In the Christian church Pentecost is the anniversary of the coming of the Holy Spirit. There are three "mega-festivals" commemorated in the Christian calendar. The first two, Christmas and Easter, are well known to both believers and non-believers. The third is the festival of Pentecost. God the Father's wonderful Christmas gift of His one and only Son, and Christ's Easter triumph over the power of sin, death, and the devil would be of no benefit to us if the Holy Spirit did not give us the gift of saving faith. Through the Word and Sacraments, the Holy Spirit gives us the faith to believe and trust in Christ as our Savior. This precious gift of faith in the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ is the reason Pentecost is the third "mega-festival" of the church and why we celebrate it with such joy and thanksgiving. Pentecost is the great festival that marks the birth of the Christian church by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost means "fiftieth day" and is celebrated fifty days after Easter. A tradition of some churches in ancient times was to baptize adult converts to the faith on Pentecost. The newly baptized catechumens would wear white robes on that day, so Pentecost was often called “Whitsunday” or “White Sunday” after these white baptismal garments.
WHAT HAPPENED ON PENTECOST? .
Ten days after Jesus ascended into heaven, the twelve apostles, Jesus’ mother and family, and many other of His disciples gathered together in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival that was celebrated on the fiftieth day after Passover. While they were indoors praying, a sound like that of a rushing wind filled the house and tongues of fire descended and rested over each of their heads. This was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on human flesh promised by God. The disciples were suddenly empowered to proclaim the gospel of the risen Christ. They went out into the streets of Jerusalem and began preaching to the crowds gathered for the festival. Not only did the disciples preach with boldness and vigor, but by a miracle of the Holy Spirit they spoke in the native languages of the people present, many who had come from all corners of the Roman Empire. This created a sensation. The apostle Peter seized the moment and addressed the crowd, preaching to them about Jesus' death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins. The result was that about three thousand converts were baptized that day. (Read Acts 2:1-41). This tremendous manifestation of divine power marked the beginning of the church, which has ever since regarded Pentecost as its birthday. .
There is much debate in some circles about exactly what happened at Pentecost, whether it is a repeatable event or only for the early church, or whether it should or should not become a paradigm for personal religious experience. Those who advocate it as a paradigm are sometimes termed Pentecostals, although that term usually refers more specifically to church traditions who advocate speaking in "tongues" or a special spirit-inspired prayer or praise language. In any case, what seems clear is that Pentecost represents God’s gracious, enabling presence actively at work among His people, calling and enabling them to live out in dynamic ways the witness of being His people. .
Pentecost proclaims the spirit of God in the variety of cultures and in the variety of ministries in the Church. Invariably linked with the variety of cultures is variety of languages. They all heard the Word of the Lord in their own language. It is a contrast from the Tower of Babel where they were given different languages and were confused. Pentecost, the Spirit, brought all nations and languages together. They could be understood and understand each other speaking their own tongue. The church at one time thought it could bring the world together by teaching Latin. Then with Vatican II we went back to the vernacular and the diversity of the Lord’s people was again revealed. .
Take a simple word that is so essential to the life of the church, “Welcome”.
Spanish – bienvenido
French – bienvenue
German – wilkommen
Arabic - salaam alekum
The Bahamas has become multicultural. A variety of countries are represented here. How important is it for us to have an attitude of welcome to all of the diversity of God’s people! All of those traditions bring us the message of Christ and the Spirit of God in our own idiom. .
So this feast of Pentecost is a day to celebrate hope, a hope evoked by the knowledge that God through His Holy Spirit is at work among His people. It is a celebration of newness, of recreation, of renewal of purpose, mission, and calling as God’s people. It is a celebration of God’s ongoing work in the world. Yet, it is also a recognition that His work is done through His people as He pours out His presence upon them. So we continue to welcome the Holy Spirit. .
from Father Colin Humes
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