2026-05-24 (Iain) Mysticism for the Masses Pentecost Reflection

Mysticism for the Masses: Pentecost Sermon 24th May 2026

Today is the feast of Pentecost, one of the most important Christian festivals, which many consider to be the birth of the church. After the resurrection, Jesus appears to his disciples within a 40 day period and then ascends into Heaven. Pentecost occurs 10 days after the Ascension, where the disciples are gathering daily, waiting & praying for the Holy Spirit to come because they were instructed, ‘not to depart Jerusalem until they have been clothed with the Holy Spirit.’ There would be about 120 people present including the Mother of Jesus, Mary & the 12 Apostles, including Matthias who has been added.

After 10 days together suddenly a sound from Heaven like a mighty rushing wind fills the upper room and appears as flames of fire, and all are filled with the Holy Spirit & begin to speak in tongues, many of which are intelligible to people with different languages (Reversal of the Tower of Babel where people are dispersed and speak different languages). It is a strange & supernatural experience that defies rational explanation, so much so that people outside thought think they are drunk.

I want to look at this strange & supernatural experience and the relevance of Pentecost for us as a community today. Much of the institutional church has a weak Theology of the Holy Spirit (I would include myself in this) which potentially impacts on our experience of God. Most of us, deep down long for and yearn for a real experience of the Divine. It’s great that we learn about God, through reflections, Bible study and discussion because a healthy Theology leads to good praxis. But more than anything we desire an experience of the Divine, and now that Jesus is no longer with us, this comes through the Holy Spirit.

I have had to overcome some personal prejudice to prepare this sermon because my Priestly ministry has often been with people who have had bad experiences in churches that emphasize the Holy Spirit but I fear I have been in danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

So this strange event – this outpouring of the Holy Spirit – where does it leave us today? The speaking of tongues, healings, visions, prophesies were common place in the Apostolic age, and a major factor in the spread of Christianity throughout our world, originating from this small gathering. After this, it goes relatively quiet, particularly in the West with sporadic revivals happening in certain places – I’m sure it may have been more prevalent elsewhere in the world.

This charismatic phenomenon resurfaces in the early 20th Century. In 1906 there was an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Los Angeles & elsewhere giving birth to early Pentecostal churches, which were characterized by being: racially integrated, which was unusual at the time, and pacifists, & included some of the first conscientious objectors during the world wars. Some healthy roots to this Pentecostal movement.

Then, in the early 70’s, we had the Charismatic movement, where people were being filled by the Spirit, across all denominations – even denominations who didn’t want to be touched by it – sounds like God. Catholics, Methodists, Episcopalians, Baptists were all touched by this movement leading to a growth in independent churches. Many of us may be familiar with John Wimber and his healing ministry and the Toronto blessing, all of which made an impact for many people around the world.

Globally the Pentecostal & Charismatic churches account for over 750 million people and are the reason Christianity is growing in the world. In fact without this increase in Africa, Latin America and Asia, Christianity would be shrinking. Therefore it would be supremely arrogant to dismiss it; although there is no doubt that it has, in parts, been corrupted by poor and shallow Theology, - a prosperity gospel which often leaves out the Prophetic and any Theology of the Cross, and abuses of power. It can also difficult to discern what is real and what is created psychologically. But clearly there are many, many people who have had a transformative experience of God through the charismatic movement.

Karl Rahner, one of the most influential theologians of the 20th century, whose writings helped prepare the way for Vatican II and did much to shape the Catholic Church into a much more progressive, relevant & justice orientated entity famously said: ‘The devout Christian of the future will either be a mystic, one who has experienced something of the divine, or will cease to be anything at all,’ and he called the charismatic movement ‘mysticism for the masses.’ – I love that expression & want to run with it.

I’m going to start by replacing the word charismatic, because it carries a lot of negative baggage for some, and replace it with the word mystic. If we are to create a mysticism for the masses we need to demystify the word mystic and move it away from the realms of an elite devout set of people, wonderful as they are, -away from monks/hermits/nuns/contemplatives & saints – and ground it for all people, not only Christians: – for the Holy Spirit cares not for institutional boundaries and is wonderfully inclusive – like the wind she is wild, untamed and blows where she will – we cannot control her and confine her.

So what is Mysticism – it is a word is rich in meaning and many faceted, and does evade being tightly defined but at its simplest implies a spirituality that is embodied, visceral and experiential – so a mystic is somebody who experiences God. But the experience is never an end in itself but leads to a transformation of consciousness – an increasing awareness in the presence of God and the unity of all things.

If we believe that our triune God is the "Holy Mystery" permeating all reality, as Paul says: 'In God we live and move and have our being’, then God is not just found in the two extremes of the quiet corners of contemplative prayer or, in what Karl Rahner, describes as noisy mysticism – speaking in tongues, prophesying, dramatic conversions, being slain in the spirit, extraordinary visions. Mysticism should include everyday life, which is also infused with the mystery of God. Therefore we can experience God, through the Holy Spirit in the routine, mundane, and ordinary, if we are awake enough to recognize it. The mysticism of everyday life is an opportunity to deeply mine the depths of human experience, relationships, and our encounters with nature.

Ann Marie Kidder says: ‘Mysticism helps recover the presence of God in the world & in everyday life; it makes intelligible a personal experience of God; unmasks false ideas of God and allows God’s presence to emerge where one might have overlooked or ignored it.’

Mysticism is all about Presence, Power and Possibility: the belief that God can be and is present in us, with us and between us. St. Paul’s expresses Presence, Power and Possibility in his deeply mystical prayer to the Ephesians:

16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 (Power & Presence)) so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (Presence). And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, (PPP)19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Presence)

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 (Possibility & Power)

Like St. Paul, it is amazing how many Theologians, renowned for their academic knowledge, have had a charismatic or mystical experience. It’s what moved and motivated them to understand God more. And many of us are here because of a mystical experience of some kind – but we are reticent to share it – thinking people will think we are nuts or stereotype us as one of those a charismatics, or understandably feel it is such a precious moment it might be ridiculed or diluted if we shared it. If we shared our mystical experiences wisely and appropriately we might be amazed that the workings of the Holy Spirit are more prevalent than we thought.

Most of us have a doctrine/belief of the Holy Spirit but our challenge is to become more cognizant of the Spirit & be open to her flow and movement, to allow the Spirit, who waits in readiness for the opportunity, to inject her breath into our worship, into our relationships, into the very clay of our existence. This is how we begin to democratize mysticism or if you like charismatic experience.

It is the journey Thomas Merton underwent after his epiphany in Louisville where I quote, ‘I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all those people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers, It was like waking from a dream of separateness, of spurious self isolation in a special world, the world of renunciation and supposed holiness……And if only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are all walking around like the sun.’

The experience marked a turning point in Merton’s life showing that spiritual encounters can occur in the most mundane settings, whilst underscoring a belief in the universal brotherhood, sisterhood of all people, and democratizing any notion of a mystical experience, affirming that the sacred can be found in secular environments as well as religious cloisters.

So let us democratize mysticism by moving it from the margins of our Christian life to the centre, and not allow it to become the preserve of an elite group, by re-establishing a belief that God can work outside the rational, whilst understanding there is a continuum between the so- called extraordinary experiences of God and the experience of God in the everyday and ordinary. Let us become more cognoscente and expectant that the Holy Spirit is present in our singing, in our Eucharist, in our hearing of the word, in our fellowship, in our welcoming of visitors, in our use of tech, in our hosting on line, in our prayers, in our responses, in our listening, in our speaking, in our hospitality but also at our work, in our homes – on Monday morning.

Let us, as individuals and as a community find and provide quiet, contemplative spaces, spaces that are inclusive, available to all, including those outside Christianity, where everyone is invited into the Possibility and Power of God’s transforming Presence. The Holy Spirit is not confined to specific faith traditions so there should be a cross pollination of wisdom and practices between different religious faiths. This is part of the aim of Pall organizing a trip to the Gudwara after the service, our monthly Second Sunday SacREd Space and weekly centering prayer group – that they are accessible to all people who choose to come.

Let us allow the spirit to break down barriers between Theology & Spirituality, as we grapple with understanding the Mystery of God, and let us break down the divide between Contemplation and Action. If we truly encounter the Light, Fire, and Love of God, our action will be infused with a sense of God’s presence, possibility and power and we will be compelled to work for justice and peace, whilst dismantling oppression and creating community. We need to be both mystic and a militant, combining an expansion of our inner awareness of God with effective social action. Kathy Galloway said: Pentecost did not happen the day after Easter. Perhaps resurrection takes a bit of getting used to. Instead the disciples waited and prayed. And suddenly without warning, they were filled with power. At a time like this, filled with huge preventable suffering, we look for the freeing of the spirit. We pray for justice and peace in the world. We ask give us Pentecost again. And like the disciples, we cannot predict where or when the spirit will move among us. But we can wait in hope and readiness, open to its coming.

What am I saying: It is so easy for our faith to become rational, full of head knowledge, and lose a sense of the presence, power and possibility that is available to us with the Holy Spirit (Scarista Beach). Let us reclaim our charismatic/mystical heritage by entering into the mystery of the Love of the Triune God, with our mind, body and soul open and surrendered to the wild spirit – open to her presence, and her possibility and her power. Amen