The Feast of Pentecost

Rev. Dr. Niveen Sarras

The Feast of Pentecost, June 9, 2019.

 

 

Please join me in prayer. Heavenly King, Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, everywhere present and filling all things, Treasury of blessings and Giver of life: come and abide in us, cleanse us from every impurity and save our souls, O Good One.

 

The Jewish festival of Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks in English started in the evening of Saturday, June 8 and will end in the evening of Monday, June 10. Shavuot is celebrated seven weeks after Passover. “Shavuot has a double significance. It marks the all-important wheat harvest in Israel (Exodus 34:22), and it commemorates the anniversary of the day when God gave the Torah to the nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai.”[1] The alternative name for Shavuot is Pentecost in the ancient Greek language. Pentecost is set up a day to seven weeks after Easter. It means 50 because (7×7=49).

 

According to the book of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 1:15), the disciples, the Virgin Mary, and other women, along with 120 followers of Jesus gathered to celebrate God’s gift of the Torah and the gift of harvest. They were unaware that another gift was coming. This new gift is the Holy Spirit, which led them to leave their gathering house and go to the world to preach the good news. Pentecost marks the birthday of the church. Today our church becomes more than 2000 years old.

 

The feast of Pentecost is one of the ancient feasts in the church. The book of Acts 20:16 records that the apostle Paul celebrated the feast of Pentecost. It also means that Paul wanted to celebrate the feast of Shavuot. In the time of the apostle Paul, the church was part of the Jewish community and celebrated Jewish feasts.

Someone might ask, didn’t Jesus, according to John 20, give the Holy Spirit to his disciples immediately after his resurrection? “21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” 22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” The answer is yes. But remember that the gospel of John is not interested so much in chronology (when things happen). Instead, he is interested in linking resurrection, ascension, and Pentecost closely together.

Pentecost teaches us that we need one another. Pouring out the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost expresses the need to appreciate our neighbor who is different than us. “Pentecost is celebration of unity in diversity,” says Pope Francis.[2] All languages are appreciated. The many languages that the apostles spoke indicate a new era of unity and equality but not sameness. All cultures and ethnicities are equally important and precious in the eyes of God. The barriers and privileges that divided people on a personal and national level have been destroyed. The feast of Pentecost teaches us that the time of Pentecost is the time when war, argument, division and discrimination decrease, and love, and unity, along with diversity increase.

 

 

The apostle Paul teaching on our new identity in Christ through the Holy Spirit.

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:14-17).

 

 

As the Holy Spirit empowered the disciples and the 120 followers of Jesus Christ to preach and live the gospel, the same Holy Spirit empowers us to do the same. Each one of you received the Holy Spirit in your baptism. You have the power of the Holy Spirit to do the impossible. Jesus says 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: by using my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes in their hands, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mark 16:17-18). You can perform these kinds of miracles and even more because you have the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Happy Birthday to the Church of Christ all over the world! Happy birthday to you, who are the body of the Church!

 

 

[1] Wikipedia. “Shavuot.” Accessed June 7, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shavuot.

[2] Pentecost is a celebration of unity in diversity, pope says By Cindy Wooden Catholic News Service 6.4.2017 6:06 AM ET. http://www.cbn.com/700club/pentecost_diversity.pdf