Hope and Expectation and the presence of God.

My dear Friends,
The great feats of Pentecost has been and gone, sort of.
The festival date has been and gone, and we kept the feast the best we could with Fr Rodney and Fr Robin’s wonderful online service, but the meaning of the feast has certainly not ‘Gone’. It never will.
Do you remember when this lockdown started, we thought it would last for two weeks, and then a month. We never expected to celebrate Easter at home instead of in church, and even then we were really hoping that we would be back at Church for the Great Feats of Pentecost. Of course we did, after all ours is the Chaplaincy of the Holy Spirit Costa Blanca.
So I, for one, hoped to be in church, and for us to be embracing a new normal, looking back on how far we had come, and celebrating all the good things that God had done. I was expecting a Powerful Pentecost.
But that was not to be. Our congregations are not yet able to gather, and we continue to be very aware of many people’s concern for the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of all of our members.
Does this mean our Hopes and expectations were lost? Did we lose out on something? Did Pentecost not happen for us this year?
By no means. And we should not be surprised, because nothing can separate us from the love of God.
We didn’t gather in the buildings we normally use, and we didn’t greet one another with the Kiss of Peace, and many of us were not able to receive our physical Communion, but The Power of the Holy Spirit was certainly present and active, and God’s Grace was and is abundant amongst us.
Of course we like to celebrate our major feasts, and embrace our beautiful liturgies, but this time of separation is reminding us that God is not confined to His Churches, or the Sacraments, or to gatherings of people we know. But he, and his Grace are present everywhere, if we have eyes to see.
The gift of faith allows us to discern the grace of God at work in the world.
His love, power, presence and work are far greater than the barriers that we subconsciously erect through our egos, and our unconscious bias would have us believe. He is active now, and his power is strong.
We all know this, and yet we think we need our familiar rituals to make everything ok.
Recently I was up very early, walking alone on the hills behind my house and stood at the top overlooking Calpe. The whole town. It was beautiful, and I was absolutely aware over the overwhelming presence of God. It Is His World, His Beauty, His Love, His Will, His Joy.
My initial thought was, yes, that is what I seek. But it was quickly replaced with, Yes, that is what I receive.
God always takes the initiative, and he is there for us to embrace.
So, we didn’t have the services we had hoped for, but God’s Holy Spirit was very much alive and active.
Bless you, Bless you, Bless you.
Until next time,
Fr Marcus