Dear friends,

By the time you read this, Whitsunday or Pentecost will probably be upon us (May 27^th) and we'll be starting the liturgical journey to Trinity Sunday and 'umpteen Sundays after Pentecost' before we hit Advent again. 

The days surrounding the original Whitsunday were exciting days indeed for the followers of Jesus, and especially for his disciples.  They had been told to wait in Jerusalem till power came upon them from on high.  They had been told by Jesus that they would be his witnesses, starting in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and going out into the whole world.  They had been assured by Jesus that he would be with them forever.  It was in the days following that particular Pentecost that much happened in the life of the disciples to start the Church growing to become what it is today, and whatever it will be in the future.

It's not easy being a witness for Christ.  The Greek word is one that gives us the English word 'martyr' certainly hinting at what a follower of Christ, bearing witness to him might be likely to expect.  And as we know from our history and from the Bible many witnesses to Christ in those early days gave their lives for the sake of the Gospel.

It also wasn't easy being a witness because they were called to do that 'firstly in Jerusalem;' in other words where they were already staying, amongst the people who knew them, their own people. 

It's one thing to tell a complete stranger about your faith in Christ, but - as we know from the reaction Saul got from others after his dramatic conversion - it's quite another to convince your friends that you've got something new and exciting, and that this faith in Christ has made you a different person from the one you were before you knew Christ.

Is it any easier today being a witness for Christ?  Even (thankfully) without the persecution that the early Church endured it can still be hard to convince others that faith in Christ is something life changing, something worth having.  But Christ's words to the disciples shortly before that dramatic Pentecost are also true for us today.  He is with us.  He will be with us till the end of time and at the moment time is still with us, and so is he.  We have the assurance of that same power of that same Holy Spirit as we do what we can in our own small way, in our own localities, to be his witnesses.

May the days ahead be equally exciting for us his Church today, as we share the risen life of Christ and see the signs of his Kingdom bearing fruit in the lives of those around us.
Best wishes to you all,