PENTECOST AND THE QUEEN’S PLATINUM JUBILEE:

As we rejoice with Her Majesty on her Platinum Jubilee, we can thank God for the inspiration she continues to be. I think this is the correct word. Christ promised his apostles that he would send the Spirit, who would lead us to the truth. When a bishop blesses the oil of Chrism, he breathes into the oil, reminding us that this is the sign of God’s Spirit, the Breath of God. From the beginning of her reign, Queen Elizabeth has been deeply conscious that she was anointed to serve her people and she has never been afraid of acknowledging her deep faith in Jesus as her Lord. We pray that she will be comforted by the Spirit in a very special way this weekend. We might also pray that the Holy Spirit will inspire (breath into) us those great gifts, which will enable us in turn to inspire others. We need the wisdom, knowledge and understanding to enable us to discern what the Lord wants. Hopefully, this will lead us to make the right judgements about how to speak and act and the courage to do so. And finally, we will have the grace to stand in awe of God’s creation and to reverence everyone and everything.

A VERY HAPPY PENTECOST TO YOU ALL