic.twitter.com/GSHmQDelcY

— EWTN (@EWTN) June 9, 2019

Send, we beseech thee, Almighty God, thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that he may rule and direct us according to thy will, comfort us in all our afflictions, defend us from all error, and lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who, with thee and the same Holy Spirit, liveth and reigneth one God world without end.

Sunday 31 May 2020

🔴Pentecost

Entrance Antiphon
Wis 1: 7

The Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world
and that which contains all things
understands what is said, alleluia.#Pentecost #Pentecost2020 #KalinaB #Sun31May pic.twitter.com/nX91mJsYPy

— Kalina Boulter (@KalinaBoulter) May 31, 2020

O Lord, from whom all good things come:
grant to us your humble servants,
that by your holy inspiration
we may think those things that are good,
and by your merciful guiding may perform the same;
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.
Amen.

Happy Birthday to the Christian Church: it’s Pentecost today – WhitSun in the UK, Pentecôte in France & Pfingsten in Germany. But guess what? The empowerment by the Holy Spirit happened in the Cenacle (Upper Room) in Jerusalem! [Fresco at the Karlskirche in Vienna, Austria]. pic.twitter.com/xQs0QlfjPa

— dr harry hagopian (@harryhagopian) May 31, 2020

O Thou whose eye is over all the children of men, and who hast called them into a kingdom not of this world: Send forth thy Holy Spirit into all the dark places of life. Let him still the noise of our strife and the tumult of the people, carry faith to the doubting, hope to the fearful, strength to the weak, light to the mourners, and more and more increase the pure in heart who see their God; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Our new blog header for the OCTAVE OF PENTECOST is a detail of Duccio di Buoninsegna’s depiction of Pentecost (in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, in Siena). pic.twitter.com/3ba2k7mFuc

— Rorate Caeli (@RorateCaeli) May 30, 2020

Almighty and everlasting God, who in days of old didst cause thy Word to grow mightily and to prevail: We praise and magnify thy holy name for the manifestation of thy presence in this our day, and we beseech thee to pour out thy Spirit upon the Church, that thy way may be known upon earth and thy saving health among all nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Blessed Pentecost.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!”

John 20:19

Art by Thai artist Sawai Chinnawong #Pentecost pic.twitter.com/4yJqQ8urA3

— BAME Anglican. 🔥🕊🔥 (@BAMEAnglican) May 31, 2020

The sermon starts at about 23:57.

Choirstall woodcarving of the Pentecost. Cathédrale d”Amiens, 1508-1519. pic.twitter.com/uAoe519pbW

— Ian St. (@IanStFrance) May 31, 2020

O Spirit of the living God, who dwellest in us; who art holy, who art good: Come thou, and fill the hearts of thy faithful people, and kindle within them the fire of thy love; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“The Dove came down like a flash of light, arming the disciples with fire…!” Words sung in the Armenian Church on Pentecost, which arrives Sunday, May 31. The story is a favorite of Armenian art, like this medieval illumination. #ArmenianChurch #Pentecost #EasternDiocese pic.twitter.com/xNp7baY6cT

— Armenian Church (@EasternDiocese) May 29, 2020

Jean II Restout, French painter, born in Rouen, the son of Jean I Restout
Pentecost, oil on canvas, 1732 pic.twitter.com/oJO0Z2z0QL

— ChristianArchaeology (@Christianarcheo) May 20, 2018