Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Pentecost. Already?


Even though we’re not completely through the season of Easter, it’s not too early to begin thinking about Pentecost. May 19th is Pentecost Sunday and we will hear the reading from Acts that recounts the Spirit descending and the immediate aftereffects. The passage begins with “When the day of Pentecost came, they were all in one place.” Two things need to be mentioned. Pentecost was a Jewish festival which took place fifty days  after the Passover (from which we derive the name of the feast). For the Jews it celebrated the covenant with God that was made at Sinai. Consequently, we know that almost fifty days had passed since Jesus’ resurrection when this particular Pentecost occurred. 

Acts relates that Jesus was among his followers for forty days after his Resurrection, a much longer period that even the longest one mentioned in the Gospels of about eight days. This is particularly interesting because Luke Gospel says Jesus ascended on the day he was resurrected and Luke is thought to have written both Luke and Act. This is one of those matters in Scripture that make you want to scratch your head.

But back to Acts and its story. After forty days, some of his followers witnessed his ascension and decided they needed to replace Judas so they would have twelve men in the inner circle again. Matthias was chosen by lots from among those who “had accompanied us during all the time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us...” The time began, we’re told, with Jesus’ baptism by John. (We’ll save for latter that at that time Jesus apparently had no followers. Another head scratcher.) We can understand they wanted someone who’d been around Jesus a long time, so we can overlook the little possible error.

The descent of the Spirit was a private event. The followers, we’re not told how many, were again likely gathered in an upper room. In researching this, every Catholic scholar I consulted said it was the apostles and Jesus’ mother, Mary. That is a matter of faith, since the record is silent on that. Nonetheless, whoever was present began to hear the sound of a rushing wind that filled the place. “Divided tongues, as of fire” appeared and one tongue touched each of them. They were “filled with the Holy Spirit” and began to speak in foreign languages, not tongues in the sense of “speaking in tongues.” Acts is clear; it’s foreign languages they did not previously know. Because of this reference, many parishes will have the story read Sunday simultaneously by people who speak languages other than English. I personally don’t find this very edifying, but many do.

Pentecost is often described as the birthday of the Church. With the arrival of the Spirit a new mission is established and the followers begin the mission with which they had been entrusted: finish Jesus’ work of proclaiming the reign of God.

Pentecost is one of the seven major feast days of the Episcopal Church. Baptisms are often performed and a celebratory sense pervades the service. The Church calendar will now begin a countdown of “Sundays After Pentecost.” It can reach as many as twenty-eight Sundays because it stretches from Pentecost Sunday to Advent 1. This period is sometimes called “Ordinary Time.” It’s “ordinary” in the sense that there are no other major feast days during he whole of the period, and technically, the season isn’t known as Pentecost, so it’s not a designated season, such as Lent or Advent. Some churches call Pentecost “Whitsunday,” i.e., “White Sunday.” This is because those baptized were usually given white robes to wear which gave the day it’s name.

The liturgical color for Pentecost Sunday is red. The following Sunday is Trinity Sunday and is white, and all the rest of the Sundays after Pentecost are green. 

Now you know, Jerry

4 comments:

  1. The simultaneous reading of the passage from Acts in multiple languages, by multiple people standing all around the sanctuary, reminds me of the "mighty rushing wind" of the Holy Spirit. It always thrills me to hear the voices of many proclaiming the coming of the Holy Spirit into our midst. As I listen to all the different and strange sounds, I imagine myself standing in the crowd listening to the apostles try to describe their experience, and being mystified by it. Maybe if you close your eyes this Sunday and imagine what it was like, you might enjoy the experience!

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