Pentecost, Year A
Sunday, June 12, 2011
The Rev. Rebekah Bokros Hatch, St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, Alpharetta, Ga.
The day of Pentecost
comes exactly ...
The word “Pentecost”
means ...
The liturgical color for
today is red ...
-
To represent the
tongues of fire that rested on those that gathered on the first day of
Pentecost
-
Because it sure is
pretty!
-
To remind us of the
blood of the sacrifice of Christ
-
Because Christmas is
fast approaching
Pentecost comes in the
Christian calendar around the same time as the Jewish holiday of ..
-
Shavuot
-
Hannukah
-
Rosh Ha’Shanah
-
Purim
As we continue to
celebrate the Festival of Pentecost, we are called to ...
-
Remember that we are
dust, and to dust we shall return
-
Try our very best to
hole up inside of our homes and churches, making sure not to tell
anyone about the Good News of Jesus Christ
-
Sing carols of praise to
the God of the Sun
-
Recommit ourselves to
spreading the Gospel with great joy and great intention
“And suddenly from
heaven there came a sound life the rush of a violent wind… all of them
were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other
languages, as the Spirit gave them the ability.”
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been looking at snapshots of the early
church. We’ve seen the ways in which the early church gathered
to celebrate; we’ve heard about what they value - fellowship, the
breaking of the bread, the apostles’ teaching. We’ve gotten a
chance to see where we started. And, along the way, we’ve had a chance
to see how far we’ve come.
I must say, though, that at the risk of sounding like a wet blanket on
the fun, its difficult sometimes to see how far we’ve come, isn’t it?
We are bombarded, it seems daily – at least those of us that work in
the church – with questions and statistics about the decreasing number
of people coming to church. For those of you that have ever
served on the Vestry or the Finance Committee, it can seem like all of
our time is spent making sure we have enough money to pay the bills.
If you teach Sunday School, its frustrating when few or no children
show up for the lesson you have prepared. How can we joyfully
celebrate the birthday of the church when we might be afraid that no
one will show up for the party?
And yet. On the first day of Pentecost, three thousand people
were said to have been baptized. And that began a firestorm that
swept the world. It continues to sweep the world. Two
thousand years later, we are still here. That is a victory.
And yet. We gather this morning to baptize Jacob Austin Sanders.
His family and godparents gather with him to celebrate his creation
and life as a child of God. We gather with great hope, knowing
that this small boy has great strength in the name of Christ. We
gather with great hope that he will know the protection and
unconditional love of God. He is one, but he is God’s and
precious and wonderful.
And yet. Each of us here has known the deep down desire to be
closer to the one who created us. Each of us has known, or will
know, the hunger that comes from wanting the Spirit to envelop us.
We gather, and we wear red, and we wield our pinwheels, and we baptize
babies – it’s the perfect occasion for a party, and we’re having it!
But the real celebration happens when we take our experience with
encountering the holy, with being led by the Spirit and share it with
the world. Pentecost is our yearly chance to gather together and
celebrate the Holy Spirit’s coming upon us – not just them two
thousand years ago – but us. Leading us, guiding us along the
way to the glory of God!
©
The Rev. Rebekah Bokros Hatch.
All Rights reserved.
