Sunday 8th June, Day of Pentecost (Whit Sunday)

Each of us has stories of experiences in life which changed us, moments when “before turned into after”. Some are bigger than others, some only reveal their significance in hindsight. For me, there are a few watershed moments that I return to as milestones in my own story: meeting Rachel (twice!); watching Ben Hur one Good Friday and realising that today was the day to start exploring the call to ordination; becoming a dad (twice!); hearing Steve Chalke preach at Spring Harvest; walking through the west door of Peterborough Cathedral on my ordination day; realising that I was actually interested in becoming Vicar of Great Malvern Priory…. Some of our experiences are positive, some less so, but they are more than just things that happened to us, they are part of us, they make us who we are. Today we remember an experience which transformed a group of frightened, confused friends into an excited, passionate group of witnesses to what God had done in their lives. Jesus had risen, the Spirit had come in wind and fire – things were never going to be the same again. God comes to some of us gently, incrementally, over years, gradually forming us as the wind shapes a tree. To some he comes suddenly, dramatically, bursting into our awareness and turning our world view upside down. However he comes, though, “before turned into after”, and we had a new story to tell. For someone out there, hearing that story might just be their “before and after” moment.

Every blessing,

Roger.