The Rev. Virginia W. Nagel
Episcopal Diocese of Central NY (Retired)
Today is the day of Pentecost. It was originally a Jewish feast, fifty days
after Passover (which is why it's called Pentecost, pente being
the prefix for 50). The Jewish feast of Pentecost celebrated the giving of the
Law to Moses during the Israelites' exodus from Egypt to Palestine. It was also
the feast of first-fruits. Wheat and other grains would be sown just before
Passover in the spring, and the first cutting of the mature grain would be
brought to the Temple fifty days later, and offered to God as a thank-offering
for good weather, fertile soil and a good harvest.
It was, then, on the feast of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came to the
disciples of Jesus, the 120 people praying, locked in the Upper Room where they
had eaten the Last Supper with him. They were following Jesus' command to wait
and pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit, and they were also frightened,
knowing that the city was full of strangers, pilgrims who had come to bring
their first-fruits offerings to the Temple. The last time the city of Jerusalem
had been so full of pilgrims was at Passover, and that was the time Jesus had
been put to death. Of course his followers remembered and were afraid!
And then suddenly a great gust of wind blew through the locked room. How?
Windows and doors were shut and locked...how did the wind get in? And even more
amazingly, tongues of fire appeared over the heads of the 120 disciples, men and
women alike, including the twelve apostles. They were all filled instantly with
the courage they needed to go and preach the Good News of Jesus. They burst out
of the locked room and began preaching on the streets of Jerusalem, with no fear
of Roman soldiers or Temple leaders. Miraculously, their Hebrew and Aramaic
speech became transformed into the languages of the people who heard
them...Romans from Italy, Greeks from Greece, Syrians, Egyptians, people from
all the lands around the Mediterranean sea. Each heard the Good News in his or
her own language, and was so stirred by it that they turned to the disciples and
begged to be baptized. Three thousand people heard, believed and begged for
baptism that day.
Our church uses symbols to remind us of this event. Today, altar hangings and
clergy vestments are red, the color of the fire that appeared above believers'
heads. Our bishops, the successors of the Apostles, wear mitres,
special hats shaped like flames of fire. And today is often called Whitsunday,
because in ancient days, people who were baptized at the Easter Vigil wore their
white baptismal gowns for the great fifty days, until Pentecost. Today would be
the last day they would wear their baptismal white. After that, they would join
the other Christians in their way of life and in preaching and teaching others
about Jesus.
The Bible story of salvation tells us about six new beginnings. First, of
course, is the story of creation, and the beginning of human life.
Some thousands of years later, we read how God became upset with the sinful
and arrogant ways of people, and decided to send a great flood to wash away all
who would not live according to his law. Noah was instructed to save the members
of his own family, because he was a righteous man and had brought his sons up in
the knowledge and fear of the Lord. He was commanded to build an ark, collect
breeding pairs of every animal, and ride out the flood with his family on that
ark. After the flood, came a new beginning, marked by God's promise that never
again would he wipe out all the people.
Then there was the new beginning for the Israelite people whom Moses led out
of slavery in Egypt and brought back to Israel, to the land that God had
promised, where they were to live forever according to the covenant they had
made with God...which included the Law that was given to Moses.
But the people did not keep their end of the covenant, and so much later, God
the Son came into human life as Jesus of Nazareth, to teach them how to live
according to God's Law, and to model for them that kind of life. Jesus was put
to death by the Romans at the request of the Temple leaders, and three days
later rose again from the grave. After forty days, he returned to his home in
heaven, after promising to send the Holy Spirit to guide his followers as they
spread his teachings over all the world.
And now the Holy Spirit had come, and the age of the Church began. It's still
going on, today, in you and me and all other Christians.
The number seven designates perfection in ancient thinking. The seventh new
beginning, which has not yet come, will be then Christ comes again in glory to
rule the renewed world, in holiness and love, as God's kingdom. The time that
will happen is known only to God.
These beginnings are for everyone. But each of us has our own new beginning
with God.
For some of us, it happens when we hear the Good News of Jesus and of God's
love, and, like the pilgrims in Jerusalem long ago, are so deeply moved by it
that we ask to be baptized.
For others, who are baptized as babies, their new beginning may come at the
time of confirmation, when they accept for themselves the responsibility and
privilege of living according to God's Law and Jesus' teachings, and confirm the
baptismal promises their godparents made for them.
For all of us who from time to time break our covenant with God, there is a
new beginning available in the Sacrament of Penance, when we confess our
misdoings and ask to have our slate wiped clean and to make a new start...again
and again, since as Paul tells us, all men have sinned and fallen short of
the glory of God. And we remember the old hymn that tells us that we are
from glory to glory advancing as we live in God's covenant and love.
The rest of the Church year is given to us to live out the lessons of Easter,
and to use the power we are given by the holy Spirit at Pentecost. We are all
given that power at Baptism and Confirmation. We need to give some thought to
how our lifestyle shows the world around us that we are Christians, believers
and followers of Jesus the Christ, God the Son. We are supposed to tell others
about Jesus, teach and show by our words and example the way of life that he
taught us, and do our best to bring them, too, to Baptism.
We can do this in many ways. We can, of course, raise our children in the
faith. We can make a point of observing Jesus' lifestyle, especially of treating
others as we would be treated (do you really want your spouse and children to
yell at you? Then don't yell at them!) We can show God's love and mercy through
our care of others...neighbors, friends, co-workers...and through volunteer work
and gifts to help those in need. We can, and should, pray regularly for people
whose needs we are aware of, or whose situation seems to us to need God's help.
We can vote for candidates for office who, in our opinion, seem to show their
willingness to lead our government in God's ways.
Pentecost is, of course, the end of Eastertide. But it is the beginning of
Kingdomtide, the time when we are supposed to roll up our sleeves and do what we
can to bring God's Kingdom to everyone, and to teach others how to be part of
that Kingdom.
Amen.
