ECUMENICAL PATRIARCHATE

ARCHDIOCESE OF
THYATEIRA & GREAT BRITAIN

& .

BULLETIN OF SPIRITUAL EDIFICATION

23 2013
. 1289

SUNDAY OF PENTECOST
23 June 2013
No. 1289

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EPISTLE READING

(.111)

(Acts2:111)

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hen the day of Pentecost had

come, all the Apostles were
together in one place. And suddenly a
sound came from heaven like the rush
of a mighty wind, and it filled the whole
house where they were sitting. And
there appeared to them tongues as of
fire, divided and resting on each one of
them. And they were all filled with the
Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them power
of utterance. Now there were dwelling
in Jerusalem devout Jews from every
nation under heaven. And at this sound
the multitude came together, and they
were bewildered, because each one
heard them speaking in his own
language. And they were amazed and
astonished, saying, Are not all these
who are speaking Galileans? And how is
it that we hear, each of us in his own
native language? Parthians and Medes
and Elamites and residents of
Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,
Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and
Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya
belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from
Rome, both Jews and proselytes,
Cretans and Arabians, we hear them
telling in our own tongues the mighty
works of God.

It is our duty to be faithful to God, pure in

heart, merciful and kind, just and holy; for these
things imprint in us the outlines of the Divine
likeness, and perfect us as heirs of eternal life.
(St Cyril of Alexandria)

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GOSPEL READING

(.3752,12)

(John7:3752,8:12)
n the last and greatest day of the
feast, Jesus stood up and
exclaimed, Let anyone who thirsts
come to me and drink. Whoever believes
in me, as scripture says: Rivers of living
water will flow from within them. He
said this in reference to the Spirit that
those who came to believe in him were
to receive. For the Holy Spirit was not
yet [given], because Jesus had not yet
been glorified. Many in the crowd who
heard these words said, This is truly the
Prophet. Others said, This is the
Christ. But others said, The Christ will
not come from Galilee, will he? Does not
scripture say that the Christ will be of
Davids family and come from
Bethlehem, the village where David
lived? So a division occurred in the
crowd because of him. Some of them
even wanted to arrest him, but no one
laid hands on him. So the guards went to
the chief priests and Pharisees, who
asked them, Why did you not bring
him? The guards answered, Never
before has anyone spoken like this man
speaks. So the Pharisees answered
them, Have you also been deceived?
Have any of the authorities or the
Pharisees believed in him? But this
crowd, which does not know the law, is
accursed. Nicodemus, who had come to
him by night, was one of them, and he
said to them, Does our law condemn a
person before it first hears them and
finds out what they are doing? They
answered and said to him, You are not
from Galilee also, are you? Search and
see that no prophet has arisen from
Galilee. Jesus then spoke to them again,
saying, I am the light of the world.
Whoever follows me will not walk in
darkness, but will have the light of life.

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"The Lord calls the Holy Spirit the voice of a gentle breeze. For God is breath, and the breath of the wind is
shared by all; nothing shuts it in, nothing holds it prisoner" (St Maximus the Confessor)


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( 7:37, . 36: 26-28). :
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(. 14:15-16, 25, 15:26,16:13).

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(. 14:21).

SERMON ON THE GOSPEL READING

oday we celebrate Pentecost, the day when the Lord fulfilled the promises He made to His
disciples prior to His death and resurrection; that promise regarding the outpouring of the
Holy Spirit fifty days after His resurrection, and so richly bestowed upon mankind. Indeed the
Holy Spirit Descended at Pentecost, it was also given to us at the Sacrament of initiation, that is
say, at our Baptism and Chrismation; and it is given to us repeatedly at our reception of Holy
Communion; and at our forgiveness in the sacrament of Confession. But despite all the above
mentioned acts of the Church, by which we become partakers in the Life of Christ in the Holy
Spirit, let us also think of the place of Holy Spirit with regards to the resurrected Lord and our
personal encounter with Him.
In todays gospel reading the words of our Lord in the Temple indicate that it is the Holy
Spirit which makes His Life our life. That is to say the event of the Resurrection, which can been
understood in many ways as an historical event - and it is certainly one of the few cases in history
where the historicity of the Risen Lord is witnessed so clearly, and to such a large degree can also
become a personal event in my life. This is possible only with the Holy Spirit. The Resurrection
would remain an unapproachable mystery to us if it were not for the presence of the third person
of the Holy Trinity.
St John the Divine having experienced the Risen Christ in the Holy Spirit recalls this
moment when the Lord, on that great day of the feast which we all heard in todays gospel, spoke
out to the people saying he who believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water (John 8.38). St John explains this living water as referring directly to
the Holy Spirit which those who believe on him should receive, but which for the time being,
when the Lord spoke these words, was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified, that is to
say He had not yet been crucified and resurrected. The Holy Spirit, therefore, is given on account
of the Lords victory over death and after the Lords Ascension and His sitting at the right hand of
the Father. The Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth, is sent in order to bring those who
wish to believe into a living and personal communion with the risen Lord.
Man, however, with his god-like freedom, the , is at full liberty to respond
with regard to Gods revelation to us through His Only Begotten Son. This is where the Holy Spirit
plays a crucial and most important role for our salvation, for wherever the spirit blows there is
freedom. That is to say, the Holy Spirit never deprives us of the possibility to freely choose and
work out our salvation. The same idea is also developed in a statement which our Lord made prior
to His death on the cross and: And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me
(John 12.31). Christ is the head of all principality and power says St Paul, but He is the Head not
in a worldly sense of having the power to act, or to impose from without, but rather in the sense of
freely and lovingly drawing all men unto Himself. This loving attraction is fulfilled only in the Holy
Spirit which leaves all the possibility for freedom to work. Nobody can be received involuntarily or
by force but only on their own accord. For this reason, therefore, the Lord offers Himself as a pure
and blameless sacrifice for the life of the world, and to the point where mankind willingly
condemns Him to death on the cross. However, this sacrificial act of love works to our advantage
for it prepares the way for the Holy Spirit to act lovingly and freely, giving us the chance to freely
and lovingly respond to His ineffable loving kindness.
Today, therefore, in the light of todays Gospel message, let us reaffirm our faith in Christ
both through a deeper understanding of the place of the Holy Spirit in our lives and through our
need to respond willingly to Gods love made manifest in the flesh through His only Begotten Son,
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

ArchdioceseofThyateira&GreatBritain,5CravenHill,LondonW23EN
Tel.:02077234787.Fax:02072249301.Email:mail@thyateira.org.uk.Website:www.thyateira.org.uk

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