Gospel Reflection
If you go back and read the Old Testament, you will discover that Pentecost was one of the Jewish feast days. Only they didn’t call it Pentecost. That’s the Greek name. The Jews called it the Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks. It is mentioned in five places in the first five books known to Jews as the Torah — in Exodus 23, Exodus 24, Leviticus 16, Numbers 28, and Deuteronomy 16.
It was the celebration of the beginning of the early weeks of harvest. In Palestine, there were two harvests each year. The early harvest came during the months of May and June; the final harvest came in the Fall or October and November in the Northern Hemisphere. Pentecost was the celebration of the beginning of the early wheat harvest, which meant that Pentecost always fell sometime during the middle of the month of May or sometimes in early June.
Pentecost was a pilgrim festival. That meant that according to Jewish Law, all the adult Jewish men would come from wherever they were living to Jerusalem and personally be in attendance during this celebration.
Pentecost was a holiday. No servile work was to be done. School was out. The shops were closed. It was party time.
There were certain celebrations and sacrifices and offerings which were prescribed in the Law for the day of Pentecost. On Pentecost, the High Priest was to take two loaves of freshly baked wheat bread and offer them before the Lord. The wheat bread was made from the newly harvested wheat.
The significance of Pentecost to the church is something that we need to walk through carefully, and we shouldn’t ignore, because Pentecost was a Jewish celebration. And so in our modern day of the New Testament church, we don’t celebrate Pentecost in the way that the Old Testament Hebrews did.
But Pentecost was the moment in history after Christ had ascended. And he had promised during the gospel narratives, during his earthly ministry, that he would leave, but that he would send the comforter, he would send the Holy Spirit. And it was at that moment in Pentecost where the spirit came, and empowered the early believers, specifically the apostles that were left, and Peter, who became the head of the Early Christian Community.
Peter, is almost a comedic personality in the gospel narratives. He is the one who constantly puts his foot in his mouth, constantly is having to be corrected by Jesus, but is in the inner circle. And because of grace and mercy, he is chosen to be the one who stands up in front of this throng, probably thousands, maybe tens of thousands of people to proclaim the gospel, there in the midst of a Hebrew celebration that was intended to remind the Hebrews of how God had always protected them.
And here Peter stands up and says, “And let me tell you about the Messiah, who is the eternal protection for all of humanity. Let me tell you who he is.” And so Pentecost becomes this marker in history to really what many people would say, “And that’s the moment that church is born.”
That is when thousands come into the faith. And it goes from this little sect of believers who followed a Jewish rabbi from Nazareth who died and rose again, and suddenly the church breaks forth into culture. Suddenly it is that unstoppable force that no one can really deny any longer. Pentecost has taken on a new significance for us. It is the living reality of the moment that the spirit of God seemingly burst forth.
So we question – When was the last time that we heard the wind of God’s Spirit?
As we listen to the readings this Sunday, and celebrate once again the memory of that first Pentecost, may it be for us as it was then; a moment of empowerment, an awareness of God’s glory in this dark world, a life changing experience.
Let us pray:
We light a candle, and enjoy the flickering light,
the fragrance and warmth it creates.
But without the spark that ignites,
there will be no flame.
Without the wax, the source of power,
the wick will not burn.
Without the flame,
there will be no fragrance,
no warmth, no light.
And so with us, Lord.
You are the catalyst that ignites us,
and the fuel that sustains us.
You fill us with your fragrance as you enter our lives.
You empower us to carry your flame in our hearts,
to be the fragrance, warmth,
and light of your love, in this dark world.
Mary, Our lady of Inclusive Love
Pray for us
St Angela Merici
Pray for us
St Ursula
Protect our future
