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Pentecost 2021
4 years ago
"I am come to cast fire upon the earth; and what will I, but that it be kindled?"
Haaaappy Pentecost everyone!
Pentecost began as a Jewish holy day, the Feast of Weeks, celebrated fifty days after Passover -- pentekoste meaning "fiftieth" in Greek, and the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) being see referred to in Greek Jewish texts. It was while commemorating this festival that the gathered disciples of Jesus received the Holy Ghost, as described in Acts 2.
The figures used to describe the manifestation of the Holy Spirit here are wind, and fire. Wind is often used of the Holy Spirit not so much because He is invisible, like wind; but because He is the source of life, and breath is symbolic of life. Hence indeed the word for "soul" in many languages is linked to that for breath or wind -- anima, spiritus, ghost/Geist, pneuma, chi/qi.
In the beginning, God bestowed on man a living soul. However, the life of this soul came from God, as John states in the prologue to his gospel. So when man turned from God, he lost the source of this life, leading to it gradually fading away, leaving a "dead" soul and a dead body. Pentecost then marks the beginning of the restoration of this life, as the Spirit of God is joined to our souls in Baptism, comforting them with the prospect of the Resurrection in which the life-giving Spirit will reunite them with their bodies in eternal bliss.
Fire, on the other hand -- fire is heat and light. It also can be said to represent life, but more specifically the passion of life. The ardour of God for His creatures, His burning desire to unite with them and glorify them. As Jesus says in my quote, it is His desire to kindle this fire also in mankind, that we too should love ourselves and our neighbours, recognising our goodness and desiring to see it blaze brightly, unimpeded by fear or malice.
Arise; shine forth, O Jerusalem! For thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee! For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and fog shall cover the people; but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen in thee."
Isaias 60:1-2
"Ye are the light of the world. A city set upon a mountain cannot be hidden; neither do folk light a lamp and place it under a bushel-basket, but upon a lampstand, that it may give light to all who are in the house. Thus let your light shine before mankind, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven." Matthew 5:14-16
We are, each of us, the city that God loves; the dwelling where He wishes to make His abode. It is His passionate to restore us from whatever misery we find ourselves in, that our glory may reflect His glory.
"For as much as thou wert abandoned and hated, and there was none who passed through thee: so shall I set thee as the pride of the ages, as gladness unto generation upon generation."
Isaiaas 60:15
Final note, Pentecost closes out the Easter season, though I believe Eastertide continues throughout the octave (inclusion of Trinity Sunday). The rest of the liturgical year comprises the Season After Pentecost, liturgically focused on the present -- the season of the world in which we are to spread the fire of God's love, and warm the hearts of our fellow men with good news.
May God bless and keep you, and kindle in your lives the fire of His love!
Haaaappy Pentecost everyone!
Pentecost began as a Jewish holy day, the Feast of Weeks, celebrated fifty days after Passover -- pentekoste meaning "fiftieth" in Greek, and the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) being see referred to in Greek Jewish texts. It was while commemorating this festival that the gathered disciples of Jesus received the Holy Ghost, as described in Acts 2.
The figures used to describe the manifestation of the Holy Spirit here are wind, and fire. Wind is often used of the Holy Spirit not so much because He is invisible, like wind; but because He is the source of life, and breath is symbolic of life. Hence indeed the word for "soul" in many languages is linked to that for breath or wind -- anima, spiritus, ghost/Geist, pneuma, chi/qi.
In the beginning, God bestowed on man a living soul. However, the life of this soul came from God, as John states in the prologue to his gospel. So when man turned from God, he lost the source of this life, leading to it gradually fading away, leaving a "dead" soul and a dead body. Pentecost then marks the beginning of the restoration of this life, as the Spirit of God is joined to our souls in Baptism, comforting them with the prospect of the Resurrection in which the life-giving Spirit will reunite them with their bodies in eternal bliss.
Fire, on the other hand -- fire is heat and light. It also can be said to represent life, but more specifically the passion of life. The ardour of God for His creatures, His burning desire to unite with them and glorify them. As Jesus says in my quote, it is His desire to kindle this fire also in mankind, that we too should love ourselves and our neighbours, recognising our goodness and desiring to see it blaze brightly, unimpeded by fear or malice.
Arise; shine forth, O Jerusalem! For thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee! For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and fog shall cover the people; but the Lord shall rise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen in thee."
Isaias 60:1-2
"Ye are the light of the world. A city set upon a mountain cannot be hidden; neither do folk light a lamp and place it under a bushel-basket, but upon a lampstand, that it may give light to all who are in the house. Thus let your light shine before mankind, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in Heaven." Matthew 5:14-16
We are, each of us, the city that God loves; the dwelling where He wishes to make His abode. It is His passionate to restore us from whatever misery we find ourselves in, that our glory may reflect His glory.
"For as much as thou wert abandoned and hated, and there was none who passed through thee: so shall I set thee as the pride of the ages, as gladness unto generation upon generation."
Isaiaas 60:15
Final note, Pentecost closes out the Easter season, though I believe Eastertide continues throughout the octave (inclusion of Trinity Sunday). The rest of the liturgical year comprises the Season After Pentecost, liturgically focused on the present -- the season of the world in which we are to spread the fire of God's love, and warm the hearts of our fellow men with good news.
May God bless and keep you, and kindle in your lives the fire of His love!
