It's Pentecost Sunday, a day when we celebrate the birth of the Church and the giving of the Holy Spirit, as our lesson from Acts (2:1-21) reports. But the Bible makes it clear that it was not just on that first Pentecost that the Holy Spirit was given. It happened to some in Old Testament times (Judges 6:34; 1 Samuel 11:6; 16:13). However, the Spirit was also given during Jesus' own life on earth. Here's the story.

The disciples were still pretty much in despair that Sunday evening over the events of Good Friday, over the loss of their dear friend and, with his apparent failure, the withering of all their hopes and dreams. Yes, there had been some fantastically hopeful news relayed by Mary Magdalene (whatever you may think of her). She had seen, as Peter and John did later, that the ston…