Pentecost: Happy Birthday, Church

This is the birthday of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.  To understand better our story, consider that Luke (author of Acts) had two primary agendas: first, to establish connection and flow from the Jewish Covenant to the Christian Covenant, and second, to focus on the role of the Holy Spirit.

The underlying Jewish Feast, shavout, was originally a festival of the harvest, fifty days after the appearance of the first buds on the fruit trees.  (Pentecost means 'fifty days.')  Later, Rabbis added to the feast the theme of the giving of the Law.  So it became a double-header.   The cognizant Jewish reader would immediately notice in today's story that the Christian Pentecost is a festival marking a harvest of souls and also the giving of the Spirit.  An outstanding transition!

Additionally, in the text's story about people with multiple languages being able to understand the Apostles -- each in his or her own language -- would be quickly recognized as a reversal of Babel.  (Remember the aetiology story in the Jewish Bible wherein the multiplicity of human languages is explained by God's getting angry at people for trying to build a tower to heaven, and sabotaging the project by instantly creating all the world's languages at once.)   We know the message of Christ will transcend borders of ethnicity and language.  The new Pentecost brings a new Covenant that is open to all humanity and breaks down all barriers!

And, so the Church is born.  Apostles will go on to found, or accept leadership in, all the great see cities, like Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, and so forth.  And they will begin the apostolic succession of bishops from their time right up to today with our own bishop, Ed Konieczny.  That Church will comprise through history three primary Communions:  Roman, Orthodox, and our own Anglican.

The key characteristic of that Church will be life in the Spirit, for the Holy Spirit has begun to lead Christs's Catholic Church on her first Pentecost.  The gifts ("fruits") of that Spirit, according to the biblical witness, are:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.  Wherever you see these at work in the Christian project anywhere in the world, you can be  sure the Spirit of God is active.  Where these are missing, you can be sure another spirit is at work.  And Saint Paul charges us to "test the spirits."

Pope Francis has said that there are four main ways of closing off the Holy Spirit.  First is any selfish behaviour.  Second, rigid legalism.  Third, failure to follow Jesus' actual teachings.  Fourth, using the Church for your personal interests and networking.  Thus, it seems to me that the opposites of these traits would be selfless service of others, openness to new truth and insights, conformance to Jesus' actual teachings, and participating in and supporting the Church out of love of God and not personal gain.  I know of no religous community more committed to such values than Episcopalians.

We would do well on reflect on what life in the Spirit means, so we can continue to be a part of God's solution, and not part of the problem.