PENTECOST AND THE NEW
CREATION
The Rev. Harold Shepherd, CD, M.A., S.T.M., LL.B., LL.M.,
Ph.D.
Sermon on May 15, 2005
When the day of Pentecost had come,
they were all together in one place. And suddenly from
heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind,
and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a
tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with
the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as
the Spirit gave them ability. Divided tongues, as of fire,
appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.
All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to
speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.
Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven
living in Jerusalem. And at this sound the crowd gathered
and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in
the native language of each. Acts 2:
1-6
The word Pentecost comes from the Greek word for fifty, and
refers to the feast that occurs fifty days after the Sunday
following Passover (Leviticus 23:16). It is also known as
Feast of Weeks (Exodus 34:22) or the Feast of the Harvest
(Exodus 23:16). According to Deuteronomy 16:16, Jews were
required to celebrate three major feasts in Jerusalem: the
Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival
of Booths. . Passover begins the eight-day celebration of
the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and marks the beginning of
the harvest. In the Middle East, the growing season in the
opposite to ours. Rain falls from about October (the Jewish
New Year) until the spring, resulting in the growing
season. Because rain does not fall during the summer, the
earth becomes scorched by the hot Middle-Eastern sun. Based
on this cycle of nature, the harvest began about the time
of the first full moon after the spring equinox that marks
Passover. The harvest lasted for fifty days, culminating in
the harvest feast of Pentecost. This period of fifty days
is roughly equivalent to the period leading up to
Thanksgiving Day in our calendar. Leviticus 23:22 specifies
how the harvest is to be conducted: "When you reap the
harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges
of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you
shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the
Lord your God."
Because Pentecost was one of the three major feasts that
Jews from the Diaspora attended, Jerusalem hosted visitors
from around the world who reflected linguistic and cultural
differences. Although Pentecost marked the end of the
harvest in the Middle East, it represented the beginning of
the growing season for those from Europe. In either case,
the dominant theme was thanksgiving for God’s bounty
in providing us with food from the land. This was
especially important in a far more precarious physical
environment. If the rains did not come, drought and famine
would ensue. The harvest not only represented God’s
faithfulness, but also served as a gift of life in very
concrete terms. Our response to this must not be one of
greed. The Hebrew Bible mandates that some of the crop be
left so that the poor may eat also. God’s blessing is
for all.
As Jesus’ followers gathered together in Jerusalem to
celebrate Pentecost, they no doubt did so with a sense of
loss. Jesus, their leader and teacher, had been crucified.
However, this was tempered with a sense of joy. God raised
him from the dead and they were witnesses to this. But,
what next? They waited for clear direction from God in
Jerusalem. They gathered together the morning of Pentecost-
a busy day over at the Temple. Two loaves of leavened bread
made from the flour of new wheat were offered to God by the
High Priest. One loaf was kept by the High Priest and the
other was given to priests who were required to consume it
within the precincts of the Temple. Two lambs were offered
as a peace offering, one goat as a sin offering, and seven
lambs, one calf and two rams as holocaust offerings. First
thing in the morning as the crowd was preparing for the
events of the day, something extraordinary happened. The
Holy Spirit descended on Jesus’ followers, causing
them to speak in the various languages of the pilgrims. God
chose a day that combines the theme of thanksgiving for
God’s provisions of food from earth and rain with
that of the universality of the Gospel. God calls all to
himself, regardless of language or culture. The Holy Spirit
is poured out to renew creation. The body of Christ is very
diverse and pluralistic, yet united in Christ by the Holy
Spirit. Although our social and cultural perspectives may
differ, we form a diverse, but united body. God has given
each of us gifts to be put to use that together, his reign
may be established on earth. At Pentecost, we celebrate the
diversity of the universal Church, as well as its unity in
Christ.