Sundays
after the Day of Pentecost June 11 through November 26, 2017
English Congregation Supply for Chaplain’s
Vacation
July 9 Steven Schaufele
Preach
Father Keith Lee Celebrate
July 16 Sarah Lakkis Preach
Father Keith Lee Celebrate
July 23 The Rev. Keith
Lee Celebrate & Preach
July 30 Sarah Lakkis Preach
Father Keith
Celebrate
Aug 6 Father
Keith Lee Preach and Celebrate
Aug 13 Father
Keith Lee
Celebrate & Preach
August 20 Father Barker Return from Home Leave
November 26 Christ the King (last Sunday after Pentecost
WHAT IS PENTECOST?
Pentecost is the great
festival that marks the birth of the Christian church by the power of the Holy
Spirit. Pentecost means "fiftieth day" and is celebrated fifty
days after Easter.
Ten days after Jesus ascended
into heaven, the twelve apostles, Jesus' mother and family, and many other of
His disciples gathered together in Jerusalem for the Jewish harvest festival
that was celebrated on the fiftieth day of Passover. While they were
indoors praying, a sound like that of a rushing wind filled the house and
tongues of fire descended and rested over each of their heads. This was
the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on human flesh promised by God through the
prophet Joel (Joel 2:28-29). The disciples were suddenly empowered to
proclaim the gospel of the risen Christ. They went out into the streets
of Jerusalem and began preaching to the crowds gathered for the festival.
Not only did the disciples preach with boldness and vigor, but by a miracle of
the Holy Spirit they spoke in the native languages of the people present, many
who had come from all corners of the Roman Empire. This created a
sensation. The apostle Peter seized the moment and addressed the crowd,
preaching to them about Jesus' death and resurrection for the forgiveness of
sins. The result was that about three thousand converts were baptized
that day. (You can read the Biblical account of Pentecost in Acts
2:1-41).
Red is the liturgical color
for this day. Red recalls the tongues of flame in which the Holy Spirit
descended on the first Pentecost. The color red also reminds us of the
blood of the martyrs. These are the believers of every generation who by
the power of the Holy Spirit hold firm to the true faith even at the cost of
their lives.
WHY IS PENTECOST SOMETIMES
CALLED "WHITSUNDAY"?
A tradition of some churches
in ancient times was to baptize adult converts to the faith on Pentecost.
The newly baptized catechumens would wear white robes on that day, so Pentecost
was often called "Whitsunday" or "White Sunday" after these
white baptismal garments. Many Christian calendars, liturgies, and
hymnals (particularly those from the Episcopal/Anglican tradition) still use
this term.
Confirmation Sunday is the
day when young people who have been instructed in basic Christian doctrine
confess their faith in the presence of the church. The
key to understanding confirmation is to recognize that the faith the
confirmands confess is not of their own making; it is the gift of God that He
gives through His means of grace. The
Holy Spirit who empowered the disciples to preach the risen Christ two thousand
years ago is the same Spirit who empowers the confirmands to make their
confession. This is why many churches celebrate the rite of confirmation
on Pentecost.
Because Pentecost is the day
that God poured out His Holy Spirit on Christ's disciples, the Season after
Pentecost is centered on sanctification, the work of the Holy Spirit in the day
to day life of the Christian. This is reflected in the liturgical color
for this season: green, the color of life and growth. Through the
gift of faith that comes only from the Holy Spirit, Christians are enabled to
trust in Christ and proclaim Him in their daily lives by service to their
neighbors. The season after Pentecost is the longest season of the church
year -- it lasts from Trinity Sunday until the first Sunday of Advent.
This is the non-festival portion of the liturgical calendar during which the
church stresses its common life and lifts up discipleship, vocation,
evangelism, missions, stewardship, almsgiving, and other works of mercy and
charity as ways in which Christ empowers us by His grace to share the Gospel
with others.
WHY DO WE CELEBRATE PENTECOST?
There are three
"mega-festivals" commemorated in the Christian calendar. The
first two, Christmas and Easter, are well known to both believers and non-believers.
But it's possible that even liturgical Christians may not be as familiar with
the third, the festival of Pentecost. God the Father's wonderful
Christmas gift of His one and only Son, and Christ's Easter triumph over the
power of sin, death, and the devil would be of no benefit to us if the Holy
Spirit did not give us the gift of saving faith. Through the Word and
Sacraments, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to believe and trust in Christ
as our Savior. This precious gift of faith in the saving work of our Lord
Jesus Christ is the reason Pentecost is the third "mega-festival" of
the church and why we celebrate it with such joy and thanksgiving.
Therefore, let us rejoice in
the Holy Spirit that has been poured out on all people that we may live as one
with God the Father, and with God the Son. The Holy Spirit binds us to one another and to God’s
everlasting love. The Holy Spirit
sustains us daily as God’s eternal Love and Grace.
Amen.
