Pentecost
Pentecost is a holiday we celebrate enthusiastically at Bridgeport, and while it’s very familiar to some of us, others of us know next to nothing about it. So in the interest of spreading the good word about Pentecost, here’s a little bit of info to ponder.
Next to Christmas and Easter, Pentecost is the most important celebration of the Christian calendar. The term comes from the Greek word pentekostos, meaning fiftieth, which refers to the fact that the Jewish festival of Shavuot was held fifty days after Passover. Shavuot was both a celebration of the spring harvest and a commemoration of the receiving of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible and the guiding principle of Jewish life.
This ancient festival is one of the 3 festivals that required Jews to return to Jerusalem to celebrate the holiday in the Temple. Coming just seven weeks after Passover, some people would just stay on in the Holy City, returning home after Shavuot. According to Luke, who not only wrote a gospel but also “The Acts of the Apostles,” the disciples of Jesus, some 120 of them, had stayed on in Jerusalem. Perhaps they were waiting for Shavuot – but decidedly they were waiting, too, for the paraclete, the Advocate or Helper that Jesus promised God would send to them.
So that Pentecost morning, the first followers of Jesus were gathered in traditional Shavuot prayer and study when the Spirit of God descended upon them. In Acts 2, Luke describes "the blowing of a violent wind" and "tongues of fire" dancing throughout the room. Peter, who had been a faithful disciple (though something of a bumbler), was inspired to brilliantly preach the Good News of God’s love that they had experienced in and through Jesus. By the end of the day, and despite the mockery of some critics, Luke claims that three thousand people joined the Jesus movement (2:41) — which is why Pentecost is observed as the beginning of the Christian Church.
There is of course, more to the story – including the story of Bridgeport itself! So come to church on Sunday and catch some Holy Spirit fire!