Pentecost

Just in case you don’t know, this coming Sunday we celebrate Pentecost, the day we commemorate receiving Jesus Christ’ gift of the Holy Spirit – or at least that is the Christian tradition of Pentecost.  As with many Christian holy days, Pentecost finds its roots in the Jewish faith.  The word “Pentecost” comes from the Greek meaning “the fiftieth” and originally it was 50 days after Passover. 

The Hebrew Scriptures never mention Pentecost.  (The Greek term became popular with the spread of the Greek language as the common language in the Middle East.)  In the Hebrew Scriptures (what we call the “Old Testament”), the celebration is call the “Festival of Weeks” or “Shavout” (Exodus 34:22; Numbers 28:26-31; Leviticus 23:15-21). This festival was observed 7 weeks from the second day of Passover, on which an offering of barley sheaf was given. All adult males were required to travel to the sanctuary to take part. The Feast of Weeks was observed after the Israel people settled in the Promised Land. On this day, no work was permitted. The people would gather at the Tabernacle to thank God for the spring harvest. It marked the time when the first fruits of the wheat harvest were gathered and offered to the Lord.

In Jerusalem circa 33 A.D., this festival tradition continued just has it had for millennia.  It makes sense that many people from so many different places (Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamia, Judea, Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt, etc.) were present at the time.  It also makes sense that when people began speaking in different languages, they were accused of being drunk, even at 9 o’clock in the morning. It was a harvest festival after all!

It is helpful for Christians to know the origins of our traditions, but it is also important that we don’t use them to subjugate their original meanings.  That is way I am not a big fan of having a Seder supper on Maundy Thursday. Jesus’ commandment to love one another is its own event beyond the remembrance of the Passover. Similarly, our celebration of Pentecost celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit 50 days after Jesus resurrection, not a harvest festival 50 days after Passover (forgive me for the over simplification of Shavout). While having similar roots, the traditions are independent from each other.

With all that being said, we recognize the specific wonder of our Pentecost feast in the coming of the Holy Spirit. It is difficult for me to imagine what a world without the imminent presence of the Holy Spirit would be like. Perhaps it would just feel like something critical was missing from a picture of a person, like a person’s eyes or nose.  It was also probably really difficult for the apostles to explain the Spirit presence to others (remember, according to the Gospel of John, the risen Jesus gave the Holy Spirit to the apostles in the upper room John 20:22).  It would be like describing colors to someone who has always been blind.  But when the Spirit is present, you can feel it because the presence is practically tangible.  I’ve know non-religious people comment on “feeling peaceful” in a holy place.

Since that awesome day 2 millennia ago, all who seek the Spirit will find her. By celebrating Pentecost, we remember what it feels like to be ignited with God’s love and power.  We need this recharging just as much as we need to remember Jesus’ birth and death narratives, perhaps even more as it gives us inspiration to do God’s work in the world.  So come be part of the fun and feel the Spirit’s presence in you!  And remember to wear something RED!