Pentecost in 2 Minutes!
Pentecost is almost upon us, falling this Sunday, May 19th. Celebrated on the fiftieth day after Easter, Pentecost is the day when the Holy Spirit was poured out onto the disciples and they were emboldened to go and proclaim the good news that Jesus was the Christ, the sure sign of God’s love for all people and the redemption of the world. For this reason, Pentecost is often described as the “birthday” of the Church.
The Apostles first shared this message in Jerusalem, the location of the Temple and the city where Jesus had been crucified and raised again. They preached their first sermons as Jews gathered from all over the known world to celebrate the Jewish Festival of Weeks, which honored and commemorated the giving of the law to Moses on Mt. Sinai. The wonder of that first Pentecost is that everyone heard Peter’s sermon in their own language. Since then, many have commented on how this scene feels in some ways like a reversal of the Tower of Babel, the early story of God confusing the language of people. Now, people speaking all those different languages are able to hear the story of God’s love poured out for the world through Jesus.
If you’ve been at church on Pentecost Sunday, you might have heard the story told in Acts 2 read in a variety of languages. In my home congregation, volunteers would read a few verses in a different language and then conclude with all the readers reading the last verses together. The babble this created might have been hard to follow, but it gave a sense of the excitement and dynamism and universality of the day. Taking my turn reading a few verses in Spanish (my high school language choice) is still a meaningful memory.
Some congregations also invite people to wear red on Pentecost to remember the tongues of fire that descended on the Apostles as the Spirit came to them and gave them the courage to go share this revolutionary message.
However your congregation may be celebrating Pentecost, I thought you might enjoy a quick review (or introduction) to the day brought to us – in just 2 minutes! – by the creative minds at Busted Halo. Enjoy!
Notes: 1) If you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click here to watch the video.
2) If you want to read more about Pentecost – that first one long ago and more recent ones – you can find a piece I wrote on just that topic at Working Preacher.
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