Ask a lot of folk what the three key festivals in the Christian year are and most would probably have no difficulty naming Christmas and Easter – but the third? With its strange name, ‘Pentecost’, maybe it doesn’t quite slip off the tongue so neatly.
The word comes from the Greek word meaning ‘fiftieth day’ – because it falls fifty days after Easter Sunday – this year on 31st May. It is a celebration because it marks the birthday of the church – the body of Christ’s people. After he had ascended to heaven, Jesus told his disciples to wait in the city for the Holy Spirit, a sign that God would still be with his followers, despite his physical withdrawal. He tells them that they will be ‘clothed with power from on high…’ (Luke 24:49.)
The church’s birthday at Pentecost goes largely unnoticed – and how sad that is. We’re told that ‘churchgoing’ is in decline; at the moment, of course, it is almost impossible due to coronavirus restrictions but there are many green shoots of growth and renewal, especially with the vast array of social media and technological communication resources available. ‘Streamed services’ abound; radio and TV have found inventive ways of ensuring that a pattern of worship and reflection is possible. Enforced isolation means that people have found different ways of reaching out to others and there are many heart-warming tales of communities rediscovering links with neighbours through offers of shopping or simply easing loneliness with a chat. So many ways of ‘being church’; of loving God and neighbour; of seeking a more meaningful life enriched with the power and presence of God.
On that first Pentecost the followers of Jesus probably had no idea how the gift promised by Jesus would appear. They had been told to go to Jerusalem and wait. But at last they were rewarded as the Holy Spirit came to ‘inspire’ his people – to breathe new life into them and make their lives all the more joyful. The Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire above the head of each disciple and they found they were able to speak in many different tongues, making the message about Jesus available to all people.
It is the same for each one of us today. God does not abandon us at Ascensiontide, when his Son returns from earth to heaven. Instead, God sends a new comforter, or strengthener. In the words of one of the chants from the Taize community in France:
‘The Lord restores you. God does not push you away. The Lord comes to meet you.’
God is with us for all time. The Holy Spirit comes to build up those who love him. And that is truly a birthday we need to celebrate.