In the UK there used to be a TV quiz show called ‘Catchphrase’, which itself had the catchphrase ‘Say what you see’. The idea of the game was to show animations which represented a well-known saying or phrase and the participant had to guess what the saying or phrase was.
As we think about the Day of Pentecost, we see that the Holy Spirit came so that we could be witnesses to Jesus (Acts 1:8), so that we can ‘say what we have seen.’ Ali Herbert writes, ‘For the disciples it was simply a matter of saying what they had seen. What they had seen of Jesus’ life, heard from his teaching, experienced of his miracles – but more than that, what they experienced of his presence with them and his love. Peter paints a beautiful picture of the Trinity nature of God: Jesus raised from death, the giving nature of the Father and the Spirit poured out so that everyone can see with their own eyes. God is three persons to express relationship and community – a community that each of us are invited into.’
We can often get a bit ‘hung-up’ on what the arrival of the Holy Spirit and the baptism of the Holy Spirit mean, especially when we read about the sound of a rushing wind, tongues of fire seeming to rest on people’s heads and speaking in other languages. (Acts 2:1-4) But fundamentally, the Holy Spirit comes to give us the boldness to speak about Jesus: how we met Him, how we first encountered Him and what He has done in our lives, how He continues to speak to us and lead us. These stories are where our evangelism comes from, because we too are witnesses of Jesus Christ. Our personal stories are what people need to hear as we share the wonderful things God has done for us!
