The Day of
Pentecost May 20, 2018
May
27, 2018 Trinity Sunday
Sundays after the Day of Pentecost
June 2 through
November 25, 2018
November 25 is Christ
the King Sunday and End of Sundays after the Day of Pentecost
English Congregation
Supply for Chaplain’s Summer Leave
July
29 Alexander Salter Preach
Father Keith Lee Celebrate
August 5 Catherine
Lee Preach
Father Keith
Lee Celebrate
August 12 Scott J. Ellinger Preach
The Rev. Keith Lee Celebrate
August 19 Scott J. Ellinger Preach
Father Keith Lee Celebrate
Aug 26
Father Keith Lee Preach and Celebrate
September 2
Alexander Salter Preach
Father Keith Lee Celebrant
September 9 Father Barker Preach &
Celebrant
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.
