Text
for the month:
“
There appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed 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
utterance." Acts 2:3-4
Thought for the month:
The outpouring of His Holy Spirit is really the outpouring of His love, surrounding and penetrating
your little soul with a peaceful, joyful delight in His creature: tolerant, peaceful, a love full of
long-suffering and gentleness, working quietly, able to wait for results, faithful, devoted, without
variableness or shadow of turning. Such is the charity of God...
Love breaks down the barrier that shuts most of us from Heaven. That thought is too much for us
really... Yet it is the central truth of the spiritual life. And that loving, self-yielding to the Eternal Love
- that willingness that God shall possess, indwell, fertilize, bring forth fruit of His Spirit in us instead
of fruits of our spirit - is the secret of all Christian power and Christian peace.
Evelyn Underhill, The Fruits of the Spirit, Longmans, Green and Co., 1949, page 3
Dear
Friends
I have often heard the following statement made - “You don’t have to go to church to be a Christian”.
Strictly speaking this is true. What matters most is the way we live our lives as Christians and our
inner faith and trust in Christ. However, I do know a story which illustrates the importance of church
going.
A young Christian man was feeling spiritually ill at ease. He could not explain it, and so he went to
see a wise old man who lived in his village. He spoke to the old man about his lack of peace, and
the fact that God seemed distant. The old man listened attentively, staring into the hot coals of the
fire in his living room. As he finished describing his dilemma the young man said “So, sir, what can
I do?”
The man, again, said nothing. A minute of silence passed, then two minutes, then three. The man
leant over and picked up a red hot piece of coal from the fire and put it down on the hard stone floor
at the young man’s feet. Gradually, over a period of several minutes, the piece of coal lost its bright
red colour, until it faded to a dark black with such a stream of white smoke the only sign that it
once had been part of the fire.
Then the old man picked up the piece of coal and placed it carefully back in the fire, so that it
touched the other coal. Very quickly, the piece of coal returned to its former state. Full of life, it
glowed red hot again.
The young man knew what this meant. He had not been attending church. Because he had not
been in contact with Christians in worship, his faith had grown cold and lost its life and vitality, just
like the piece of coal did when it had been taken out of the fire. With a polite “thank you”, the young
man left the house, resolved to attend church regularly from then on.
The message of this story is clear. We need to worship together to keep our spiritual vitality. If we
try to be totally independent, there will always be something missing.
This Pentecost (or Whitsun as it is also known), there will be an especially strong spiritual fire
burning in Aylesford. Our church, the Church in Eccles, and the churches in Burham and
Wouldham, have all agreed to cancel their morning services on Sunday 30th May and gather at St
Joseph’s chapel at the Friars for a co-celebration of Holy Communion. I am really looking forward to
this event and I hope you will be able to come along too. The service starts at 10.15am.
I am sure that this event will serve as a reminder that we are all united by the Holy Spirit, and I am
also certain that all who attend the service will receive a significant spiritual boost, rather like the
young man who visited that old man.
A very Happy Pentecost to you,
Simon Tillotson
Old and thoughtful thoughts
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