Dear Friends,
When read together, this week’s passages of scripture from Acts 16 and John 14 (links below), offer us the reassurance of God’s guiding presence and his promise of peace.
In Acts, we witness the Apostle Paul responding to a vision—a Macedonian man pleading for help. Paul changes course and leads his companions to Philippi, where they meet Lydia, a woman whose heart God opens. Her conversion and hospitality become a powerful testament to the fruitfulness of mission when it is aligned with the leading of the Holy Spirit. It reminds us how that same Spirit might lead us in unexpected ways—the church today must be ready to listen and to follow, even when our plans must change.
John 14:23-29 captures a tender moment in which Jesus reassures his disciples before his departure. ‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you’, says Jesus. In these deeply comforting words Jesus acknowledges the anxiety of his absence, yet promises the presence of the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, who will teach and remind his followers of all he has said. This promise becomes a foundation for the Church’s mission and for the personal peace we seek in times of uncertainty.
This Sunday is also Rogation Sunday, traditionally a time for prayers for the land, crops, and our rural communities. So we might be reminded that God is not only the Lord of the harvest but also the one who calls and directs all our efforts. As we seek blessings on our labours of many kinds, we are also invited to listen—to visions, like Paul’s—and to the Spirit, as Jesus promised.
This week we also look forward to The Ascension Day (Thursday 29th May) which marks the transition from Christ’s physical presence here on earth to the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. It mirrors the shift from following Christ on earth to being his witnesses through the Spirit. For us, Jesus’ departure is not abandonment, but empowerment.
Together, these readings and events in our liturgical calendar might invite us to live faithfully between Christ’s Ascension and His promised return—to be a Church open to divine guidance, anchored in peace, and active in mission.
Yours in Christ,
Ian
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