This Sunday we gather together to celebrate Pentecost.
The easiest task of the day is to WEAR RED!
The English word Pentecost is a transliteration of the Greek word pentekostos, which means fifty. It comes from the ancient Christian expression pentekoste hemera, which means "fiftieth day." But Christians did not invent the phrase "fiftieth day." Rather, they borrowed it from Greek-speaking Jews who used the phrase to refer to a Jewish holiday - The Festival of Weeks, Shavuot in Hebrew. This name comes from a command in Leviticus, which instructs people to count seven weeks or fifty days from the end of Passover to the beginning of the next holiday.
Shavuot was the second great feast in Israel's yearly cycle of holy days. This day became especially significant for Christians because, seven weeks after the resurrection of Jesus, during the Jewish celebration of Shavuot/Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out empowering them for their mission and gathering them together as a church.
In theory, the Spirit could have been poured out on the followers of Jesus when they were not gathered together. But the fact that the Spirit was given to a gathering of believers is not incidental. It underscores the centrality of the church in God's work in the world. The actions of the earliest Christians put all of this in boldface. The Holy Spirit is not only given to individuals, but to the gathered people of God.
Many Christians, especially those of us who have been influenced by the individualism of American culture, live as if the church is useful but unnecessary. We seem to believe that as long as we have a personal relationship with God, everything else is secondary. But Pentecost is a vivid illustration of the truth that is found throughout Scripture: the community of God's people is central to God's work in the world.
Symbolically, this miracle reinforces the multilingual, multicultural, multiracial mission of the church. We are to be a community in which all people are drawn together by God's love in Christ. As Paul writes "There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."
Although there are some glorious exceptions, it seems that the church has not, in general, lived out its multilingual mission. We are often divided according to language, race, and ethnicity. Pentecost challenges all of us to examine our own attitudes in the regard, to reject and repent of any prejudice that lurks within us, and to open our hearts to all people, even and especially those who do not share our language and culture. Yes, I know this is not easy. But it is central to our calling. And it is something that the Spirit of God will help us to do if we are available.
We will be singing a newer text by Delores Dufner, a Roman Catholic Nun of the order of St. Benedict, and on the faculty of St. John's University in Minnesota. The tune will be very familiar to many.
I offer this recording of the Hymn and Tune, led by the Cantate Domino Choir, during their weekly appearance at Sunday, 6 p.m. mass, at The Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, in Singapore. This video is not rehearsal - THIS IS CHURCH!
SING ALONG!
Summoned by the God who made us; rich in our diversity;
Gathered in the name of Jesus; richer still in unity;
Let us bring the gifts that differ; and in splendid varied ways;
Sing a new church into being; one in faith and love and praise.
Bring the hopes of every nation; bring the art of every race;
Weave a song of peace and justice; let it sound through time and space;
Let us bring the gifts that differ; and in splendid varied ways;
Sing a new church into being; one in faith and love and praise.
Draw together at one table; all the human family;
Shape a circle ever wider; and a people ever free;
Let us bring the gifts that differ; and in splendid varied ways;
Sing a new church into being; one in faith and love and praise.
Happy Pentecost! See you Sunday in RED!
Gary
Pastor of Worship, Communication & Liturgical Arts