“Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only” (James 1:22)

 

  As I write to you, Whitsunday (i.e., the name for Pentecost in the Anglican church) is close at hand. This unique name for Pentecost (the day the disciples received the Holy Ghost in Jerusalem, see Acts 2) comes from the historic practice in the English church of having baptism on that day. Whit literally means white, so it is white Sunday, due to catechumens wearing white for their baptisms. 

  Though Easter was traditionally a high day for baptisms in the Christian church, Whitsunday is also appropriate and (though this change in England may have been due to the climate) we should recount what happened on the first “Whitsunday”.

  The apostles had heeded the words of Christ and gone to the Jerusalem. A sound from heaven like a rushing wind filled the room and they received the Holy Ghost. They acted so strangely that the people nearby said they must be drunk. Then Peter, filled with the Spirit, stood and testified of Christ’s death and resurrection, saying that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation, but that if the people would believe on Him and be baptized, then they too would receive the Holy Ghost and the promise of salvation. It is said about 3,000 were baptized that day. What better day for baptism than this, when the Holy Ghost was first received and the physical church truly began here on earth.

  Yes, as St. James warns us, we, as Christians, are to be “doers of the word, and not hearers only”. When Christ gave the apostles the great commission (Matthew 28:19-20), He told them to go and baptize all nations, but he also told them “Teach them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” and this second part is just as important. Jesus told us that the road to heaven it is a “narrow path”, and most will acknowledge that turning from every temptation is difficult. Luckily, we are not alone. 

  Christ promises to be “with you always, even unto the end of the world”. He has left us guidance in the practices and traditions of the church that He founded. As Anglicans we can rely on the Book of Common Prayer as a guide to those things that Christ has taught us.   We say these words, and participate in these seasons and ceremonies, aided by the Holy Ghost. For if we turn to God, then the Holy Ghost will lead us “into all truth”. He is a witness of Christ to us, as we are to witnesses of Christ to others.

  Let us pray God’s guidance and help, as we remember what He has done for us, and seek earnestly to walk every day in His ways.