HOW TO KEEP PENTECOST TODAY =========================== Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D. Professor of Theology and Church History Andrews University Our study of Pentecost in both Jewish and Christian history has shown that, unlike other festivals, Pentecost developed few ceremonies. The religious services differed but little from that of other holy days. In view of this fact, I will make no attempt to propose a special order of service for the day of Pentecost, especially since the feast was observed by the early Christians more as a season of rejoicing than a single liturgical day. Instead, I will submit a few suggestions on how we can make the season of Pentecost an occasion to express our thankfulness to God and seek for a fresh provision of the enabling power of the Holy Spirit. A Season to Be Thankful. Pentecost is a season to be thankful for material and spiritual blessings. Jews expressed their thankfulness for their Spring wheat harvest by bringing their first fruits to the Temple on the first and last day of the feast. The early Christians manifested their joy for the resurrection, exaltation, and heavenly intercession of Christ by standing for prayer and refraining from fasting and mourning during the fifty days of Pentecost. As we stand today to honor dignitaries and give a standing ovation to those who perform brilliantly, so the early Christians stood up for Christ when praying, to honor their risen Savior and the future resurrection of the redeemed. Pentecost today is still a season to be thankful. Our study of the meaning of Pentecost shows that we have many reasons to be thankful. We can be thankful Christ arose as the first fruits of redeemed humanity (1 Cor 15:20). His resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection. We can be thankful Christ ascended to heaven to begin a special intercessory ministry in our behalf. As we live our Christian life from day to day, it is reassuring to know we are not alone. We can count on the active assistance of our Savior, who offers us forgiveness (Acts 5:31; 1 John 2:1-2; 1:9), makes our prayers acceptable to God (John 16:23-24; Rev 8:3), provides us with the invisible and yet real assistance of His angels (Heb 1:14; Rev 5:6; 1:16, 20), and bestows upon us the essential gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). We can be thankful for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are available to us through the ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary. It is reassuring to know that as Christ fulfilled His promise on the day of Pentecost by sending the Holy Spirit to empower His disciples to begin the spiritual harvest, so He will fulfill His promise to us by sending us His Spirit to empower us to complete the harvest. How can we express our thankfulness to God during the season of Pentecost? No hard and fast rules can be laid down, because spiritual realities are experienced in different ways by different people. Some may wish to follow the custom of the early Christians by standing rather than kneeling for prayer, at home and in the church, to honor the risen, exulted, and interceding Savior. Some may wish to express their thankfulness to God during the fifty days of Pentecost by singing songs of thanksgiving during their private and public worship. The new Seventh-day Adventist Hymal has a good selection of hymns suitable for the Pentecost season. Hymns such as 562, "Come, Sing a Song of Harvest," reminds of Pentecost as the harvest season when we bring in gratitude our first fruits to God. Come, sing a song of harvest, Of thanks for daily food! To offer God the first fruits Is old as gratitude. Long, long ago, the reapers, Before they kept the feast, Put first-fruits in a basket, And took it to the priest. Shall we, sometimes forgetful Of where creation starts, With science in our pockets Lose wonder from our hearts? May God, the great Creator, To whom all life belongs, Accept these gifts we offer, Our service and our songs. And lest the world go hungry While we ourselves are fed, Make each of us more ready To share our daily bread. Other hymns, such as "Fire of God, Thou Sacred Flame," remind us of the manifestation of the Holy Spirit as fire and wind on the day of Pentecost. Fire of God, Thou sacred flame, Spirit who in splendor came, Let Thy heat my soul refine Till it glows with love dine Breath of God, that swept in power In the pentecostal hour, Holy Breath, be Thou in me Source of vital energy. The manifestation of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost is beautifully developed in "O Holy Dove of God Descending," a hymn in which the four stanzas invite the Holy Spirit to descend as "Holy Dove, Holy Wind, Holy Rain, Holy Flame." Hymns such as these can help us recapture the spirit of Pentecost. Floral Decorations. Some may wish to express the joy and gratitude of the Pentecost season by decorating their homes and churches with flowers. Pentecost is connected with the Spring harvest season when nature blooms, trees and flowers blossom. In Temple times, pilgrims from all over Palestine brought their first fruits to the altar. The baskets of fruit that were carried in procession from the remotest corners of the land were decorated with leaves and flowers. From this ceremony developed the custom of decorating homes and synagogues with small bundles of wheat, plants, and flowers for Pentecost. In many countries, Adventist churches celebrate in the autumn what is known as the "Harvest Festival." In many ways, this festival is similar to the American Thanksgiving Day. A major difference is that while the American Thanksgiving Day is celebrated with big dinners and reunions in the home, the Harvest Festival is celebrated as a special thanksgiving Sabbath in the church. On such Sabbath, churches, especially the platforms, are decorated with the fruits and vegetables of the Fall harvest, and the sermon focuses on giving thanks to God for the bounties of the harvest season. In keeping with the Biblical tradition of the celebration of Spring harvest at the Feast of Pentecost and of the Fall harvest at the Feast of Tabernacles, it may be well for our churches to celebrate both a "Spring Harvest Festival" and a "Fall Harvest Festival." On both occasions, our churches could be decorated with some of the produce of the season. Seeing the fruits of the season in the church (not merely at the supermarket) as an object lesson for our worship experience during the Feasts of Pentecost and Tabernacles can serve as forceful incentives to thank God for His bountiful blessings. The human heart is naturally greedy. Learning to be grateful is part of our Christian growth in grace which enables us to have peace and joy in our hearts. The reason is that a grateful heart is the abiding place of the peace of Christ. The Feast of Pentecost affords us the opportunity to express our gratitude to God for the material bounties of the Spring harvest and for the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit. First Fruits Thanksgiving Offering. A practical way to express our gratitude to God for His material and spiritual blessings is by bringing a special offering, perhaps, during the final Sabbath of Pentecost. We have seen that God's people in Bible times brought their first fruits to the Temple both on the first and last days of Pentecost. On the first day, they brought a sheaf of barley to consecrate to God the harvest that was going to be reaped; on the last day, they brought their first fruits to express their gratitude for the harvest that had been gathered in. Like the Israelites of old, we too can bring to God at Pentecost a special thanksgiving offering for the material and spiritual blessings received. Traditionally, Adventists used to bring a special sacrificial offering at the conclusion of the "Spring Week of Prayer." In some parts of the world the practice still persists. The celebration of Pentecost provides a Biblical basis both for the Spring "Spiritual Emphasis Week" and the ensuing special offering. By celebrating at Pentecost the blessings of the agricultural Spring harvest and the spiritual gifts God has bestowed upon us, we can find in the feast the theological incentive to express our gratitude to God for His material and spiritual blessings through a special thanksgiving offering. Pentecost, as we have seen, concludes the Spring cycle of festivals which celebrate the accomplishments of Christ's first Advent. The celebration of Christ's first Advent begins at Passover, with the commemoration of His vicarious suffering and sacrifice, and ends at Pentecost with the commemoration of His resurrection, ascension, heavenly intercession, and bestowal of spiritual gifts. The commemoration at Pentecost of what Christ has done for us on earth through His atoning sacrifice, and of what He is doing for us in heaven through His intercessory ministry, offers us overwhelming reasons to show our gratitude to God by bringing a special thanksgiving offering. "Pentecost Renewal Week." The disciples spent the ten days before Pentecost engaged in spiritual exercises to prepare their hearts for the reception of the Holy Spirit. Adventist churches conduct in the Spring a "Spiritual Emphasis Week." This week is observed in schools with special chapel programs in the morning and evening. Guest speakers are often invited to address the spiritual needs of faculty and students and lead them into seasons of prayer and praise. A similar practice is followed in many churches, though only evening meetings are conducted. Small churches without a pastor usually utilize the devotional readings prepared for this special week of spiritual renewal. The Spring "Spiritual Emphasis Week," though observed at about the time of Pentecost, is not directly connected with the feast. With minor changes in the scheduling, it could be made to coincide with Pentecost, and the Fall "Spiritual Emphasis Week" with the Feast of Tabernacles. By doing so, both events would coincide with the observance of two important Biblical festivals. Today we sing, pray, preach, and talk about the need for a new Pentecostal outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Why not follow the example of the disciples, who spent ten days preparing themselves for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14), by spending at least the week before Pentecost seeking for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit? Perhaps this week could be called "Pentecost Renewal Week." Connecting the Spring "Spiritual Emphasis Week" with the celebration of Pentecost would add to the week Biblical timing, authority, and meaning. The disciples' preparation for Pentecost can serve as a model for the Pentecost Renewal Week by reminding us of the need to prepare our hearts as did the disciples of old. "The heart must be emptied of every defilement, and cleansed for the indwelling of the Spirit. It was by the confession and forsaking of sin, by earnest prayer and consecration of themselves to God, that the early disciples prepared for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost. The same work, only in greater degree, must be done now."9 Pentecostal Sermons. The proclamation of God's Word plays a key role in the Christian worship experience. Pastors gain inspiration for their sermons from a variety of sources such as the reading of Scripture, a major event, or a perceived spiritual need of the congregation. Sometimes the topic of the sermon is dictated by the church calendar which designates certain Sabbaths to promote, for example, stewardship, temperance, Christian education, religious liberty, Pathfinders, family life, women's ministries, evangelism, etc. Some of the causes promoted during the sermon can detract from the worship experience. The seven Sabbaths from Passover to Pentecost offer to the pastor a unique opportunity to ignore temporarily the promotion of significant aspects of the church life and to focus instead on the redemptive accomplishments of Christ's first Advent. The series of seven sermons can start with the suffering and sacrifice of Christ and continue with Christ's resurrection, ascension, inauguration of His heavenly ministry, the bestowal of spiritual gifts, and the birth of the Christian church. Some topics such as the heavenly ministry of Jesus or the bestowal of spiritual gifts, are so rich in meaning and experience that they could well be presented as a series of Pentecost sermons. This means that in a given year the seven Sabbaths of Pentecost could be devoted to reflecting upon various aspects of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Some of the questions that could be considered are: How do we receive the gifts of the Spirit? How do we know which spiritual gifts we have received? How do we cultivate or use our spiritual gifts? Another possibility is to have a series of sermons reflecting on the meaning, need, and results of Pentecost as a corporate experience for the Church. Some of the topics could be: the secret of a Pentecostal revival, the need today for Pentecostal zeal, the characteristic of a Pentecostal church, conditions for the outpouring of the Latter Rain. Another subject that would be most appropriate for a series of sermons during Pentecost is Christ's ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. Many Christians do not have the faintest idea about what Jesus is doing in heaven. Yet it is through Christ's heavenly ministry that we experience the benefits of His redemptive accomplishments. It is not surprising that we are admonished in Hebrews to "consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession" (Heb 3:1). Consider (katanoeo) means "to look at with reflection," "to contemplate."10 Pentecost gives the pastor an opportunity to help his congregation appreciate more fully the relationship between Christ's atoning sacrifice on earth and His intercessory work in heaven. What is Jesus doing when He makes intercession for us? Is He making God more willing to forgive us and to help us? A study of the relevant texts suggests that Christ's intercession consists not so much in words as in mighty and significant acts. He presents Himself before the Father as our representative (Heb 7:25). He appears by virtue of His righteousness and sacrificial death. "His intercession is that of a pierced and broken body, of a spotless life."11 Equally important to consider during Pentecost are the benefits we derive from Christ's intercessory work. These are great truths that not only appeal to the intellect but also have a direct impact upon our daily Christian living. It is reassuring to know that Christ's work in heaven gives us constant access to God (Eph 2:18), mediates repentance and forgiveness to believers (Acts 5:31; 1 John 2:1-2; 1:9), makes our prayers acceptable to God (John 16:23-24; Rev 8:3), provides us with the invisible yet real assistance of His angels (Heb 1:14; Rev 5:6; 1:16, 20), and bestows upon us the essential gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:33). Taking time every year during the Pentecost season to deepen the understanding of vital aspects of Christ's redemptive mission can enhance our appreciation of what our Savior has done and is doing for us. Most Christians receive much of their religious education at church during the worship service. The purpose of the annual feasts, such as Pentecost, is to provide an opportunity during the course of the year to lead Christians into a fuller understanding and experience of the great truths of the plan of salvation. Conclusion. Like Passover, Pentecost is a remarkable typological feast which began in the Old Testament as the celebration of the blessings of the Spring harvest and continues in the New Testament as a celebration of the spiritual harvest of souls reaped by Christ's redemptive ministry. The continuity of Pentecost in the Christian church is attested to not only by the references to the feast in the New Testament, but also by its widespread observance in the early Church. Pentecost was observed by the early Christians as a season of rejoicing from the Sunday after Passover to the Sunday occurring fifty days later. The rejoicing was largely determined by the five major events commemorated during the fifty days of Pentecost, namely: (1) the resurrection of Christ, (2) His ascension, (3) the inauguration of Christ's heavenly ministry, (4) the bestowal of spiritual gifts, (5) the birthday of the Christian Church. These events are part of the unitive celebration of Pentecost. Our study of Pentecost in both Jewish and Christian history shows that unlike other festivals, Pentecost developed few ceremonies. The feast was observed more as a season of rejoicing than a single liturgical day. In view of this fact, we have concluded that Pentecost still should be observed today as a season to be thankful for material and spiritual blessings. Our study of the meaning of Pentecost has shown that we have many reasons to be thankful. We can be thankful Christ arose as the first fruits of redeemed humanity (1 Cor 15:20). His resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection. We can be thankful Christ ascended to heaven to begin a special intercessory ministry on our behalf. We can be thankful for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, which are made available to us through the ministry of Jesus in the heavenly sanctuary. We can express our thankfulness to God during the season of Pentecost in a variety of ways. Some may wish to follow the custom of the early Christians by standing rather than kneeling for prayer both at home and in church to honor the risen, exalted, and interceding Savior. Others may wish to express their thankfulness to God during the fifty days of Pentecost by singing songs of thanksgiving during their private and public worship. Others may wish to express the joy and gratitude of the Pentecost season by decorating their homes and churches with flowers. A practical way to express our gratitude to God at Pentecost is to bring a special thanksgiving offering. As the Israelites brought their first fruits to express their gratitude for the harvest that had been gathered in, so we, too, can bring to God at Pentecost a special thanksgiving offering for the material and spiritual blessings received. The Feast of Pentecost provides an ideal setting for spending at least the last week of the feast to seek for a fresh infilling of the Holy Spirit. This week could be called "Pentecost Renewal Week" and could be made to coincide in Adventist churches with the traditional Spring "Spiritual Emphasis Week." The disciples' preparation for Pentecost can serve as a model for the Pentecost Renewal Week by reminding us of the need to prepare our hearts as did the disciples of old. During the seven Sabbaths from Passover to Pentecost, pastors could deliver a series of sermons focusing on the redemptive accomplishments of Christ's First Advent. Some topics, like the heavenly ministry of Jesus or the bestowal of spiritual gifts, are so rich in meaning and experience that they could be presented as a series of Pentecost sermons. By taking time every year during the Pentecost season to deepen the understanding of vital aspects of Christ's redemptive mission, we shall discover that the Feast offers an appropriate opportunity to lead Christians into a fuller understanding and experience of the great truths of the plan of salvation. ---------------------------------- Christian regards Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D., Professor of Theology and Church History Andrews University 4990 Appian Way Berrien Springs, MI 49103 samuele@andrews.edu