Wyndham Hobsons Bay
Lutheran Church

This “ordering” is not simply fate (over which we have no control). It is rather the work of the Holy Spirit, who was poured out on the disciples at the first Pentecost and which the Christian Church continues to celebrate at the third high festival of the Church Year. 

When Jesus and his disciples were gathered for the Last Supper, Jesus prepared them for this future event of Pentecost: “I have said these things to you while I am 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 that I have said to you. Peace, I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (John 14:25-26).

While the Holy Spirit comes to us through external means like Word and Sacrament, his activity is primarily internal – in our hearts and minds. There the Spirit continues to teach and remind us of the need to recalibrate our lives from living on the rim of the wheel of fortune to living in the centre – making Christ the centre of our lives.

For to live on the rim is to live at the mercy of the turning of fortune’s wheel – up, down, falling, rising, gaining, losing, happy, unhappy, while living in the centre, through faith in Jesus Christ, is to watch the wheel go round with a certain detachment, letting go of the power, wealth, and fame of the world, which bring with them so much anxiety and lack of peace.

This place at the centre is what the 16 th century saint, Theresa of Avila, called the Interior Castle, where we are fortified against the changing fortunes of life. Or if you prefer, it is what John of the Cross referred to as the Inner Wine Cellar. It is the place of safety and peace; a place filled with the ‘spirits’ of deep joy and gladness of heart that remains despite our current anxieties or even our good fortunes.

This, then, is what Pentecost is all about. It is about letting the Holy Spirit continually move our hearts and desires from the rim of the wheel of fortune, to the centre, the Inner Wine Cellar, where there is joy and celebration, and a deep and abiding peace. 

May that peace be yours, today and always.

Blessings, Pastor Mark