Pentecost Sunday

Pentecost (Ancient Greek: πεντηκοστή [ἡμέρα], pentekostē [hēmera], "the fiftieth [day]") is one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ. The feast is also called Whitsun, Whitsunday, Whit Sunday, or Whitsuntide, especially in the United Kingdom. Pentecost is celebrated seven weeks (50 days) after Easter Sunday, hence its name. Pentecost falls on the tenth day after Ascension Thursday.

Pentecost is historically and symbolically related to the Jewish harvest festival of Shavuot, which commemorates God giving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai fifty days after the Exodus. Among Christians, Pentecost commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus as described in the New Testament Acts of the Apostles 2:31 during these Jewish "fiftieth day" celebrations in Jerusalem. For this reason, Pentecost is sometimes described as the "Birthday of the Church".

The biblical narrative of Pentecost is given in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. As recounted in Acts 2:1-4:

"On the day of Pentecost all the Lord’s followers were together in one place. Suddenly there was a noise from heaven like the sound of a mighty wind. It filled the house where they were meeting. Then they saw what looked like fiery tongues moving in all directions, and a tongue came and settled on each person there. The Holy Spirit took control of everyone, and they began speaking whatever languages the Spirit let them speak."
The apostles received the Holy Spirit and were miraculously enabled to go out into Jerusalem prophesying and speaking in languages that all the visitors to Jerusalem could understand as told further in Acts 2:5-6.

Eastern churches

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Pentecost is one of the Orthodox Great Feasts and is considered to be the highest ranking Great Feast of the Lord, second in rank only to Pascha (Easter). The service is celebrated with an All-night Vigil on the eve of the feast day, and the Divine Liturgy on the day of the feast itself. Orthodox temples are often decorated with greenery and flowers on this feast day, and the celebration is intentionally similar to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, which celebrates the giving of the Mosaic Law.

The feast itself lasts three days. The first day is known as "Trinity Sunday"; the second day is known as "Spirit Monday" (or "Monday of the Holy Spirit"); and the third day, Tuesday, is called the "Third Day of the Trinity."

The Orthodox icon of the feast depicts the Twelve Apostles seated in a semicircle (sometimes the Theotokos (Virgin Mary) is shown sitting in the center of them). At the top of the icon, the Holy Spirit, in the form of tongues of fire, is descending upon them. At the bottom is an allegorical figure, called Kosmos, which symbolizes the world. Although Kosmos is crowned with earthly glory he sits in the darkness caused by the ignorance of God. He is holding a towel on which have been placed 12 scrolls, representing the teaching of the Twelve Apostles.

The typical image of Pentecost in the West is that of the Virgin Mary seated centrally and prominently among the disciples, with flames resting on the crowns of their heads. Occasionally parting clouds suggesting the action of the “mighty wind”[18], rays of light, and/or the Dove, are also depicted. Of course, the Western iconographic style is less static and stylized than that of the East, and other very different representations have been produced, and in some cases have achieved great fame, such as the Pentecosts by Titian, Giotto and el Greco.

Come Holy Spirit Come!

Pentecost Sunday – Year C

Today, as we look around this congregation, we can imagine seeing the tongues of fire coming down on the heads of everyone here. After a period of waiting – 50 days of waiting – Jesus finally sends us the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, the one who will teach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus has said.

What is the significance of the coming of the Spirit?

First, the Spirit allows us to overcome our fears. Does this mean that we would no longer have any fears? No. We will always have fears. The opposite of fear is not courage but love – in fact, it is God’s love that overcomes our fears. It is love that help us to do things even when we are fearful of the consequences. Fear does not disappear, but it can no longer control us. In love, we allow the Spirit to take control of us. This was the experience of the apostles. Fearful, they hid behind closed doors. But when they were filled by the Spirit, they felt compel to go out from that room to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ.

Secondly, the coming of the Spirit breaks down barriers between us and creates unity among people from diverse backgrounds. Today, the Church is not a Chinese Church, it is not an Indian Church, it is not a Malaysian Church. The Church does not belong to any particular group. The Church is the Church of Christ and all people, regardless of race, color or language are part of it. In the words St. Paul in the second reading, we are “children of God”, “heirs of God and coheirs with Christ.” If we were to live according to the Spirit, then we must not allow prejudice to affect the way we live our Christian lives. If language had been a barrier to the early Christians, as in the case of the first reading, the Holy Spirit breaks down even that barrier. Different peoples can still be united in Spirit even if they do not share a common language. What does this tell us about our own parish situation? Each of us must seriously reflect over this.

This is the reason why the Church is different from every other social group. Social groups consists of members who share a common interest, or a common language or a common project. This can never be the case for the Church. The Church is made up of peoples from diverse backgrounds. We must be able to look after the interest of everyone and not only look towards our own interest. The Church is not Barisan Nasional, made up of different racial parties – UMNO, MCA or MIC.

Thirdly, the Spirit comes to “teach you everything and remind you of all (Jesus) has said to you.” We need to be reminded because we forget so easily especially when we encounter problems. We need to be reminded constantly of our identity as children of God. We need to be reminded constantly that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. We need to be reminded that our new life in the Spirit is a life that must be founded on love. Life in the Spirit means that there is no room for hatred, prejudice, unforgiveness, or selfishness.

We give thanks to God for the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is truly our Advocate, our helper. Let us make room for him in our hearts that we will always be ready to listen to his prompting.

Come, Holy Spirit, come!