The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Ephphatha Parish of the Deaf
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY
Today is the Day of Pentecost, one of the most important feasts of the Church year. It is also called Whitsunday, because in the old days, converts would be baptized at the Easter Vigil and given a white baptismal robe. They wore this robe to church until the day of Pentecost, showing that they were newly baptized members of the Church; Pentecost would be the last day that you would see the group of newly baptized wearing their white robes. It was also the day that the white vestments and altar hangings in the church were put aside for the first time since Easter. Pentecost is, in many ways, the crown or the climax of Eastertide. The red vestments and hangings remind us of the fire of the Holy Spirit which was seen on this day. The apostles later became known as the first bishops, and that's why bishops still wear those pointy hats, with two "tongues"...reminding us of the tongues of fire that set them apart for God's work. But we need to remember that the Holy Spirit empowered all the people in that upper room, all the Christians or followers of Christ; all Christians are given work to do for God, and the power to do that work.
Pentecost, like many other things in our religion, is not our own idea. It is actually borrowed from the Jews. In Israel, it was customary for farmers to sow their grain just before Passover, and then whenever possible, good Jews would go to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover around the Temple. It was one of the feasts that Jews were supposed to to go Jerusalem to celebrate if they could. The next great feast came 50 days later, and was called by the Greeks Pentecost; the word Pentecost is from the Greek word for 50. Again, good Jews would go to Jerusalem, to offer the first fruits or first harvest of their farms to God in thanksgiving for good land, good weather, and the strength to farm the land. Pentecost was the celebration of the first harvest, rather like our Thanksgiving (but our Thanksgiving comes at the end of harvest, not at the beginning.) Pentecost also celebrated the giving of the Law to Moses, so it was the "birthday" of the Jewish religion, just as it is now the "birthday" of the Christian religion, as we have read from Acts today.
As we have just read in Acts, the apostles and other followers of Jesus were gathered in the upper room where they had eaten the Last Supper with Jesus several weeks earlier, and where Jesus had appeared to them on that first Easter night. The Bible tells us that there were 120 people in that room, not just the 12 apostles. The apostles had elected Matthais to fill Judas' place, so there were 12 again, to symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel, or "all of Israel." Suddenly, a mighty wind blew through the room, with a tremendous noise; and as the people there looked up to see what was happening, they noticed tongues of fire over the heads of everyone in the room. They were no longer scared of the Roman soldiers and the Temple police. They unlocked the doors and burst into the street, preaching about Jesus and what he had taught them. And although they all were speaking Hebrew or Aramaic, the thousands of people who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, heard them preaching in the language each of them understood best. The preaching in the language of the Jews was heard by Greeks, Egyptians, Romans, Spaniards, people from Ethoipa, Crete, Cyprus and many other areas, each in their own language. This was a tremendously powerful showing of the strength of the Holy Spirit, wasn't it? As a result of that preaching, over 3,000 people lined up in front of the apostles to ask to be baptized: the first fruits of the new church's work being offered to God, offering their lives to God. The fact that people from so many different countries were coming, asking for Baptism, underlined the new-to-them idea that Jesus' message and teachings were for all people, not just for Jews. And the fact that the Holy Spirit came with power on everyone in that room, not just the Twelve, makes it abundantly clear that all Christians are responsible for the ministry of the church; not just those who are ordained.
You may remember that when Jesus appeared to the disciples in that upper room on Easter night, he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." At that time he said that this giving of the Holy Spirit would empower them to forgive...or not to forgive...sins. So why did they need to receive the Holy Spirit again, at Pentecost?
It seems to the church that our need for the Holy Spirit is an on-going need. When we are baptized, we are given the Holy Spirit. When we are confirmed, the Bishop prays that the Holy Spirit will defend us with his heavenly grace and give us the power to live as Christians. When we are married, the priest prays that the Holy Spirit will give the couple the ability to live together in harmony and love. And those who are ordained hear the Bishop say, as he lays hands on their heads, "Recieve the Holy Spirit for the office and work of a deacon (or priest, or bishop) in God's church." Our need for the guidance, power and gifts of the Holy Spirit is an ongoing thing, every day of our lives. We may need the Spirit's gift of patience to help us deal with a stubborn two-year-old. We may need the Spirit's gift of understanding to help ourselves, or a friend, work through one of the many problems of a normal life. We may need other gifts of the Spirit to help us figure out how to deal with a need, or a lack of funds, or a person who is just plain nasty. We might need the gifts of the Spirit to help us learn a new job, to design a new building, to plan a fund-raising campaign for a new church hall, to come up with decorations for a festival, or to help us deal with a family where a member is dying. Receiving the Holy Spirit is not a one-time thing. We cannot say, "There! I'm confirmed, so I don't need to bother to go to church any more!" We will need the Holy Spirit's guidance, gifts and grace every day of our lives...and we ought to thank that same Spirit for helping us in every situation we find ourselves living in. And if we are not aware of the Spirit's help, we need to remember what Jesus said: have we prayed to the Spirit for grace and help? If we do, as Jesus promised, we will get it. If we don't, we have only ourselves to blame.
The collect for today is one of the most loved prayers of many Christians. Many people, remembering their daily need for the help of the Spirit, make this prayer part of their early-morning prayers each day. It's a good habit, and one I commend to you. At the very least, even if we don't use the collect each day, we can always pray, Come, Holy Spirit, come. Amen.
