First Reading: Acts 2: 1-11

There’s a product called the Really Useful Box. It’s plastic and sturdy. It does what it says on the tin, to coin a phrase.

The Holy Spirit does, in this reading, what is promised by Jesus on the tin and the results are astonishing and plain to see. A box, an upper room, a cell of our own making is no place to keep the really useful Spirit of God.


Second Reading: Galatians 5: 16-25

The smorgasbord of sins on the menu in this reading makes for very uncomfortable reading. The consequences of sampling the menu are harsh. They are all on offer in abundance in our world today. There’s none of us can afford to be Pharisaically righteous as we wince our way through hearing them. We are all capable. Luckily we have another menu to get our teeth into, the menu of love.


Gospel Reading: John 15: 26-27, 16: 12-15

A marriage counsellor once explained his work with couples in difficulty to me succinctly ‘there’s his story, there’s her story and the truth is somewhere in between. The truth in love expounded in the Gospel today is complete. It’s
unambiguous and not to be rooted out in between the crevices. The function of the Holy Spirit is laid out as a testimony. We are called to mirror that by our testimony.
We are called to bear fruit. We are the subjects of teaching. We are called to be teachers ourselves. We are reminded by the Spirit as we have a duty to remind others. If we have experienced the advocate working on our behalf, then we are called to be advocates ourselves.