Pentecost Sunday - From the Desk of Fr. Stephen

From The Desk Of Fr. Stephen

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

In Jerusalem at the time of Jesus, the feast of Passover was a huge public event, as lambs sacrificed in the Temple were eaten during the Seder meal in the evening hours, along with unleavened bread, or matzah. The Passover recalled that the people of Israel had been liberated from their slavery in Egypt by the power of God, and led to freedom by Moses in the Exodus.

At Passover time, the first grain for the spring harvest was planted in the earth. Then the people began the counting of days between Passover and the next great feast, which occurred fifty days later. In Hebrew that feast was called Shavuot, or Weeks, as it occurs after seven weeks. In Greek it was called the Pentecost, or the fiftieth day.

Pentecost for the Jewish people recalled that their ancestors, after crossing the Red Sea, entered the Sinai desert and traveled with Moses to Mount Sinai. There God revealed himself by descending upon the mountain in wind and fire and writing upon the two tablets of stone; the Ten Commandments. The Jewish people worshiped in the Temple, and feasted upon leavened bread, as well as bringing their offerings of first fruits of the harvest.

In the experience of Mary and the first followers of Jesus, at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit promised by Jesus descended on them personally in wind and fire, the blaze above them parting and coming to each one. Their own hearts became the tablets upon which God wrote the new law of love. Those who had previously been afraid gained new courage, and they descended from the upper room to begin the work of the Church. We ourselves today possess that same Spirit and are asked to share the message of the Gospel in our own spheres of influence, calling others to Christ.

Have a blessed and happy Pentecost!

Fr. Stephen