Pentecost (Year A)

First Reading - Acts 2.1-21

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles. On the day of Pentecost, the disciples were all together in one place, when suddenly, all around them, there was a sound like the rush of a violent wind, filling the entire house where they were meeting. Flames, or tongues of fire, appeared amongst them, and rested on each of them. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak in many languages. At this sound, a crowd began to gather, made up of Jewish believers who were staying in Jerusalem - from Asia and Arabia, Egypt and North Africa, Judea, Turkey, Syria, Greece and the Balkans, Crete, and Rome, both Hebrews and converts. They said, ‘Surely, these who are speaking are all from Galilee. And yet we hear them declaring the greatness of God, each in our own language. What can this mean?’ But others mocked and said, ‘They have had too much wine.’ Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice, and addressed the crowd, saying: ‘People of Judea, and all who are here in Jerusalem: these are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning. No; this is what was spoken through the prophet Joel, when God declared: “In those days, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. The young will see visions, your elders will dream dreams, and your sons and your daughters will receive and proclaim my word. There will be wonders and signs in the heavens, and on the earth: blood, and fire, and clouds of smoke, the sun turned to darkness and the moon blood red, before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”’ This is the word of the Lord.

Second Reading - 1 Corinthians 12.4-13

A reading from the first letter of Paul to the Corinthians. There are many different gifts, but only one Spirit. There are different kinds of ministry, but all serving the same Lord. There are different activities, but in all of them, and in everyone, it is the same God at work. And the work of the Spirit, in each individual, is given for the good of all. Through the Spirit, one person receives the gift of wisdom. Another, by the same Spirit, receives the gift of knowledge. In the same Spirit, another receives the gift of faith. Another receives gifts of healing, and another receives the gift of the working of miracles. Others, in the same Spirit, receive the gifts of prophecy, discernment, languages, and interpretation. All these gifts are the work of the one Holy Spirit, who distributes these gifts as the Holy Spirit wills. And just as the body is one body, with many parts, so we, though many, are one body, in Christ. For in the one Spirit, we were all baptised into one body, whether Hebrews or Greeks, slaves or free. and we all receive the same Holy Spirit. This is the word of the Lord.

Gospel - John 7.37-39

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John. On the final day of the festival of the harvest, in Jerusalem, Jesus was again teaching in the temple. Jesus said, ‘Let all who are thirsty come to me and drink. And, as the scripture says, all who believe in me will have streams of living water flowing from within.’ By this, Jesus meant the Spirit, which all who believed in him would receive after he had been glorified. This is the Gospel of the Lord.