“I believe in the Holy Spirit…”
On Pentecost, the Church celebrates the decent of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost takes place on the fiftieth day after Easter and falls on Sunday, May 19th, this year. In Acts we read about the astonishing scene: the disciples were gathered for the feast of Pentecost when, suddenly, a great sound like a rushing wind blew through the room and tongues of fire appeared and rested on their heads. All those assembled then began speaking in many languages, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
A crowd gathered because of the great commotion and supposed them to be drunk, but Peter stood up and preached to them, opening up the scripture to them concerning Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God, and the one whom they had crucified. The people were cut to the heart and asked what they should do.
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
Many believed and were baptized that day. And to this day, generation after generation, thousands more are added through Holy Baptism and receive the Holy Spirit. We, the baptized, continue to confess with the whole Christian Church:
And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
A Brief History
This major fest receives its name from the old Jewish feast of Pentecost, which took place 50 days after the Passover. It was on this Israelite feast that the disciples gathered in one place
In keeping with the tradition, we continue to celebrate Pentecost on the fiftieth day after Easter. It marks the end of the Easter season and points to the beginning of a new stage in the Church’s annual cycle. As we discussed in our Easter post, Pentecost is one of the few holidays in the liturgical year to have an eight-day celebration, known as an octave. The others are Christmas, Epiphany, and Easter. By the fourth century, Pentecost was not observed merely as a single day but as an entire week, which gently brought Christians down from the height of the festival time of the church year (Advent to Pentecost) and into the long season stretching from Trinity Sunday to the end of the year.
A few ancient customs have also stuck with this Holy Day. The first is the tradition of utilizing instruments to resemble the loud rushing winds. This tradition could be a fun opportunity to involve the children with their trumpets, flutes, or tambourines to imagine what the disciples might have heard that day.
Another tradition plays off of a different sense: sight. What looks like tongues of fire? Evidently, many suppose that the rose with its intricate petal pattern resembles the many intertwined flames. In some churches, rose petals will fall from the ceiling on Pentecost to resemble the descending Holy Spirit’s flames.
Collect
O God, who didst teach the hearts of Thy faithful people by sending to them the light of Thy Holy Spirit: grant us by the same Spirit to have a right judgement in all things, and evermore to rejoice in His holy comfort; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the same Holy Spirit: ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Lessons
Resources
In this post we share more about the tradition of hanging the image of a dove above the dining table and offer this dove printable!
Issues, Etc. interview with the Rev. David Petersen on Pentecost
Propers found in Daily Divine Service Book: A Lutheran Daily Missal, edited by the Rev. Heath Curtis
References:
1. Pfatteicher, Philip H. Journey into the Heart of God. Oxford University Press. 2013.
2. Issues Etc. interview with the Rev. David Peterson on Pentecost
Images:
1. Pentecost, from The Small Passionca, Albrecht Dürer, Germany, 1510.
2. The Pentecost, El Greco, Spain, n.d.
[…] missing from this list. The Resurrection of Our Lord (Easter), the Ascension of Our Lord, and Pentecost are all also principal feasts, but the dates on which they fall change each […]