Back in the 1960’s in the days when the Whitsuntide bank holiday coincided with the celebration of Pentecost, the people of Bradford would crowd on the pavements of the city to watch the walkers. The race, in its day was oldest road walking event in the world and at its height attracted several hundred walkers and mass crowds of supporters. It was normally advisable to stay at home on Whit Monday, because the roads were packed with queuing vehicles and the walkers route took them along some of the busiest roads in the area.
This was always a major event each year in my early life and I can remember laughing as some of the styles of walking as competitors had to travel as fast as possible without breaking into a run. I always seemed quite cruel, but the final stage of the journey, not far from where we lived was all up hill and looked torturous.
Whitsuntide was always a big event in the year, very similar to Christmas and Easter and the Whit Monday Bradford walk was a big part of the celebrations of the weekend. Over the years, Whitsuntide has disappeared completely, as has the Bradford Whit Walk, the walk in 2012 was cancelled due to a lack of competitors. I guess that with the passage of time, fun runs and marathons had become far more prominent and maybe the Whit Walk had lost some of its significance as Whitsuntide had become the spring bank holiday, which was no longer linked to the celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
I believe that there are three major celebrations in the life of the Christian Church. At Christmas we celebrate the incarnation, the moment when God came into the world in human form, in the shape of a baby, as Charles Wesley said “Our God, contracted to a span, incomprehensively made man” something well worth celebrating. At Easter, we remember the self-sacrifice of Christ as he was crucified for us, the major celebration comes three days later as we rejoice in the resurrection of Christ, another worthwhile celebration. Surely Pentecost is surely as important to the Christian as Christmas and Easter? This year is one of those years when the Spring Bank Holiday and Pentecost are on the same weekend.
Pentecost is important and I pray that you will celebrate this special occasion. The early disciples were changed on this day, in Old Testament times, God was remote, certain people had relationships with him. Jesus changed that, God walked and talked with his disciples, he taught them how to live in accordance with God’s will, he was flesh and blood, a real human being. At Pentecost everything changed again, God came to the disciples in the form of Spirit, and now he lived in them. The same Holy Spirit is there for us today, inspiring, encouraging and enthusing us in our journey through life.