A Pentecost Celebration

And when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place... All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

What does it mean to the church that we are celebrating Pentecost? What does it mean to you, today? Pentecost has become so identified with gaudy emotions, religious ignorance and fanaticism that we can hardly see it for what it truly is. I would like to clear away some of the fog this evening to see if we might see the radical changes that a true Pentecost would bring.

Pentecost, the transformation of an old Jewish Feast day which occurred 50 days after the Presentation of First Fruits, a Christian Celebration. Pente means 50, 50 days after the resurrection of Christ. Forty days he was on earth and the 120 disciples waited 10 days for the coming of the Spirit.

Pentecost is an event, a happening. It is the coming of the Spirit. It is not the first appearance of the Spirit in the scriptures. The Spirit moved upon the face of the waters in the creation, but Pentecost is the installation of the Spirit as the Chief Actor in Sacred History. The Age of the Father; the Age of the Son; and the Age of the Spirit.

Pentecost is the creation of the Church. On that day the Spirit of the risen Christ descended upon 120 waiting believing followers of Jesus Christ and formed them into his body and filled them with his Presence. Pentecost is the Creation of the Body of Christ on earth.

This is/was such a momentous event that it deserves a more studied look. I think we get a better idea of Pentecost when we see it against the backdrop of the Annunciation and Incarnation. The angel of the Lord, Gabriel announced to Mary that she was blessed of God that she would conceive in her womb and bear Jesus, the Son of God. How can this be? This was her question. “The Spirit of the most high will over shadow you.

In a sense we might say that at Pentecost the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, formed them into a body and incarnated the Living Presence of Christ in the womb of the Church. Christ was incarnate in this community as the life giving power of God.

The Incarnation of Christ in this Body signals what it is and what it is to do. St. Paul was very clear on this act of the Spirit. He said, “Now, you are the Body of Christ.” Now you are the visible, tangible expression of Christ. He lives in your life, thinks through you mind, and acts through your deeds.

Where is the Risen Christ? In Heaven? Yes, He is in heaven but he is also on earth and is living in his community the Church. Because the Church is the corporate presence of Christ in the world, the Church is to do what he did. He continues his ministry in the church.

What are we to do? In the largest sense of the word, we are to re-present Jesus Christ to the world.

If we are the Body of Christ, how does this manifest itself in our life together?

Perhaps I am restating the obvious when I say that Christ manifests himself as a Spiritual Presence in our Worship. As the body of Christ we gather to offer praise, adoration and thanksgiving and confession to God. It is in the Spirit of Christ within us that inspires spiritual worship. Have your been part of the community when it was worshiping God in the realization of the Spirit?

When a pastor or Layperson teaches in this Church of the Spirit, he or she continues the ministry of Christ, the Teacher. Do we not see that each of us possesses the Spirit of Christ and thereby become instruments of his when we teach?

The Christ in us fused with our will and spirit reaches out hands of love and care to those who are sick and lonely and afraid. These same hands reach out to feed the hungry and clothe the naked. They are our hands but they at the same time are the hands of Christ.

I want us to capture the notion that we are not simply following a good example of Jesus. His presence is within us inspiriting these deeds and causing people to feel his presence in these deeds of mercy.

When we meet as committees, rightly understood, it is not busy work or simply managing the affairs of the church. When we gather, we bring our gifts, our openness to the Spirit and we listen for God to speak in our midst. Together we discern the voice of Christ and feel his call to ministry.

My friends, I do believe that if we could catch this vision, it would change our board meetings into discernment and our decisions would feel like worship. When we hear Christ speak through the Spirit, there is energy and urgency in his call. It will demand obedience and even sacrifice.

And, I do believe that the churches that are open to the Spirit, who are filled with the Presence will attract crowds of people who will be amazed at the reality of the Presence of Christ among us. Perhaps they will even note the presence of Christ in us.

Do I know churches like this? Is it feasible? Or, possible?

The La Canada Church under the guidance of Judy Durff.

FPC in Norfolk, Virginia.

I see glimpses of this at Shallowford.

Perhaps it is true of your church also. I don’t know how much in the Spirit you are.

I think I saw the result of the Spirit at the Youngnak, Presbyterian Church and the Full Gospel Church in Ihouda.

So as we gather for this Pentecost Celebration, I invite you to pray that we may know anew the Reality of Pentecost in our worship, teaching, serving, and administering.

1. Pentecost today would reform us into the Body of Christ.

2. Pentecost today would activate his gifts in us.

3. Pentecost today would empower us in our witness that we might make a difference in the world.