AS YOU read this you are between the two most important dates in the Christian calendar – which might be a surprise for many, as Christmas often seems like the main event.
And don’t get me wrong, Christmas celebrates something incredible, the unique revelation of the creator within the rules of his own creation as a complete human life lived as it was intended!
But Easter ended a chapter, and started a new one… and Pentecost showed the world what that meant.
And that was Good News.
Jesus’s final act on Good Friday was to commend his Spirit back to the Father as his body failed.
Fifty days later, at Pentecost, that same Spirit filled a fearful but expectant group of believers, and gave birth to the Church in a way that blew the minds of those who had been waiting for it.
History was to prove that the flow of hope and emotions covered between the Cross and Pentecost was not unique.
Most people will go through moments when everything falls apart, and some will pick up divine signs of hope on the horizon, but most have to experience the new season before they can really believe it.
While we can’t guess what the future will look like, long term it will exceed our best expectations.
The news might look bleak, but the trend of history is onward and upward.
It’s just that we often need a bit of help to really have faith.
Which is why churches often run the Alpha course.
Christen Forster is lead pastor of Kings Church, Wokingham.
