For seven weeks, a week of Sundays, we acclaim the resurrection of Christ by the power of God. The period of seven weeks of jubilation can be traced back to its Jewish roots of the fifty days from the day after Passover to Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks, Exod. 23:16). For Jews, the Feast of Weeks closed the season of harvest, which had been initiated by the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In a similar manner, early Christians observed a fifty-day period of celebration from Easter to the day of Pentecost. To underscore the uninterrupted rejoicing of these fifty days, fasting and kneeling in prayer were forbidden at least as early as the second century. On the pentecoste (“fiftieth”) day, not only was the fifty-day period concluded, but a festival with its own proper content was also celebrated. The Jews observed a feast of covenant renewal and eventually commemorated the giving of the Law. Christians celebrated the gift of the Spirit as preparing the way for the day of the Lord. What Moses and the Law did for the Jewish community, the Holy Spirit now does for the community of Christ.

According to the day of Pentecost story in Acts 2, God gave the gift of the Holy Spirit to empower witnesses to the resurrection. Sounds from heaven, cosmic language, the rush of a mighty ruach (wind, spirit, breath) invaded the house in which the apostles gathered and appeared to them as a burning fire. A power—the unseen power of God—moved among them and gripped them. The Holy Spirit is unseen, like the wind, which is why the Old Testament calls it ruach YHWH, “the wind, or breath, of God” (cf. John 3:8). The Spirit is the “unseenness of God” working among us.

According to Joel (2:28–29), the ruach is to open everybody to God’s future. People young and old will dream and will have visions of hope; they will be able to loosen themselves from the way things are now, because God is establishing a whole new economy of creation. The Holy Spirit breaks us out of our preoccupation with ourselves and frees us to serve neighbors, loosens our grasp on possessions, and sets us to loving people. New creation is what Joel is talking about, and Pentecost is new creation.

The book of Acts tells the story of the outcome of Pentecost’s new creation: people witness in word and in deed to the risen Christ. At the outset, the newborn church immediately tumbled out into the streets to witness to God’s mighty works in the languages of people all over the world. By the end of the story, a tiny, Spirit-filled community of faith that broke from its present order had spread across the continents with incredible power to bring new things into being. With the gift of the Spirit,
all things are possible.

The Spirit-filled experience ignited the faithful and sent them outward, giving utterance in word and deed to the good news. “The cause of good works, we confess,” states the Scots Confession (chapter 13) “is not our free will, but the Spirit of the Lord Jesus.” Our call as disciples of Christ is not only to celebrate but also to show and tell neighbors about God’s new world coming in the name of the crucified and risen Christ.

The same Spirit that empowered Jesus to love enemies was the Spirit that enabled the Corinthian church to love their antagonists. A living fellowship means living as the body of Christ by preaching the Word with freedom, breaking bread together, reconciling with adversaries, and serving neighbors, near and far. What makes possible the church’s witness to the resurrection of Christ is the Spirit of God.

Note that the Spirit is conceived, first of all, as God’s presence within the whole community of faith, rather than the private possession of solitary individuals. The essential mark of the Spirit’s presence is obedience to the will of God within the context of the community of faith. Both Old and New Testament witnesses to Spirit-filled life portray an experience of new community.

Therefore, on the day of Pentecost, we celebrate God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, which draws us together as one people, helps us comprehend what God is doing in the world, and empowers us to proclaim, in word and in deed, God’s plan of reconciling all people in the name of Christ (Eph. 1:10).

Without the gift of the Spirit, Christ’s church dries up and withers away, and we are left with only our broken selves. With the gift of the Spirit, all things are possible. A spirit-filled community of faith opens eyes to needs in the world and sees its mission as God’s new people. The day of Pentecost is the climax of the Great Fifty Days of Easter, celebrating as it does the gift of the Spirit to the body of Christ, the church.

Pentecost is a day to celebrate with exuberant color, texture, language, and music. Use of red and gold in the worship space recalls the tongues of fire in the Acts story. Languages and music from a variety of cultures remind us of the global scope of Christ’s church. It is also an appropriate day for commissioning members of the congregation for special service and for recognizing the variety of gifts of the Spirit present among the people gathered.

For specific worship suggestions, see the Book of Common Worship, pp. 338–347, and the Pentecost Offering worship materials (see accompanying article).

This article is adapted from the forthcoming Companion to the Book of Common Worship, edited by Peter C. Bower, © 2003, Office of Theology and Worship, Congregational Ministries Division of the PC(USA), to be published by Geneva Press in 2003. To order a copy of this title, call (800) 227-2872.

Martha L. Moore-Keish, author, is Associate for Worship, Office of Theology and Worship. Contact her at (888) 728-7228, ext. 5332, or send e-mail to mmooreke@ctr.pcusa.org.