Pentecost Sunday
On my fiftieth birthday, my mother and I had a conversation about the irony of birthdays in general. Birthdays give us a chance to express appreciation, show affection and generosity to the person who we know was born that day. Social media gives us the chance to donate to their favorite cause or remember some special contribution they made to us. And yet, when we think back to what happened on the person’s day of birth, the individual being born did not do much of anything. Mothers do most of the work on the day of a person’s birth—perhaps assisted by midwife, nurse, or doctor. My mother said that when we, her three sons, were younger she tried calling Birthdays “birthing days” because that’s what she did for that day.
Pentecost Sunday is often called the “Birthday of the Church.” And if we approach the Birthday of the Church the way we approach each other’s birthdays we will celebrate all that the church is and can be: the fellowship, discipleship, evangelism and ministry. What would it be like if we focused on the birthing of the Church?
The Holy Spirit is the giver. The Spirit of God is understood as God’s breath. In the creation narrative, the spirit of God is active from the beginning (Genesis 1:2). Psalm 104:24 says, “O LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.” And in verse 30 the Psalmist sings, “When you send forth your Spirit, they are created; and you renew the face of the ground.” Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about the importance of being born of the Spirit (John 3:5). And the Apostle Paul wrote that while the letter kills, “The Spirit Gives life” (2 Corinthians 3:6). The Spirit is the giver of life.
Pentecost day remembers the day when the Holy Spirit was poured out on people in Jerusalem. We often speak of it as the “Gift of the Holy Spirit.” That metaphor implies that the Church had already been born and the Holy Spirit was the gift God gave wrapped in a red bow—our first and greatest birthday gift. Yet, that really reverses the sequence. The Holy Spirit was poured out on creation and the Church was born. The Holy Spirit is the primary actor of the day. Pentecost Sunday is our Birthing day—thanks to the Holy Spirit who gave us birth and gives us life.
Celebrating the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Sunday is more than just giving credit where credit is due. It helps us refocus on why and how we are the church. Many congregations I visit with act as though they themselves must muster all their strength, wisdom and energy in order to make new things happen. We have a remarkable capacity for making people feel like they ought to be doing more, that they ought to be more. We turn in on ourselves and sever ourselves from the Giver of Life. The Holy Spirit isn’t just the One who gave birth to the Church. The Holy Spirit sustains the church, animates the church, breathes life into the church.