The Holy Spirit (Pentecost 2026)

 The Day of Pentecost 24th May 2026

Wolf Kirchmeir

The Holy Spirit

Numbers 11:24-30; Psalm 104:24-34, 35b; Acts 2:1-21; John 20:19-23

O Holy Spirit, assist us we contemplate your word, that we may be enlightened by your truth. Amen.

Dear Friends in Christ,

Today we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. The reading from the Acts is familiar. So is the Gospel. We’ve heard it all before. But familiarity breeds contempt, as the saying goes. 

Familiarity is always a danger when reading the Bible. We’ve heard the stories so  many times before that we think we know what they mean. We may feel no need to learn any more about them. So let’s try to look at today’s Gospel with fresh eyes, listen to it with new ears, think about it with naive questions. Because there are really quite a few puzzles in it.

The central puzzle is the Holy Spirit itself.

Who or what is the Holy Spirit? Why is Jesus breathing on the disciples when he says Receive the Holy Spirit? What does the Holy Spirit have to do with being sent? Sent where? To do what? 

Let me take a little side trip into language. A fundamental fact about language is that languages change. Even if we can still read the old texts, we may not understand them as their writers intended. I’ll start by comparing two translations of today’s Gospel.

First, the King James version: Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.

In the Revised Standard version, we read, Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”

Why does the newer version say spirit instead of ghost? The main reason is that nowadays the common meaning of ghost is something like an apparition presumed to be the left-over essence of a dead person. We think about haunted places. Things that go bump in the night, and rattling chains, and chilly breezes where there should be no breeze at all. Then there’s the Ghostbusters movies. Ghosts are spooky and mysterious.

None of this has anything to with the Holy Spirit, which is why we no longer say the Holy Ghost.

Translation is tricky. So is reading. Reading is really a kind of translation. When you read, you translate the writer’s words into your own meanings. This pretty well guarantees misunderstanding. In fact, language that sounds familiar increases misunderstanding. When we read familiar words, words we ourselves use many times, we think that the other person is using those words to mean the same as we do.

I think that’s a common effect of reading about the Holy Spirit. We use that phrase so often that we think we know what we mean by it. When we use Holy Ghost, we know that we were talking about something mysterious, simply because today’s common meaning of ghost doesn’t fit.

So who or what is the Holy Spirit? The regular answer is, The Third Person of the Trinity. That’s correct, but it’s not very helpful. All of today’s readings mention the Spirit, so let’s look at them together. I found several lessons when I did this, and I want to share them with you. I hope we will have a more complete idea of the Spirit. 

In Numbers we read that The Lord... took some of the spirit that was upon [Moses] and put it upon the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied (Num.11:25).

To prophesy is to speak truth. That’s the first lesson, that the Spirit reveals the truth, and gives us the understanding of it, so that we can speak it.

The Psalmist describes the Spirit as the breath of life: When thou sendest forth thy spirit, they are created (Ps.104:30). This reminds us of God breathing life into Adam, into adamah, the dust of the ground. God is the arbiter of life and death. When he takes away our breath, we die, and return to dust. We become again the adamah, the dust of the ground from which God made us. But that same breath renews the face of the earth.

That’s the second lesson: The Spirit gives life, and the Spirit renews life.

In Acts, the Spirit enters into the Apostles and they speak so that all that heard them understood the Good News. The Apostles were able to tell of their experiences and beliefs to all who were willing to listen.

That’s the third lesson, that the Spirit gives us the words we need. If we listen to each other, we will know what to say. We will know the words that the other person needs to hear. Words of comfort. Words of understanding. Words of witness.

When Peter preaches, he quotes the words of Joel: And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy.

That’s the first lesson again: the Spirit will reveal truth to those who accept him.

But that truth is not a simple, literal one. It’s visions, and dreams, and prophecies. It’s a truth that bears witness. It shows, it doesn’t tell. It’s not an explanation of spiritual experience, it is spiritual experience.

That’s the fourth lesson: The Spirit will reveal the truth The Spirit will empower us to speak of it, to share our visions and dreams, so that we will all know what each of us knows.

In the Gospel, Jesus gives his followers a commission: As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. Jesus was sent to bring life. So his followers, that’s us, will bring life, too. But we cannot do that alone. That’s why Jesus gives us the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is necessary for our journey.

That’s lesson seven: The Spirit will accompany us on the journey we call life. He will guide us, he will strengthen us, he will comfort us.

This short contemplation of the readings has taught us a lot.

But learning new ideas is not enough.

Once we have caught some glimpse of the truth, once we have grasped some insight and made it ours, there’s a question: How shall we apply it in our lives? For the value of what we have learned isn’t that we have gained some understanding or insight. The value of what we’ve learned is how we change what we do, and how we do it. It’s no good knowing the correct words that summarise the faith. It’s not enough to pass the exam.

How have those words made us what we are? How they have defined our goals and purposes? How they have made a difference in our live and the lives of the people we meet?

Has our faith shaped how we live?

Well then, how should we live? The last sentence in today’s Gospel hints at the answer: If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; and if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. At first glance, this looks like Jesus is giving us enormous power. Forgiving is an exercise of power. When you say, I forgive you, you are labelling someone as an offender, someone who needs forgiveness, and you are claiming the power to supply that forgiveness.

But it’s a power to be wielded under the guidance of the Spirit. Jesus’s words are not a command.

The command that Jesus gave us is one we know well: Love God, and love your neighbour.

Looking at forgiveness from this angle, the puzzle changes. It is now How should I use the power of forgiveness? There’s a clue in the prayer that we will say in a few minutes: Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those that trespass against us.

Those words remind us that forgiveness works both ways. If we retain the sins of any, their sins are retained, but ours are retained, too. But to forgive one another is to be forgiven by one another, and thereby to be forgiven by God.

Let us apply this last bit of wisdom in our lives. Then the power of the Holy Spirit will be seen in our actions as well as in our words.

Let us pray.

O Holy Spirit, we give thanks for the gifts that you offer, that by using them we may glorify God in our lives. Give us wisdom that we may use these gifts in accordance with your will. Give us insight that we may follow your guidance. Breathe into our hearts and minds that we may joyfully do your work of love and forgiveness. We pray in the name of Him who sends us into the world to bring the Good News of life and renewal of life, Jesus Christ, who with you and the Father reigns now and forever. Amen