Looking Ahead to Pentecost
During these days after Easter I have been thinking about Pentecost. I’ve been wondering what a creative liturgy would look like for a Pentecost service. Liturgical churches read the Pentecost passages but don’t often practice much in the way of spiritual gifts. Some churches mention Pentecost and the power of the Spirit and stop there. And in irony only a seasoned Christian could enjoy, Pentecostal and charismatic churches fix much of their theology on the charismatic events at Pentecost yet never celebrate the day it actually happened. We are either in a church that celebrates the event of Pentecost as a past event each year or in a church that celebrates Pentecost here and now without ever grounding the spiritual gifts in a historical context, like all those Catholic saints that expressed them (God forbid!).
So, I have been wondering how to create an inviting and engaging celebration of Pentecost that is past, present and future—a service that grounds the actions and gifts of the Holy Spirit for today and tomorrow in the vibrant heritage of our spiritual forefathers and foremothers all the way back to the apostles. I am going to be discussing some of my ideas on the blog for the next few weeks, coming up with some service outlines and ideas for a Pentecost celebration. But first, I’d like to here any of your ideas or experiences with a Pentecost service that is both ancient and future.
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To understand the Pentecost of the past, I encourage you to understand what many of those present in Jerusalem understood when they received the Holy Spirit: the celebration of Shavuot.
Shavuot celebrates the receiving of the Ten Commandments, a central feature of God’s covenant with Israel — much like God gave us the Holy Spirit, whose indwelling of us is a central feature of God’s new covenant with his people.
Shavuot celebrates the first harvest — the very first fruits of the land. Similarly, those at Pentecost were the first fruits of the Gospel harvest.
Pentecost then and now and forever is about God’s provision, both spiritually and physically, and is a time we should offer these gifts back to him. I’d encourage any creative liturgy you develop to focus on these concepts and teach the awesome superintendence of God over his people from declaring the festival to delivering the Holy Spirit in such meaningful timing.