by Terry Cobb
St. Philip’s Episcopal Church
On Sunday, May 23, many churches were adorned in red. Some congregations tied red balloons to the pews and cut-outs of red flames and white doves were pasted to the walls or hung from the ceilings. Birthday cake may even have been served after the service. Why? It was the Day of Pentecost.
To explain the Day of Pentecost, let’s begin with Christ’s resurrection on Easter Day. Jesus did not immediately ascend to heaven when he was resurrected. He remained on earth for forty days appearing to his disciples to strengthen their faith and help them understand what he had been preaching prior to his crucifixion.
On the 40th day after his Easter resurrection, the disciples watched Jesus ascend into heaven to be with God the Father. Before Jesus ascended, he opened their minds more fully to understand the scriptures and promised to send them the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ ascension along with His promise of the Holy Spirit filled the disciples with great joy.
Ten days later, the disciples gathered to celebrate Pentecost, an old Jewish harvest feast. While indoors and praying together, the Holy Spirit came to them just as Jesus had promised. According to Acts 2:2-3, “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.”
The Holy Spirit energized and emboldened the disciples to evangelize—so much so that they immediately went out into the streets and began preaching to the crowds gathered for the festival. Miraculously, they spoke in the different native languages of the peoples present. Peter addressed the crowd and preached about Jesus’ resurrection and the forgiveness of sins. Nearly 3,000 people were converted and baptized. It was a sign that the gospel was to be proclaimed throughout the world. The church was born.
On the Day of Pentecost, the church celebrates the fulfillment of Jesus’ promise to send the Holy Spirit to us. We symbolize the fire of the Holy Spirit with red colors and cut-outs of flames. White doves also symbolize the Holy Spirit as when it came in the form of a white dove at Jesus’ baptism. The balloons and cake celebrate the church’s birth.
May we, like the disciples, welcome the Holy Spirit to energize and embolden us to proclaim The Good News.
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