On the day of Pentecost described in the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit transformed a diverse gathering of people - many of them drawn from distant lands (Acts 2:5-11). In February of this year, thousands of Christians from every region of the world had a similar experience - a Pentecost experience - while participating in the Assembly of the World Council of Churches held in southern Brazil.
The prayers and songs of the Ninth Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Porto Alegre are still ringing in our ears, and are present in our hearts. We left the Assembly with the sure knowledge that our prayer had been heard: "God, in your Grace, Transform the World."In the power of the same Spirit that came upon the disciples at the first Pentecost we pledged ourselves in Porto Alegre: to continue the quest for Christian unity; to find the means of co-operating with one another in mission and service; and to live together in peace, especially through our renewed commitment to the ecumenical Decade to Overcome Violence (2001-2010).
As we become aware of the need to improve the quality of our relationships, as we endeavour to become relevant and credible in our ecumenical life, and as we strive to act together in service and mission, the event of the first Pentecost encourages us to open ourselves once again to the Spirit that was manifest on that day, when all those present became aware of the new community to which they now belonged. Their new experience was shown in shared enthusiasm, and in a sense of new identity and belonging to Christ and to one another in the power of the Spirit. They expressed this in diverse ways in accord with their own cultures and contexts.
It was also within this Pentecost experience that the word "koinonia" (communion, participation) appears in Acts 2:42. We read: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship (koinonia), to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Thus those first Christians shared a communion in faith and in life.
This is the new life of communion which comes also to us as a wind of change, changing our language, the ways in which we communicate and relate to one another and to the world. May Pentecost this year be a time of new beginnings for us: a time of renewing our commitment to God and to each other and a time of strengthening our common witness as we offer ourselves as servants to carry out God's mission.
