Pentecost—yesterday,
today and tomorrow
Bishop MacPherson's message for May 2010
In just a few weeks we will gather in our respective places of worship and celebrate The Day of Pentecost. What a glorious day within our lives and the life of the Church! The remembrance of that wonderful hymn that is offered up in so many places on this great feast day, "Hail thee, festival day! Blest day that art hallowed for ever ..." [#225 The Hymnal 1985]. It invigorates the spirit as the colour of red is seen across the naves of so many congregations.
When I speak of Pentecost not just being something of the past, I am saying that it was indeed experienced by a small group in an upper room almost 2,000 years ago; but it is not limited to that upper room. For Pentecost, the sending forth of the Holy Spirit for all, is experienced over and over again down through the ages, and continues so this day.
Look at the Sacraments of the Church, and in particular, the Sacraments of Holy Baptism, Confirmation, Ordination, and the Eucharist. Again and again we pray for the outpouring, the strengthening, the sustaining power of the Holy Spirit to be in and empowering us. And again and again, God in his mysterious way does act!
Pentecost, or to use the old English term, Whitsunday, is the Church's birthday. Or to draw upon Scripture (the Acts of the Apostles), the commissioning of the Church to experience new life. It is a day that has been observed since ancient days. The Greek word is pentekoste, meaning the fiftieth day. The name was first given to the Jewish Feast of Weeks which fell on the fiftieth day after the Passover when the first fruits of the harvest were presented, and in most later times, the giving of the Law of Moses was commemorated. (We find this first recorded in Leviticus 23:15-22 and again in Deuteronomy 16:9.)
As we find in the reading of the Acts of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles on this, the fiftieth day after the Resurrection, and the name applied by the Church to the event celebrating this festival-Pentecost.
It is also in the reading of Acts [2:1-11] that we have the historical reflection of how the Spirit worked one of his mightiest acts, a divine disturbance of sorts. As I reflected upon this portion of Scripture, I could not help but find myself thinking about much that is going on across the world. Here in the United States and many other places of travel, we find a real sense of excitement on the part of many as they live out their faith. People in small and large congregations alike talking and sharing their desire to see the local congregation grow in spirit and ministry: to reach out and bring change to their community. For this we can all be grateful, as indeed it is a sign of God's Holy Spirit in their midst!
What do you suppose we would have possibly seen had we been present on that day of Pentecost of which Luke writes about in the Acts of the Apostles? We would have no doubt found a small group of followers of Jesus. We no doubt would have recognized that they were on fire, (so to speak) that they were talking in a very unusual way. We would have found that their passionate conviction conveyed the power of their message even to those who stood about looking on.
We would also probably have found that they were unusually fearless; that they stood up and said what they wanted to say, even though they knew that their words might have meant death for them. And above all, we would have found that people listened to them. That people were moved by them, and that people were amazed as they heard them talk of the wondrous works of God.
What we would have found in this event is described by the writer of Acts in a single sentence, "And they were filled with the Holy Spirit ..." [Acts 2:4] Yes, they were filled. They were empowered by the Counselor whom Christ promised would come to them. As the reading of Ascension Day states, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you: and you will bear witness for me in Jerusalem, and all over Judea and Samaria, and away to the ends of the earth." [Acts 1:8] A very powerful statement.
In fact, this is a statement that has been cited by people in the Church for years. For years people have talked about empowerment. But there is only one problem, and this is that for years many people have talked about this empowerment-this outpouring of the Holy Spirit-as though it were something of the past! It is talked about as though it were not really part of the present day. And in many cases, certainly not something for one's own personal experience. Yet, what does Scripture say? That the heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! [Luke 11:13]
The amazing preparation for the power that Luke describes in Acts is with us today as we share in the living Christ. If we are willing to open our hearts to Christ Jesus; if we are willing to be bold; if we are willing to be responsive; and if we are willing to pray, "Lord, come Holy Spirit, fill us, empower us, use us." Jesus, the Lord of our lives, will!
I trust you will see there is no need for any of us-not one-to look upon the past with envy. There is no need for the words of Scripture, nor a living relationship with the Lord Jesus, to be looked upon with awe. For if we truly ask Christ to pour out upon us the Holy Spirit, to release the power of the Spirit in our lives, he will!
This comes with my prayers and best wishes for a meaningful Pentecost experience.
Faithfully in the Risen Christ,
The Rt. Rev’d D. Bruce MacPherson,
D.D.
III Bishop of Western Louisiana
